Imagine I told you that, by making one simple move, you may increase your GRE Verbal score by 5 points in a matter of days. Well, you don’t have to imagine it, because I’m going to. That move is to be more precise in how you go about answering GRE Verbal questions, including Reading Comprehension questions. Here’s why being precise is integral to RC success.

What makes a Reading Comprehension answer choice incorrect or correct can hinge on just one or two words, a subtle difference in meaning, or another inconspicuous detail. So, unless you’re being precise in your work, you can easily miss the differences between choices that enable you to eliminate trap choices and arrive at correct answers.

For example, a passage might say that someone failed to understand a theory, and an answer choice in a question about that passage might say that the person was not aware of that theory. Notice how similar “failed to understand” and “was not aware of” can seem. If we were not being precise in considering that incorrect choice, we could easily decide that it matches what the passage says. So, you can see why precision is essential in RC.

To be precise in answering GRE Reading Comprehension questions, we must read entire choices, rather than decide that a choice is correct or incorrect after reading part of it. Also, we must pay careful attention to the exact words used in choices. In general, don’t go with a vibe or a vague impression. Rather, be exact and complete in your work.

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep