GMAT Verbal

GMAT Verbal Section: In order for students to do as well on the GMAT as they possibly can, they need to understand the structure of the test. The Verbal section of the GMAT is designed to measure a student's ability to read and comprehend written passages, evaluate arguments, and grammatically correct written material. For each subsection of the Verbal section - Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, and Sentence Correction - students are given a set of multiple choice questions in which only one answer is correct.

Reading Comprehension contains 3 or 4 passages that are each between 200 and 350 words in length. The passages are taken from books and journals that cover topics such as business, natural sciences, and humanities, and they are often very technical in nature. However, no specific knowledge is required in these subject areas. Each passage is followed by 3 or 4 questions that determine whether the student has understood the basic ideas and concepts presented in the passage. Reading Comprehension measures the student's ability to:

• comprehend the meaning of the passages
• understand the logic of the passages
• make inferences from the information in the passages
• track the development of concepts developed in the passages

Critical Reasoning questions are designed to determine whether a student can evaluate an argument or opinion. 14 short arguments are presented, and students are usually asked to strengthen or weaken each argument or to recognize assumptions made by the authors. Students must develop a systematic method of analyzing arguments in order to do well in this area. Critical Reasoning measures the student's ability to:

• analyze argument structure
• evaluate arguments
• evaluate plans of action

The final part of the Verbal section, Sentence Correction, focuses on the student's knowledge of standard written English, which is typically used in journals or scholarly books. Some questions ask students to eliminate redundancy or ambiguity in sentences, some ask them to better express ideas or relationships, and others ask them to improve incorrect sentence structure. Sentence Correction measures the student's ability to:

• express ideas in a grammatically and structurally correct way
• express ideas clearly and concisely