| The three sub sections of the Verbal Section - | | | | Tips; |
| Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning and | | | | • Employ the process of elimination wherever |
| Sentence Correction - are all multiple choice. | | | | you can. Firstly, eliminate any answer choices that |
| 1) Critical Reasoning | | | | are themselves grammatically incorrect. Then, |
| What is required? To answer questions which test | | | | eliminate any choices that alter the intended |
| your skills at forming arguments or evaluating | | | | meaning of the sentence. Now that you have two |
| arguments as well as your analytical and critical | | | | choices remaining, it should be more apparent |
| thinking skills. | | | | which is the correct answer. If it is still unclear, it |
| Tips; | | | | is best to select the most concise of the two |
| • Always read the question before reading | | | | remaining choices, as long as it does not use the |
| the passage to know what information to look | | | | passive voice. |
| for. | | | | • Do not worry about errors in spelling or |
| • Do not use your prior knowledge of a | | | | capitalization. These errors are not tested. |
| specific field to guess an answer! If the topic is a | | | | • You can find a link to a full list of GMAT |
| scientific one and that is your "thing", save your | | | | idioms (including grammar and idiomatic speech) in |
| celebrations. All of the knowledge you need will be | | | | the reference box below. |
| in the passage, and any outside -of-the-test | | | | 3) Reading Comprehension |
| knowledge should be considered redundant. This | | | | What is involved? Interpretive and analytical |
| might seem unfortunate to you, but when you | | | | questions relating to the passage provided. |
| get a political passage on something you have no | | | | Speed is the key here. Improving your reading |
| idea about you will be thankful of this rule. This | | | | speed will put you at an incredible advantage. It is |
| section tests your analytical, not content, skills. | | | | a timed test after all! It will also serve you well in |
| • Avoid choosing answer choices that are | | | | your future career so it is not a bad skill to |
| emotionally charged. The correct GMAT answer | | | | improve upon. There will most likely be four |
| choices are always neutral in tone. | | | | passages of up to 350 words in this section. |
| 2) Sentence Correction and Grammar | | | | Several different content areas (science, social |
| What is required? To correct errors in grammar | | | | science, or business); however no prior knowledge |
| and style, as well as improving a sentence by | | | | of these areas is necessary, and in fact should |
| adjusting it's structure. | | | | not be used to answer the questions. |
| GMAT grammar follows the rules of Standard | | | | Tips; |
| English. This means those rules that "should" be | | | | • The science passages are very factual and |
| followed but in everyday life are not. This is why | | | | clear-cut. Because of their uncomplicated nature, |
| this section is difficult for non-native speakers and | | | | the questions pertaining to these passages are |
| native speakers alike - sometimes the correct | | | | more likely to be factual (and not inference) and |
| answer just doesn't feel natural. | | | | can be answered directly from the passage in an |
| An example; | | | | uncomplicated way. |
| A) The staff is going to lunch together. | | | | • The social science passages usually deal with |
| B) The staff are going to lunch together. | | | | topics such as history, politics, and geography. |
| In the above example, A is the correct GMAT | | | | Whilst they are more fun to read, the inference |
| answer. But often B is used in everyday | | | | questions may be more challenging that in the |
| conversation and may sound more comfortable. | | | | science section. I recommend that you read these |
| (The reason why A is correct is because 'staff', | | | | passages slowly! |
| along with group, committee, gang, company, is a | | | | • Business passages involve very complex |
| singular noun and hence requires a singular | | | | compositions, and questions that require you to |
| pronoun. | | | | deduce information. Reading these passages |
| The other difficulty for non-native speakers is the | | | | slowly and carefully, and taking many brief notes |
| correct use of metaphoric speech. This, | | | | on your scrap paper, is a must. |
| unfortunately, must be learned, as the meaning of | | | | • When reading any kind of passage, you |
| figurative speech can not always be guessed at. | | | | should look for primary sentences, and disregard |
| For example, to "kick the bucket" (meaning to | | | | the secondary sentences that do not contribute |
| pass away, die) may be a familiar term to a | | | | value to your understanding of the text. |
| native speaker of English, but will have no | | | | • Focus on the topic sentence in each |
| meaning to someone hearing or reading it for the | | | | paragraph. |
| first time. | | | | • Don't panic over technical terms. |