When you narrow a GRE Verbal question down to two choices, you have reached the critical moment. Most of the heavy lifting in a Verbal question is done when you eliminate the first three distractors. The final decision is the skill that separates a good score from a great one. Guessing at this point is a missed opportunity. You need a repeatable method for choosing the better option.

Start by restating what the correct answer must do. For Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence, restate the intended meaning of the sentence. For Reading Comprehension, restate the question and the role the correct answer must play relative to the passage. Put that requirement in plain language before you inspect the choices.

Next, paraphrase each remaining choice in your own words. Make the paraphrase short and concrete. This strips away rhetorical polish and reveals the true meaning. Often one choice will introduce an extra assumption or an idea that goes beyond what the stem or passage supports. If you can express that extra idea in a single sentence, you can evaluate whether it is acceptable.

Then compare the scope of each choice to the requirement you wrote down earlier. Ask these questions as you compare choices

Which choice fits the question exactly and which one overreaches?

Does either choice introduce an unsupported assumption?

Does one choice contradict the passage or the sentence context in some subtle way?

Are there qualifiers or absolute words that change the claim meaningfully?

For Sentence Equivalence and Text Completion, always plug each choice back into the sentence and read the sentence aloud. Does the sentence sound natural with the choice in place? Does the word change the nuance? For Sentence Equivalence make sure both chosen words yield the same meaning and that each one stands alone as a valid completion.

For Reading Comprehension, check whether a choice restates a detail or whether it captures the main thrust of the passage. Prefer answers that are directly supported by the text rather than ones that require additional inference. If a choice sounds plausible but is not directly grounded in the passage, mark it as suspect.

Use quick logical checks when appropriate. Try to find a counterexample that would make one choice false while leaving the other true. If you can think of a realistic scenario where one choice fails, that choice is unlikely to be correct.

Finally, make these practices part of your training routine. When you practice, do not allow yourself to guess when you are down to two choices. Force yourself to apply the steps above until the process becomes automatic. Record the patterns you see in your error log so you can address recurring weaknesses. Over time, deciding between the last two choices will become less a matter of luck and more a matter of trained judgment.

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep