English Multiple Choice Tricks
Verbal Reading Comprehension Critical Reasoning: Know the Common Traps
Critical Reasoning: Know the Common Traps In Critical Reasoning, the common traps tend to be specific to the problem sub-types. The four major types are: Find the Assumption, Draw a Conclusion, Strengthen the Conclusion, and Weaken the Conclusion. On Find the Assumption, Strengthen, or Weaken types, the right answer needs to be connected to the conclusion in some way. Wrong answers are sometimes not tied to the conclusion at all. If you're debating between two choices and one is tougher to connect to the conclusion, don't guess that one. On Draw a Conclusion, wrong answers will often go too far - they will go beyond the scope of what we can reasonably conclude from the given information. If you are debating between two choices and have to guess, choose the one that doesn't go as far from the premises given in the argument.
SMART TIPS FOR THE TEXT COMPLETION QUESTIONS.
Do not merely try to consider each possible combination of answers; doing so will take too long and is open to error. Instead, try to analyze the passage in the following way: Read through the passage to get an overall sense of it. Identify words or phrases that seem particularly significant, either because they emphasize the structure of the passage (words like although or moreover) or because they are central to understanding what the passage is about. Try to fill in the blanks with words or phrases that seem to complete the sentence, then see if similar words are offered among the answer choices. Do not assume that the first blank is the one that should be filled first; perhaps one of the other blanks is easier to fill first. Select your choice for that blank, and then see whether you can complete another blank. If none of the choices for the other blank seem to make sense, go back and reconsider your first selection. When you have made your selection for each blank, check to make sure the passage is logically, grammatically and stylistically coherent.
SMART TIPS FOR THE SENTENCE EQUIVALENCE SECTION
Do not simply look among the answer choices for two words that mean the same thing. This can be misleading for two reasons. First, the answer choices may contain pairs of words that mean the same thing but do not fit coherently into the sentence. Second, the pair of words that do constitute the correct answer may not mean exactly the same thing, since all that matters is that the resultant sentences mean the same thing. Read the sentence to get an overall sense of it. Identify words or phrases that seem particularly significant, either because they emphasize the structure of the sentence (words like although or moreover) or because they are central to understanding what the sentence is about. Try to fill in the blank with a word that seems appropriate to you and then see if two similar words are offered among the answer choices. If you find some word that is similar to what you are expecting but cannot find a second one, do not become fixated on your interpretation; instead, see whether there are other words among the answer choices that can be used to fill the blank coherently. When you have selected your pair of answer choices, check to make sure that each one produces a sentence that is logically, grammatically and stylistically coherent, and that the two sentences mean the same thing.
FOR "SELECT ONE OR MORE ANSWER CHOICES" QUESTIONS, CONSIDER EACH CHOICE SEPARATELY.
For some of the reading comprehension questions, you will have to choose one, two, or three of the answers. This format can lead you to second-guess yourself more than with a typical multiple-choice question where you can eliminate choices decisively. To avoid these issues, consider each choice separately and only select it if you feel that it could be the only correct answer to the question.
AVOID EXTREME ANSWERS.
Generally, if an answer choice sounds very extreme in tone, it's not the best choice. Be wary of answers that use words like never, always, completely, etc. There's usually an exception to the rule
USE CONTEXT TO HELP YOU.
If a question asks about a particular line, don't go back in to the passage and read just that line. A good rule of thumb is to read at least 2 sentences before and after the line in question. This will give you an idea of where the point started and where the author is going with it.
Verbal Reading Comprehension: Know the Common Traps
In Reading Comprehension, again, the common traps tend to be specific to the problem sub-types. On General (main idea) type questions, the wrong answers will often be either too specific or too broad; if you have to guess, pick a "middle of the road" type answer. Extreme words are often included in wrong answers. On Inference questions, wrong answers will often go too far (much like wrong answers on CR Draw a Conclusion questions). Choose an answer that doesn't stray as far from the text of the passage. Wrong answers may be what we call "plausible in the real world" but not addressed by the passage. If you read something and think, "Hey, that's probably true!" but realize you think that because of your own knowledge of the world, not something you read in the passage... don't guess that one. On Specific questions (both inference and look-up) beware of the "mix-up" trap. If the answer choice includes language directly from the passage, but that language is found in two or more separate paragraphs in the passage, then the answer is more likely to be a trap.
DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS.
Inferring and assuming are not the same thing. When you infer, you make an inference based on the information in the passage. When you assume, you make an assumption that brings in outside information or biases and is not based solely on the given passage. An assumption may seem valid, but if you can't back it up with statements from the passage, it's probably best to stay away from it.
UNDERLINE AND TAKE NOTES AS YOU READ.
Read the passage actively. Underline key words or sentences that contain the main idea. Jot down any notes, probably just a word or two, that you think might help you. If the author is taking a side on a certain issue, write a positive or negative sign next to the passage to remind yourself later what his or her position is.
REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE QUESTION IS ASKING
Reading comprehension questions have the most "gray area" of any question type. Some people skim through the question, not really understanding what it is specifically asking, start reading the answer choices, and pick the first one that sounds true. This is not a good strategy - many times more than one answer choice will ring true or partially true with the passage, but only one will specifically and best answer that particular question.
Verbal Reading Comprehension Sentence Correction: Play the Odds on Certain Splits
Sentence Correction: Play the Odds on Certain Splits There are certain pairs of differences, or splits, in the answer choices that more often resolve one way than the other (more often - not always). If you know what these are and you have to make a guess, then you can "play the odds" by guessing the variation that is more often correct. For instance, in a split between "like" and "such as," the phrase "such as" is more likely to appear in the correct answer. (This is because people often make the mistake of using "like" when they actually should use "such as," so the trap is to think that "like" is okay to use in place of "such as.") In a split between "rather than" and "instead of," "rather than" is more likely to appear in the correct answer. When you're studying and see a split that you've seen before, ask yourself: does this tend to go one way more than the other? If so, why? (There should be a good reason, like the reason I described above for "like" versus "such as.")
SAVE UNFAMILIAR PASSAGES FOR LAST.
The GRE passages will cover a variety of subjects, from history to science to literature. Like with any question type, do the questions that are easier first and save the harder ones for last. Each question is worth the same amount, so you don't want to waste a big chunk of time on a passage with a few questions when you could answer twice as many questions on easier passages. If science passages are confusing to you, come back to that one after you've completed the rest. The great thing about the GRE is that it lets you skip around within a section, so use this to your advantage.
FOCUS ON THE OPENING AND CLOSING PARAGRAPHS OF LONGER PASSAGES.
The majority of the passages you will encounter on the reading comprehension questions of the GRE will be shorter, but one or two will be longer. If you are running out of time, read the opening and closing paragraphs and skim the middle. The first and last paragraphs contain the passage's main idea in most passages. You can go back and read body paragraphs more carefully as questions call for it.
DO NOT BRING IN OUTSIDE KNOWLEDGE.
You are not required to have any outside knowledge for the reading comprehension passages, so check any you have at the door. Your own biases might actually hurt you when answering the questions, especially if it is an opinion passage.
NOTE HOW VOCABULARY IS USED IN THE SENTENCE.
You will come across some "vocabulary in context" questions where you will be given possible definitions of a vocabulary word in the passage. There may be more than one answer choice that gives a correct definition for the vocabulary word, but only one choice will fit the word in this particular context. Notice how the word is used in the sentence, and plug in the answer choices to see which one works best.
