{"id":30704,"date":"2019-12-17T16:36:50","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T21:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=30704"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:40:15","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:40:15","slug":"reading-comprehension-questions-and-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/gre\/reading-comprehension-questions-and-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"GRE Reading Comprehension: Types of Questions and Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading comprehension questions on the\u00a0GRE<\/a>\u00a0will ask you various details about long and short written passages.\u00a0 For many people, the reading comprehension is the part of the test that they fear the most.\u00a0 So you know what to expect on the reading comprehension portion of the test, look below to see the different types of questions that you\u2019ll be asked.\u00a0 We\u2019ve also included some basic tips for doing well.
\nTypes of questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Purpose<\/em>\u2014The most important skill to gain before taking the test is being able to identify a written passages purpose.\u00a0 In other words, you have to identify the main point, or thesis, of the short or long reading sample.\u00a0 The answer choices will often be very tricky, pointing out details, although not the main point, of something that was in the passage.\u00a0 Make sure to read carefully so you don\u2019t fall into this trap.<\/li>\n
  2. Detail<\/em>\u2014Many questions may focus on specific details within the passage. These questions may also ask you to infer, or make an educated guess based on evidence, what an author of a passage might feel about a tangential topic.\u00a0 Once again, many of the answer choices might be events highlighted in the passage, but you have to focus in on the specific detail being asked.<\/li>\n
  3. Structure of Ideas<\/em>\u2014This type of\u00a0GRE<\/a>\u00a0reading comprehension question will ask you to identify the order of a specific set of events from the passage.\u00a0 Attention to detail is extremely important, as the test-makers might try to trick you with events that weren\u2019t in the passage.\u00a0 If you read carefully and following some of the tips below, you shouldn\u2019t be fool by their tricks!<\/li>\n
  4. Vocabulary-in-Context<\/em>\u2014Oftentimes, you\u2019ll be asked the meaning of a word, with the test makers giving you guidance for where you can find that word.\u00a0 (They\u2019ll write something like, \u201cThe word _______ on line 7 most likely means which of the following.\u201d)\u00a0 The words they ask will have multiple meanings, so be careful when answering these questions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Tips for scoring well:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Read the passage first!\u00a0 Our first instinct is to read the question and then look for the answer.\u00a0 Don\u2019t do this, though.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be asked multiple questions about each reading passage, both short and long.\u00a0 If you read the first question, you may not focus on gaining a general understanding of the passage, something that\u2019s important for doing well on the reading comprehension portion of the GRE.\u00a0 Remember that this is a timed test, too.\u00a0 By thoroughly and carefully reading the passage first, you should cut down the amount of time you\u2019ll have to re-read the passage.<\/li>\n
    2. Take notes!\u00a0 You\u2019re given plenty of scrap paper for the test, so don\u2019t be afraid to take notes.\u00a0 Make an outline of the topics covered in the reading passage, thus making it much easier for you to find topics when you return to them later.\u00a0 Making an outline will also help you if you\u2019re asked to identify the structure of ideas in a reading passage.<\/li>\n
    3. If you\u2019re asked to define a vocabulary word, be sure you read the three lines before and after the line in which that vocabulary word appears.\u00a0 Remember that many words have multiple meanings.\u00a0 To be sure you have the correct definition, or to pick up context clues if you don\u2019t know the word\u2019s definition, reading an extra sentence or two will ensure you choose the correct answer.<\/li>\n
    4. Don\u2019t be overly concerned with details and specifics when you first read the text.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to memorize anything!\u00a0 If you read the passage for a general understanding of its purpose and structure, you\u2019ll more than likely be able to go back and find specifics if they\u2019re asked.<\/li>\n
    5. Don\u2019t get hung up on vocabulary that you don\u2019t know the meaning of when first reading the text (that is, unless it could totally alter the purpose of an entire passage).\u00a0 Once again, you\u2019re being timed, so it\u2019s important to be able to brush off anything confusing.\u00a0 Chances are you could be asked the definition of this specific word, but you might not be.<\/li>\n
    6. Be aware of the common ploys, or tricks, that test-makers will try to confuse you with:\n
        \n
      • Answer choices with details from the passage that are not relevant to the question being asked.\u00a0 The test-makers are seeing if you read the question carefully, throwing in options that could be the right response, that is, if the question was different!<\/li>\n
      • Answer choices that present the opinions of others, even as outlined by the passage\u2019s author, as the correct choice.\u00a0 In other words, the author of the passage may refute the point of view of others.\u00a0 Test-makers will oftentimes put these refuted points of view as answer choices.\u00a0 Make sure you don\u2019t get confused and pick them by accident.<\/li>\n
      • Answer choices with information not provided in the passage.\u00a0 Although this sounds like an easy test-making trick to avoid, these answers are sometimes tempting because they may even sound like something the passage\u2019s author would support.\u00a0 Or, it may seem like you overlooked a detail.\u00a0 This is why reading the passage carefully the first time is extremely important.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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        Reading comprehension questions on the\u00a0GRE\u00a0will ask you various details about long and short written passages.\u00a0 For many people, the reading comprehension is the part of the test that they fear the most.\u00a0 So you know what to expect on the reading comprehension portion of the test, look below to see the different types of questions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30709,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[68],"tags":[69,281,282,279],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33915,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30704\/revisions\/33915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}