GMAT Verbal Reasoning Section
Verbal Reasoning Section Overview
The purpose of the Verbal Reasoning section of the GMAT is to measure your competency in reading and comprehending written material, reasoning, and evaluating arguments.
You will have 45 minutes to complete 23 questions, giving you just under two minutes per question.
All GMAT sections, including Verbal Reasoning, are adaptive, meaning each question is assigned a difficulty level, and you are presented with questions based on your performance on the previous one. The score will also change throughout the exam based on your performance as opposed to being scored at the end. Note that because of this, it's detrimental to miss many questions at the end of the exam if you don't manage your time well. Make sure to return to any questions you bookmarked, providing time permits.
Question Types in the Verbal Reasoning Section
There are only two types of questions in the Verbal Reasoning section: Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning. Sentence Correction is no longer a part of the GMAT. You will be given a passage of information to read and answer questions about in both sections. You will not need to study any specific subject material.
Reading Comprehension Questions
Reading Comprehension questions will begin with a passage about a topic. You are expected to read the passage and then answer one to four questions about it.
This part of the exam is similar to questions you've probably seen on other standardized tests. You are being evaluated for your ability to:
- Find and summarize the main idea of the passage
- Differentiate between ideas implied by the author and those plainly stated
- Infer information based on other facts or information presented
- Analyze the structure
- Identify the author's attitude and tone regarding the topic
You can expect to see passages on social science, business, historical events, and science. These are generally written in an academic and neutral tone.
Critical Reasoning Questions
A Critical Reasoning question will also start with a passage for you to read, but this passage will be a written argument. You will then answer one multiple-choice question about it. You are looking for something that either weakens or strengthens the argument being made. You will want to first understand the argument's structure, and then find the conclusion being made. Once you have done that, you can determine what evidence is presented to support the conclusion. Finally, you will want to find any assumptions being made about the evidence that may lead the author to jump to a conclusion.
These questions are known for tricky wording, so it is imperative to read the passage and answer choices closely.