GRE Reading Comprehension | PrepScholar's Master Guide

If you've been studying for the GRE, you're familiar with Reading Comprehension questions. Reading Comprehension questions make up about one half of the questions on the Verbal section. Each question is based on a passage. While some questions get their own passage, this isn't always the case — each passage may be paired with up to 6 questions, giving about 10 passages in total on the test. Passages with fewer associated questions will be shorter, often 1 paragraph in length, while passages with more associated questions may be several paragraphs long.

The questions themselves may be multiple choice questions with 5 answer choices where only 1 answer choice is correct, multiple choice questions with 3 answer choices where between 1 and 3 answer choices are correct, and select-in-passage questions where you can select one sentence from the passage that correctly answers the question.

A common piece of advice floating around is to read the question on the screen before reading the passage — that way you can look for the answer while you're reading. If you're on a passage with exactly one question associated with it, that's great advice! However, if we're on a passage with multiple questions, this is actually an actively harmful strategy.

Why is this? When we read the passage looking for the answer to a specific, we don't pay attention to other key elements in the passage. This means that when the next question comes up, it's likely to be about one of the elements we didn't pay attention to, and we aren't ready for it. This forces us to read through the passage again and again for each question. This slows us down *and* disadvantages us on general questions, which require a broader understanding of the passage as a whole and aren't easy to read for quickly.

So for each passage, look for the little bar above the passage that says which questions are based on the passage. If the bar tells you that only one question is based on the passage, go ahead and read the question stem first — but not the answer choices (more on that later). If the bar tells you that two or more questions are based on the passage, read the passage before looking at the first question.

But how do we read the passage? Well, if we've got a one-question passage, we can go ahead and read for the answer, varying how we read based on what the question is. But what about for a multiple-question passage, especially one with several paragraphs? For these passages, we want to skim.

[NeilYoungHorne]

