Here’s a little secret
How to excel at GMAT reading comprehension
What you need to excel at GMAT reading comprehension is simple, but not easy. This is a template of what to do as you read:
- Visualize the text as you read it.
- IDENTIFY FUNCTIONS OF PARTS AND:
- DETERMINE HOW THEY RELATE, TO:
- OUTLINE A STRUCTURE THAT:
- SERVES AS A TABLE OF CONTENTS,
- TRACK POINTS OF VIEW
- LOOK FOR WORDS THAT SIGNAL THE TONE OF THE AUTHOR.
GMAT Reading comprehension question structure
GMAT reading comprehension is one of the two question types on the verbal section on the GMAT. There are 23 questions on the verbal section, of which about half, or a little more, are reading comprehension questions. Each passage will be about 300 to 500 words long and have a corresponding set of 3 to 4 questions.
The screen will be split in half. On the left you will always see the passage, and on the right you will see the questions, one question at a time. Remember that the GMAT is an adaptive test, which means that the question difficulty will adjust based on your performance.
Types of GMAT reading comprehension questions
GMAT reading comprehension question type 1
Detail questions
You have to identify a detail explicitly stated in the text. Usually this is the easier type of questions as it requires matching words in the text to an equivalent answer choice.
GMAT reading comprehension question type 2
Main point questions
This type of question can present a challenge to many students. You may be asked to state the main point of a specific segment of the passage or the passage as a whole. Answering the latter requires that you not lose the forest for the trees by keeping track of the main point of each paragraph, and keeping check on how they are connected.
GMAT reading comprehension question type 3
Function questions
The question can come in the form ‘what is the purpose of second paragraph’ or ‘the author mentioned line 21-29 in order to’. As with main point questions, this requires that you understand how the sentences and paragraphs are related to look for that structure.
GMAT reading comprehension question type 4
Inference questions
Perhaps this is the hardest question type. You are required to determine which answer choice follows most logically from a specific segment in the text or the text as a whole. This can be especially difficult if the text is long, dense, and the inference is to be made from a specific part of the text that you must determine. That is tough, because you have to match to variables: an uknown part in the text to an unknown answer choice.