If getting a high GRE Exact score is critical for your grad school applications, then you'll need to know how to ace those tricky Reading Comprehension questions. Here, we explain what GRE Reading Comprehension questions expect like and requite you our top fourteen GRE Reading Comprehension tips for both exam prep and test day.

GRE Reading Comprehension Questions: Overview

Before we give y'all our superlative GRE Reading Comprehension tips, allow's go over the logistics of GRE Reading Comprehension questions, including what they examination, what they look like, and what kinds of passages they accompany.

Reading Comprehension questions appear on the Verbal Reasoning section of the GRE. They're one of three question types on Verbal (the other 2 are Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence).

Each Verbal section is 30 minutes long and consists of 20 total questions (you'll have 2 Verbal sections on the test in add-on to an unscored section, which will be either another Exact or Quant section).

You'll get roughly x Reading Comprehension questions on each Exact section;this means that Reading Comprehension questions volition account for approximately fifty% of your GRE Verbal score.

So what exactly are Reading Comprehension questions? This Verbal question type tests your power to read, encompass, and clarify dense, graduate-level reading passages. Some of these questions volition ask you most broader concepts, such equally the big picture show of the passage, while others will inquire you about specific details within the passage.

More specifically, GRE Reading Comprehension questions test your ability to do the following:

  • Find relevant show and information in the passage
  • Distinguish the passage'south main and pocket-size points
  • Identify the writer's tone, beliefs, opinions, and/or assumptions
  • Accurately infer missing information
  • Describe logical and relevant conclusions based on the evidence provided

In terms of setup, Reading Comprehension questions typically come in sets, meaning you'll often get a scattering of questions for each passage. Passage topics will bridge three general areas:

  • Humanities
  • Social sciences (including business)
  • Natural sciences

Finally, there are 3 distinct types of GRE Reading Comprehension questions:

  • Multiple choice (select one answer choice) — These basic multiple-pick questions make up the bulk of Reading Comprehension questions on the GRE. Each question has five answer choices, and but one of these choices is correct. Y'all tin identify these questions past the ovals next to their answer choices:

  • Multiple option (select one or more than answer choices)— For these questions, you will get three answer choices and may choose ane, 2, or all of them (pregnant there might exist more than one correct answer!). You must choose all correct answers to earn credit; there is no partial credit. You can place this question blazon past the foursquare boxes next to its respond choices:

  • Select-in-passage— For this unique blazon of question, you must highlight a specific sentence in the passage that matches the clarification and/or information provided. You tin can choose a judgement by clicking whatever word in it. For longer passages, you may be given only one or two paragraphs from which to cull a sentence:

14 GRE Verbal Reading Comprehension Tips

In this section, nosotros give yous our top GRE Reading Comprehension tips to help you ace the Exact section. Nosotros've divide upward our 14 GRE Exact Reading Comprehension tips into two sections:

  • Prep and Practice Tips
  • Test-Day Tips

GRE Reading Comprehension Tips for Prep and Practise

Use these expert GRE Comprehension tips as you lot report and prep for the Verbal section.

#1: Read Widely and Actively

A big part of prepping for Reading Comprehension on the GRE is taking time to sit downwardly and read a breadth of academic texts. Doing this will help you get used to the high level of reading both test takers and grad students are expected to have. Information technology volition too better your critical reading skills.

Hither are some examples of resources you lot could use to strengthen your reading skills for the GRE:

  • Newspapers
  • Academic textbooks
  • Inquiry papers

Don't only read things half-heartedly.Active reading is all about understanding the topic, the main points, the author'south tone, and the key details.

You don't demand to read every passage with which you practice extremely closely (you won't be doing this on the GRE equally we explain in the next tip), but yous should learn how to identify the central phrases and words that volition point you lot in the management of the crux of the passage.

#ii: Find Your Ideal Approach to Reading Passages

In social club to use your time efficiently on the Verbal section (and Reading Comprehension questions in particular), you need to effigy out how you best arroyo reading passages.

There are iii ways you can approach the GRE reading passages:

  • Skim the passage first (recommended)
  • Read the questions first (as well practiced)
  • Read the passage closely (not recommended)

Yous can observe more details on each of these strategies in our guide to the GRE reading passages.

Simply how can y'all know which passage-reading arroyo volition work best for you? The easiest way to do this is to endeavor out each method (ideally just the first two) with an official GRE practice exam. Choose the method that comes more naturally to you and earns you lot a higher Verbal score, so utilize this in your prep and on test 24-hour interval.

#3: Examination Yourself With Official Exercise Tests

Once y'all've identified a passage-reading strategy that works well for yous, information technology'south time to first practicing.Official GRE practise tests are the absolute best resources you can use for Reading Comprehension prep, as they're both highly accurate and similar to what you lot'll come across on exam day.

Assuming you're taking the computer GRE (the more than mutual version), you'll want to prioritize the PowerPrep GRE practice tests over the newspaper tests, since these volition give you a much more than realistic exam-taking experience.

If you run out of free official tests, you might want to consider buying some official resources or practicing with high-quality unofficial tests. Just be certain the tests you're using are very like to what you'll see on the actual examination.

Finally, be sure to time yourself appropriately on any exercise tests you lot have!

You have to continue time on your GRE practice tests if yous want to run across results on exam day!

#4: Identify Your Weaknesses

Getting a loftier GRE Verbal score isn't simply about knowing what Reading Comprehension questions await like only also understanding what your biggest weaknesses are—and how yous can set them.

Once you've scored the practice test you've taken, go over the correct answers, including those for any Reading Comprehension questions you got incorrect. Await for any patterns in the questions you missed. Did they tend to be ones focusing on vocabulary words? Ones focusing on the main points of passages?

By identifying what things you're consistently getting wrong or having trouble with on Reading Comprehension questions, you can start the process of targeting this weak spot more fully in your prep.

#5: Sympathize What Makes an Reply Pick Incorrect

As mentioned in Tip iv, it's important to spend lots of fourth dimension going over the correct answers and what you got wrong on the GRE practice tests you take. Simply you should too devote some of your report time to understanding what makes incorrect answers on Reading Comprehension questions wrong.

Here are some common reasons that a Reading Comprehension respond selection might be incorrect:

  • Answer is besides specific or likewise broad (applies to data not explicitly stated in the passage)
  • Answer is irrelevant and non clearly continued to the primary betoken of the passage
  • Answer makes as well big of an assumption
  • Answer is besides extreme (e.g., uses words such as "all," "none," "every," etc.)
  • Answer contradicts something stated in the passage
  • Answer is truthful but does non answer the question existence asked

Call up that there is (for regular multiple-choice questions) simply one unambiguously correct reply. This is the only respond choice that'll earn y'all points—try non to fall prey to those respond choices that audio or expect as though they could be correct but actually aren't!

#6: Aggrandize Your Vocabulary Knowledge

Some Reading Comprehension questions will ask you most specific vocabulary words used in the passage.

Here's an example of this type of question, taken from an official GRE practice test:

With this level of vocab in Reading Comprehension questions, likewise as Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, it'south crucial that you lot piece of work on improving your vocab knowledge.

You can check out our comprehensive listing of 350+ GRE vocab words to go started on your vocab prep, or become straight to our GRE vocab course.

GRE Reading Comprehension Tips for Test 24-hour interval

This side by side agglomeration of GRE Comprehension tips are to exist used while taking the GRE.

#seven: Come Up With Your Own Reply First

With Reading Comprehension questions, you lot might be tempted to read the reply choices equally soon as y'all cease reading the question. Simply it might piece of work ameliorate for you to give yourself a moment to try to answer the question in your head before you look at the answer choices.

Doing this should allow you to more quickly identify any evidently wrong answer choices and pick the choice that near closely resembles the solution you came up with on your own.

Just don't spend manner likewise long trying to come upwards with an reply. If you're stuck on the question or pressed for time, it'due south perfectly fine to read the answer choices right abroad and become from there!

#8: Look for Specific Bear witness in the Passage

As mentioned, for single-reply multiple-pick Reading Comprehension questions, in that location will ever exist one unambiguously correct reply. This means thatthe correct reply choice is the one that doesn't autumn into any "traps"—it's not besides wide, not also specific, not too irrelevant, etc.

If you recollect you lot've found the correct answer to a question but aren't entirely sure, look for specific testify in the passage that supports this answer. The right answer volition ever take direct evidence that supports it in the passage, fifty-fifty if it's just a few words.

If any part of the passage doesn't friction match the answer choice exactly (e.k., peradventure the passage is more than specific than the answer choice or it doesn't mention something explicitly written in the answer choice), chances are the respond option is incorrect and is simply trying to trick you!

#9: Focus on the Introduction and Decision

Regardless of whether y'all're skimming the passage before or after yous look at the questions, it'll help yous to pay a little extra attention to the introductory and terminal sentences (or paragraphs, if it's a longer passage). You don't take to read these super closely, but you lot should try toread them a little more closely than y'all would the residuum of the passage.

Why is this important? Well, whereas the introduction volition usually provide vital information near the master betoken of the passage, the decision will reaffirm this chief point while also clarifying its significance and whatever results.