GRE Reading Comprehension video summary:
1. A one question passage --> read the question first (but not the possible answers yet) and then read the passage for the answer.
2. A two or more questions passage --> read the passage first by skimming.
To skim effectively, we want to find:
2a. The purpose: What is the point of the passage? Is it to argue a point, explain a concept, compare two conflicting viewpoints, analyze a course of action, or etc.? We want to find the "big verb" of the passage: what does it do?
2b. The main idea: what is the passage about? And at what level are we focusing? Is it about the topic in general or about a specific topic? We want to capture what the main focus of the passage is.
2c. The structure: how is the passage structured? Does it start with background info on a trend, dig into historical trends, and then finally project that trend into the future? Or does it lay out an argument to start, then present a counterpoint, then rebut that counterpoint? Or does it start with a hypothesis, then describe the methods of the study, and then reveal the results and implications of that study? Basically, what is the purpose of each major chunk/paragraph of the passage.
2d. The tone: how does the author feel about the main idea… do they feel anything? Sometimes the answer is no! But if yes, how do they feel; positive or negative? And at what level of intensity? Excited or cautiously optimistic? Not in favor of an idea or hesitant of its implementation? This can also apply to groups or people also within the passage; how do the two groups feel, such as about each other?
2e. However, we should ignore detail: anything that provides more description or further depth we want to ignore. We are looking for big ideas, and we don't want small ideas to cloud our judgment of what the passage is really about.
We find these "big ideas" by:
2ei. Only reading sentences in each passage that we know will be relevant to the purpose, main idea, organization, and tone. These major sentences include first and last sentences of a paragraph and sentences with transition words. (Transition words include "however, " "in contrast, " "therefore, " "as a result, " "but, " "since, " "should, " "must, " etc...) These words indicate we should read the whole sentence. On the other hand, a "for example" or a "first, second, or third" should indicate that we DON'T want to read the sentence. Additionally, if we see a "?", we should read the question and the sentence after it to find the answer.
2eii. Interpret as you go: at the end of each paragraph summarize it in a few words (such as 5 to 8 words per paragraph). What did it say? What role does it serve in the passage as a whole? Also pause at each transition word: what's the part of the sentence before the transition word doing compared to the part after the transition word? Incorporate that shift into your summaries. These "interpretations" or "summaries" are a great way to help answer many of the questions or to guide you back to the appropriate segment in which it is discussed.
*Note: many questions associated with one paragraph passages are associated heavily with determining the structure of the passage. So use what you know about these "interpretations" or "summaries" to your advantage.
3a. Wrong answers are usually traps: once we have finished reading/skimming/summarizing a multiple question passage we can now read the questions. And yet, just like with the single question passages, we are not going to read the possible answers just yet. Why's that? Well, wrong answers on reading comprehension questions often use language either directly from the passage or closely related to the passage to trick you into picking them; they are meant to look right to someone who is trying to match the correct answer choice to the text. However, these trap answer choices are often unrelated to the question, assumptions that don't have adequate support, or even opposite the correct answer.
3b. The secret to avoiding these wrong answer traps is to make a prediction BEFORE looking at the answer choices. This means that we read the passage and questions while completely ignoring the answer choices and only make a guess in your own words for what the correct answer choice should be like.
3c. If it's a question based on a single question passage we should try to make a prediction as we read. If it is a general question based on a multiple question passage we should be able to make our prediction without having to look back through the passage too much. If it is a more specific question on a multiple question passage, we should look for the anwer in the passage and then make a prediction. Now only when we have finished making our prediction should we look at the answer choices.
4 What types of questions are there on reading comprehension? Which ones are general and which ones are specific? What do they look like and what do their answer choices look like so we can accurately predict an answer?
The types of question categories are:
4a. Analyzing text structure and purpose questions: this question type asks about the passage or a part of the passage. These questions often feature language like, "purpose, " "function, " or "role" in the question stem and have very vague language in the answer choices. These questions can be very general or specific. For general questions, we will likely be able to find our answers from our "interpretations, " but for more specific questions, we will probably have to read around that area of the passage.
4b. Select a passage questions: these questions are just a variation of 4a; rather than asking what the purpose of a part of the text is, these questions give us the purpose and ask which part of the text fulfills that purpose. We would approach these questions just like we would those in 4a.
4c. Analyzing word choice questions: these are similar to 4a in that they ask us to identify how small sections of a passage help convey larger messages within the passage. However, these questions feature much more specific language in the answer choices.
4d. Big picture questions: these are always general and deal more directly with the topic of the passage. So rather than why is the passage written, these will ask what the passage is about. These are usually easier. These types of questions can be pinpointed because they use language like "main point" and have more precise language in the answer choices. These should typically be able to predict the answer from an effective skim of the passage.
4e. Perspective questions: these questions want us to find the perspective or the tone of someone from the passage. These might ask what someone in the passage may agree or disagree with, what their attitude or point of view is, or what someone believes. These questions should be exactly what we are looking for when we are skimming for tone and so these should not require too much digging.
4f. Words and phrases in context questions: these ask the reader to determine the meaning of a word or phrase within the specific context of the passage, generally for a word or phrase that could have multiple accurate meanings in other contexts. These questions are pretty formulaic and generally require us to read around the word or phrase in question.
4g. Reading closely questions: these ask the reader to read closely for specific details, often focusing on single sentences or pieces of single sentences. These will usually give us a reference of where to look for the answer, and yet, sometimes they will not. In such instances, we can use our summaries to guide us or skim quickly back through looking for key words from the question. These questions often use language such as, "according the passage, " or "the author states."
4h. Inference questions: these ask us to read between the lines: what is the passage not saying directly, but still must be true, 100% of the time, based on what it is saying directly. These are about as specific as 4g questions. However, they do not use the same "matter-of-fact" language. Instead, they ask what the passage infers or suggests, or they will refer to underlying assumptions.
4i. Application questions: these ask us to take the information in the text and apply them to new situations. These require us to have a really complete understanding of the passage, like 4d, then ask us to push past the bounds of the passage. These can be identified by words like "application, " the concepts of "strengthening, " "weakening, " or providing support for an argument or conclusion, and the phrase "if true."

[chiyeh]

Do they provide papers/tissues for tears in the GRE?

[danishwais]

suddenly multivariate calculus looks easy!

[climbers]

Reading comprehension/passage overview:
1. 1-6 questions
2. Longer passage = more questions
3. Multiple choice formats
3a. Select 1/5 choices
3b. Select 1/3 choices
3c. Select-in-passage

Passage reading strategy:
1. One question passage --> read question first then read passage for answer
2. Two+ question passage --> read passage first by skimming
2a. Purpose? (i.e. arguing point, explaining concept, comparing conflicting view points, analyzing a course of action… the big verb of the passage)
2b. Main idea, what is the passage about? Is it big, small, or very small picture?... what the main focus of the passage is
2c. Structure (i.e. starting with background info of a trend, digging into historical trends, then projecting that trend into the future?... or argument, counterpoint, then rebut that counterpoint?... or hypothesis, methods of study, then results and implications of that study?... what is the purpose of each major chunk of the passage)
2d. Tone, how does the main author feel about the idea… does he feel anything? What level of intensity? (Yes, no, positive, negative, excited, cautiously optimistic, not in favor of an idea or hesitant of its implementation. How do the two political groups feel about each other.)
2e. Avoid detail, by skim reading! (Anything that provides more description or further depth.) We want big ideas, not small ideas to cloud our judgment of what the passage is really about. We do this by:
2ei. Only read first, last, and transition sentences (Transition words are: however, in contrast, therefore, as a result, but, since, should, must.. indicate we should focus on that sentence) Also sentences with ?s and following sentences to find the answer.
2eii. At the end of each paragraph summarize it in a 5-8 words… what did it say, what role does it serve in the passage as a whole… also pause at each transition, noting what is before and after the transition
2eiii. Do not read: for example, first, second, third,
*main idea of passage is typically what is covered in your summaries

Question answering strategy
1. Avoid trap answers by reading the question and making a prediction first.

Question types
1. Analyzing text structures and purpose, asks about the purpose of the passage or part of the passage. (What is the goal of this information? Whatdoes it do? Argue, compare, highlight an example, elaborate on a concept, answer a question?... purpose, function, role in the the question stem.

[joeboxter]

1. Purpose: verb
2. About
3. Structure
4. Tone
5. Big ideas. First, last, transition words. Ignore examples.
6. Summarize as you go
7. Word limit 5 - 8 words

[TheTestedTutor]

Agree about not necessarily reading the question! I just did a reading comprehension video in response with worked examples.

[intsciencewing]

This video is amazing! A complete guide to crack the GRE reading comprehension. Each and every word is relevant to the topic. Each and every tip works! Thanks a lot!

[howardcao]

I can understand 90% words in the reading, but when they connect together, my brain just burned

[dreamscapeai]

Good points, but I would've liked to have seen a few examples.

[KaliKali-hvbt]

I like your video because you give specific techniques. Some others don't or are broader.

[vishnureddy]

Pls do videos on sentence equivalence and text completions.iam having a hard time solving verbal.this will help me alot.Iam about to take the test in 3 weeks.pls do solve examples on your strategies so that we can understand better

[sabrinacampbell]

I've noticied that there are no responses from PrepScholar to anyone's questions ....however, there are responses from another video channel I subscribe to and other viewers. I know for at least my sake I wouldn't want to spend money on their prep, seeing as how they can't even respond to people's questions. She has good tips, but examples would be more beneficial instead of just speaking for 15min straight. Further the detail just a little to expound on what you are explaining.... just my opinion.

[jibran]

Excellent video! All the strategies were on point. However there's a tiny mistake. If I remember correctly, ETS has stopped asking 6-7 questions per passage. Infact, it only asks a maximum of 3 questions per passage.
And I had a question, seeing as you scored 170, was it feasible for you to 'write down' the conclusion of every para(long passages) in the scratch sheet given the time constraints?

[Troglodyte]

Great work! Your tips makes perfect sense to me.

[naraendrareddy]

Do native english speakers also face difficulty in answering verbal questions?

[Coldermore]

The GRE Reading Comprehension section checks if you can understand, analyze, and figure out ideas from what you read. It has passages you read, followed by questions. These questions test if you get what you read, can guess things, and put ideas together. PassPyschometric academy prepared me, and they say doing well means reading efficiently, understanding big ideas, spotting important details, and understanding why the author wrote it. To do better, practice with different texts, learn how to manage time, and pay attention to the material you read.

[AmitKumar-jcrf]

How to score well in GRE verbal I'm totally pissed off, solved hundred of question gone through plenty of videos, books, and learned thousands of words, but still no luck.
Hardly I'm able to solve 6-7 questions in a 20 question set.
Any suggestion???
Please help!

[ManiacalSurgeon]

When you are developing these summaries as you go, are you writing these 5 - 8 word sentences on your scrap paper for a more concise idea to refer back to when answering the questions?

[JhennyD]

I know this isn't "helpful"....but am I the only one who thinks she looks like Sabrina from the Netflix

[ayushgaur]

Samaj kuch nhi aaya par aapko dekh ke acha laga