style="font-size:15px;"> Tackling the Verbal Section One Word at a Time
IN THIS PART …
Discover how to complete a sentence when you need to fill in words that support its meaning.
Understand the general topics and question types you’ll encounter in Reading Comprehension.
Find out what to look for in an Argument Analysis question along with how to deconstruct the argument.
Brush up on GRE-level vocabulary and review roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
Chapter 4
What Are They Saying: Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence
IN THIS CHAPTER
Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions hold all the clues you need to answer them correctly. By using key strategies and avoiding common mistakes, you can rack up points quickly. If you find the vocabulary is slowing you down, turn to Chapter 7 to brush up on words that you’re likely to encounter.
Clinching Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence Questions
Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions are similar but have some distinct differences:
Text Completion: A Text Completion question consists of a sentence or paragraph with one, two, or three missing words or phrases, along with a short list of word or phrase choices to complete the text. If the text has one word missing, the list has five choices, while if the text has two or three words missing, each has a list of three choices.Each choice gives the text a different meaning. Your job is to choose the word or words that best support the meaning of the sentence. If the text is missing more than one word, you don’t get partial credit for choosing only one correct word. Text Completion questions tend to have slightly easier vocabulary but are more challenging to interpret.
Sentence Equivalence: A Sentence Equivalence question consists of a single sentence with exactly one word missing and a list of six choices to complete it. Your job is to select the two words that fit the sentence and mean the same thing, and, as with the Text Completion questions, you don’t get partial credit for choosing only one correct word. Sentence Completion questions tend to be easier to interpret but have more challenging vocabulary. The correct answers are always synonyms. If you find a word that works well but doesn’t have a match, then you’ve found a trap answer.
Both question types: The answer choices always fit perfectly and have perfect grammar: Make your choice based on the meaning of the words. Each word you plug in gives the sentence a different meaning, so find the meaning of the text without the answer choices, and then eliminate the wrong answer choices.
Keeping it straight
Don’t worry about memorizing how many answers to click. On the exam it’s clear, and just to be sure, at the top of the screen is always an instruction that reads something like, “Pick one answer for each missing word (in Text Completion),” or “Pick two answer choices that create sentences most alike in meaning (in Sentence Equivalence).”
Also, the one-answer questions allow you to select only one answer, and the two-answer questions allow you to select more than one. Go through it once and you’ll be fine: I’ve never had a student mix this up.
Trying it out
The following example of a Text Completion question shows how all answer choices appear to fit perfectly but only two specific words actually make logical sense.
Directions: For each blank, select one entry from the corresponding column of choices. Fill all blanks in the way that best completes the text.
The key word in this example is frustrated, which conveys a strong negative emotion. Choices (B) and (D), hurled and ferocity, are the only choices that support such a negative emotion. Note that this is a single, two-part question. You may select any of the three answer choices for each blank, but you must choose both correct answers to earn credit for the question.
The following example of a Sentence Equivalence question shows how all six answer choices appear to fit within the sentence structure, but only two answers actually support the meaning of the sentence.
Directions: Select the two answer choices that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole and produce two completed sentences that are alike in meaning.
The sentence suggests that Billy did well on the GRE. The best words to convey GRE success are aced and passed, making Choices (A) and (C) the correct answers. Again, you must select both of these correct answers to earn credit for the question.
Developing
