Knowing what to expect on the GRE verbal section will help you to study the right material. Before we go over GRE verbal tips, let’s look at what comprises the verbal section of the GRE test. There are four parts to this section of the GRE: Analogies, sentence completion, antonyms, and reading comprehension. The first 3 parts deal directly with vocabulary questions, while you will need a good vocabulary in order to answer questions regarding reading comprehension as well.
The analogies questions will have you choose a pair of words that are similar to the given pair. So for each question in this section, you will need to know what a great deal of words mean in order to answer correctly. A good rule of thumb to use here is the process of elimination, although since time is your enemy, the best way is to hone your vocabulary so that you will be able to choose the correct set of words quickly.
The same GRE verbal tips are used for the antonym section. Here, you will choose words that are opposite in meaning to the given words so it is imperative that you have a large vocabulary in order to be successful at this section. Again, try to quickly eliminate words that you know to be wrong, but keep an eye on the time as well.
The sentence completion portion of the verbal section may be a little easier because you will be able to use contextual clues to help you select the right words. However, without knowing what the word choices mean, you will likely still be lost. The best advice, therefore, for mastering this section of the GRE is to increase your vocabulary by leaps and bounds.
In addition to increasing your vocabulary, you will want to prepare for the GRE by reading. Read everything you can get your hands on; read books, newspapers, magazines and read a wide variety of subjects as this will help to increase your vocabulary and it will also be good practice for reading comprehension. Thus, the best GRE verbal tips are those that will heighten your vocabulary and reading skills.
Why is vocabulary such a big part of the GRE test? The answer is simple, really. Because vocabulary is a big part of life success. People with expanded vocabularies tend to have better jobs; they earn more money and are more successful in relationships. The fact is that having a good vocabulary will prepare you for many important aspects of your life and will help to ensure your success as well.