GMAT VERBAL SECTION: READING COMPREHENSION-GMAC ea prep

You have probably become quite familiar with Reading Comprehension questions over your standardized testing career. These questions test your critical reading skills, more specifically, your ability to:

Summarize the main idea

Differentiate between ideas stated specifically and those implied by the author

Make inferences based on information in a text

Analyze the logical structure of a passage

Deduce the author’s tone and attitude about a topic

You will be presented with a reading passage on the topics of business, social science, biological science or physical science and then asked 3-4 questions about that text. The tone is that of a scholarly journal.

When reading a passage, remember that you’re not trying to memorize all the information. First, read through it quickly, trying to get an idea of the general topic, the author’s purpose, his or her voice, and the scope of the passage. Most of all, don’t obsess over details—you can always look them up in the passage.

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Words like “obviously,” “clearly,” and “hence” show that an author’s opinion is expressed in the passage. If you can identify the author’s opinion (or lack thereof) by spotting opinionated words like these, that’s an automatic indication of the point of the passage. This will help you move easily move through many of the Reading Comprehension questions.