Helpful for: Masters, MBA applicants Read Time: 6 minutes Quick Facts:
- The Verbal Reasoning Measure section of the GRE test contains three types of questions: Reading Comprehension, Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence. With the latter two you have to fill in the blank.
- In Text Completion, you will have up to three blanks to fill in with a single word.
- In Sentence Equivalence, you will have one blank to fill in with two words.
Useful Information:
- Don’t get stressed over finding the exact synonym for Sentence Equivalence questions. Instead, try to find a pair of words that give the same general idea the sentence is trying to convey.
- Manhattan Prep instructor, Cat Powell explains a convenient system she uses:
Selected Quote:
I sometimes use this method to test it: If I were told that someone or something were X, could I reasonably assume it was also Y?
- Powell further illustrates this by pairing the words “demanding” and “critical” to describe the character of a particular teacher. Although both adjectives may be appropriate to describe her in everyday life, for the purposes of the GRE they are not. If a teacher is “demanding”, she will push you to succeed. The word “critical”, on the other hand, means that she might be judgmental and negative.
- You can practice Powell’s system with a list of answer choices, always looking for the pairs best matched to each other. Can you spot the pair below from the list which best matches the sentence she’s provided? - Exciting - Dangerous - Opulent - Reportorial - Costly - Expensive
The frequent and wide-ranging travels of a photo-journalist are often _______, racking up huge bills for freelancers working without a guarantee of payment.
- Being rigorous when pairing answer choices, and double-checking your thinking by plugging them into the sentence, will help you avoid falling into a trap.
Check out: Simplifying GRE Vocabulary
Good luck with your application!
Source: Manhattan Prep