In other words, the introduction should explicate to yous the following:

  • The topic of the passage
  • The general scope of the passage
  • The main point(s) of the passage

And the conclusion should explain to y'all these points:

  • The topic of the passage (restated)
  • The main point(south) of the passage (restated)
  • The importance of the passage and/or any results, consequences, findings, realizations, etc.

By giving more than attention to these 2 areas in the passage, you'll have a broad framework to piece of work with earlier yous examine the passage more closely to answer questions and observe specific pieces of testify.

Lots of Reading Comprehension questions desire you to find specific evidence in the passage.

#10: Immediately Identify the Tone and Primary Points

One play tricks to GRE Reading Comprehension questions is to attempt to identify the principal points and tone of the passage as quickly every bit possible. The main points are typically found in the introductory and final sentences or paragraphs (run across previous tip), and then read these a fiddling more closely than yous would the balance of the passage.

As soon every bit yous cease skimming the whole passage, quickly jot downwards on your scratch newspaper what y'all think the topic and main bespeak(s) of the passage are.

As for the tone, the author volition usually take either a neutral/objective stance or a stronger, more than opinionated stance.Sometimes, the author might have a more complex stance in which he or she might generally agree with something but have some reservations or hesitations almost information technology.

So how can you identify the tone of a passage? As yous skim the passage, brand notation (either mentally or using your scratch paper) of any subjective words and phrases that stand out to you lot, such as "doubtful," "should ~ ," etc. Doing this will give you a better understanding of how the author feels about the topic.

Hither's an instance of an official GRE reading passage in which the main bespeak and words indicating the author'due south tone accept been underlined in ruby:

#11: Refer Back to the Passage as Needed

Although I don't propose reading the passage closely, definitely refer back to the passage and specific parts in it for whatever questions you don't immediately know the right answers to.Some GRE Reading Comprehension questions volition ask well-nigh specific details in the passage, so you'll very likely need to look dorsum at it in order to find the evidence you lot demand for the question.

Hither's an case of a Reading Comprehension question that asks you almost a specific part of the passage; the area of the passage you lot should refer back to has been highlighted past the examination itself:

Even if yous think you know the answer to a question, it doesn't hurt to apace check the passage!

#12: Skip Difficult Questions

Every bit with the Quant section and other Verbal question types, it's perfectly OK (and even encouraged!) to skip whatsoever difficult Reading Comprehension questions you come across. Y'all don't desire to waste what little fourth dimension you have trying to find the answer to a difficult question, especially if doing so will cease up taking time away from other easier questions y'all could answer a lot more than quickly.

Ultimately, y'all must pace yourself and apply your time wisely if you hope to get a loftier Verbal score. Also, don't forget to mark any questions you skip so that yous'll know which ones to become back to before time runs out for that particular Exact section.

Don't forget to marker any questions you skip on the GRE so you lot tin can return to them later!

#thirteen: Utilize the Process of Elimination

If yous get to a Reading Comprehension question you actually merely don't know the answer to, try to narrow down the answer choices using the process of elimination.

With this strategy, y'all'll go through each respond pick and and then bank check the passage to meet whether in that location's clear evidence that supports information technology. Eliminate any answer choices that are clearly wrong and are not 100% supported past the passage. Doing all of this should eventually go out you with simply the right answer(s).

#xiv: Respond Every Question!

There is no score penalty for wrong or missed answers on Verbal, so make sure you answer every unmarried Reading Comprehension question, even if you have no idea what the right respond is. Don't forget to practise the aforementioned on Quant since in that location'southward no score penalty for that section either!

What'due south Next?

In add-on to Reading Comprehension questions, GRE Verbal consists of Judgement Equivalence and Text Completion questions. Expand your Verbal skill set by using our expert tips for Judgement Equivalence questions and Text Completion questions.

Need further assistance with the GRE Verbal department? Then cheque out our detailed footstep-past-step guide to how to study for GRE Exact and our collection of the best resource for GRE Verbal practice.

What is a skilful Verbal score on the GRE? Our guide goes over the ins and outs of GRE Exact scoring and offers tips on how y'all tin set and accomplish your own Verbal goal score.

Gear up to meliorate your GRE score by 7 points?

Nosotros've written a eBook nearly the meridian 5 strategies yous must be using to have a shot at improving your GRE score. Download it for free at present:



Hannah graduated summa cum laude from the Academy of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in English language and East Asian languages and cultures. After graduation, she taught English in Japan for two years via the JET Program. She is passionate about educational activity, writing, and travel. View all posts by Hannah Muniz