If we had to identify the one thing that makes GRE Reading Comprehension challenging, it would probably be the way the answer choices are designed. They aren’t designed to be straightforward. Instead, RC answer choices are designed so that incorrect choices seem correct and correct answers seem incorrect.

For example, some incorrect choices are written to be half correct. So, to avoid selecting these trap choices, we have to be careful to read choices in their entirety. Other incorrect choices will use wording that closely matches the wording of the passage. So, to avoid these trap choices, we have to go beyond matching words to carefully considering the meaning conveyed by those words.

Meanwhile, correct answers can be worded quite differently from the passage. For example, a correct answer can reverse the wording of the passage to convey an equivalent meaning. So, we have to learn to recognize that a choice is supported by the passage even though, at first glance, the choice seems different from the passage.

In general, both incorrect choices and correct answers in GRE Reading Comprehension will play on our cognitive biases and any tendencies we have to gloss over what we read or fail to pay attention to detail. What all this means is that, to perform at a high level on RC, we have to master the art of telling the difference between trap choices and correct answers.

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep