Text Completion
Within all text completions provided within the GRE, there is always a...
clue presented within the sentence to help you identify the type of word that can complete the sentence.
The clues that will aide you in solving text completions or sentence equivalencies will normally come in the form of ..
details that elaborate or clarify the main idea or argument. Or descriptors that come in the form of key words and key phrases.
Normally the missing word in the sentence will have a direct relationship to..
key words and phrases in the sentence
Remember to base your answer choice soley on the information and evidence presented to you in the sentence. Do not let ...
outside knowledge direct your answer choice.
A semi colon (;) is also used as a way to ...
show a continuous flow of a sentence, where it indicates a close connection between two clauses. Use a semicolon between two independent clauses that are connected by conjunctive adverbs or transitional phrases. Use a semicolon to link two independent clauses that connect closely related ideas .When a semicolon is used to join two or more ideas (parts) in a sentence, those ideas are then given equal position or rank. Ex: "Some people write with a word processor; others write with a pen or pencil." "There are basically two ways to write: with a pen or pencil, which is inexpensive and easily accessible; or by computer and printer, which is more expensive but quick and neat."
These are the recommended steps for solving a sentence completion...
1. Read the entire sentence completely. 2. search for the clue that reveals what the missing word might be. 3. Fill in the blank with your own word. 4. Look through the answer choices and find the word that closely matches your own word. 5. Reread the sentence with the selected word to be sure the sentence reads well and makes sense.
The strategies used to solve one blank sentence completion, can also be used to solve ...
2 and 3 text completion and Sentence Equivalency.
Key words that help the sentence flow in a continuous direction, where one part of the sentence elaborates upon or supports the other part, include ...
And, Since, Also, Thus, Because, Likewise, Moreover, Similarly, In addition. Consequently, In fact, Indeed, So , Just as ... so too, not only, but also.
Keywords that change the direction of a sentence, where one part of the sentence contradicts or qualify another part, include ...
But, Despite, Yet, However, Unless, Rather, Although, While, On the other hand, Unfortunately, Nonetheless, Conversely.
Why is a hyphen (-) used ..
The dash can be used in place of a colon when you want to emphasize the conclusion of your sentence. The dash is less formal than the colon. Ex: After months of deliberation, the jurors reached a unanimous verdict—guilty. The white sand, the warm water, the sparkling sun—this is what brought them to Hawaii.
Why is a Colon (:) used ...
The most important thing to remember about colons is that you only use them after statements that are complete sentences. Never use a colon after a sentence fragment. For example, it's correct to say, "Grammar Girl has two favorite hobbies: watching clouds and seeing how long she can stand on one foot. Use a colon to introduce an item or a series of items that clarifies the previously stated independent clause . Do not capitalize the first item after the colon (unless it's a proper noun). A colon means "that is to say" or "here's what I mean." Colons and semicolons should never be used interchangeably. Example: (You may be required to bring many things: sleeping bags, pans, utensils, and warm clothing.)
In the medium section, it seems the words get more difficult, but the sentences structures are still the same. As a result you simply need to locate the key clues in the sentence to figure out what is missing. Then when trying to pick the word for blank, go through the process of elimination, using ...
all tricks such as feelings, definition, parts of speech, suffix and prefixes and sentence flow.
When you are stuck between two choices, use ...
any and all methods to help you make the correct choice. Employ the use of Latin, parts of speech and sentence construction.
If you are struggling to decipher the meaning of a word use, try to break the word ...
apart into its prefix, root, and suffix. By looking at it in pieces like this, you may be able to quickly see its definition or identify similarities to other words you know. Remember that there are no such thing as difficult words, the GRE just adds prefix and suffixes to intentionally confuse you.
Practice: Some GRE Text Completion will use Metaphors as clues to help you identify the missing words. In a situation such as this you must understand how the metaphor ...
as a whole in order to understand how the word can relate to it. For example, relating CEO's and social media followers to the Mesiah and Disciples brings about a religious meaning.
To quickly find the answer of a text completion, you will need to understand the main idea and flow of the provided text. To understand the main idea, you need to ...
break the sentence down by identifying the key words, context and
Within text Completion, never pick an answer choice because it kind of works, rather pick an answer choice because ...
by definition it does work.
When analyzing a sentence, take note of the time, ...
dates, adjectives and any other details.
Within text completions, you must make a word selection based on ...
definition of the word, not based on possibilities of variations with the word use. For example Although a "Motivator" can be encouraging and very pushy or borderline aggressive, you cannot say the word "motivator" can be substituted for the word "Disciplinarian". Which is someone who is tough and disciplines. A "Martinet" by clear definition is good substitute for "Disciplinarian"
Often times, difficult sentences has more to do with difficult words, rather than ...
difficult main ideas. As long as you understand the main idea of the sentence, you can use that to inform you what the difficult words mean, which will lead you to the correct answer choice.
When reading sentences, take note of all adjectives and descriptive phrases used in the sentence. Often times the word you are searching to find is simply an ...
elaboration of the previously stated adjective or description.
Within text completions, when you do not clearly see an answer choice that does not clearly matches your choice, you can use the process of ..
elimination. The answer choice that matches your word, could be a word you have never seen nor used before. However if you can eliminate the other choices based on definition, then you can go ahead and select the unknown word choice.
Within the text completion problems, the word you select must complete the ...
entire sentence, and cause the sentence to flow nicely. Be aware, the GRE will purposely provide words in the answer choices that are the direct opposite of the correct word to tempt you. So make sure you understand the main idea of each sentence.
When dealing with any form of text completions, always take note of any extreme words used within the sentence. The use of extreme words will mean that you need to find a word that ...
equals in its level of being extreme.
If time has passed and you still cannot figure out the meaning of the word, then you should...
ignore the word and simply focus on the word that you do know. Often times the one word that this difficult to understand has a minor bearing on understanding the idea of the sentence.
Within the text completion section, if you cannot predict your own word to fit the blank due to the vagueness of the sentence, you can ...
look at the answer choices and find an answer choice that matches your key words & descriptors from the main sentence. ( Remember you should read the entire sentence before doing this)
Even if you find an answer choice that matches the word you made up when reading the sentence, still ...
look through all of the answer choices.
When you are confronted with long or verbose sentences on the text completion, be advised that the clues ...
may be scattered throughout the sentence as opposed to isolated and centralized in short sentences.
The GRE does not want you to make sense of every individual word within a complex sentence, rather you need to eliminate the verbage, which includes ...
names, facts and figures. Find the clues/details and then match your word choice with the corresponding answer choice.
When all else fails, and you do not understand several words in the sentence and you cannot come up with your own word, then you may have to simply ...
plug each answer choice back into the sentence in an effort to find the one that works in the context of the entire sentence.
Within all text completions , when you first read the sentence, use the key words you have found that are relevant to the blank to try and ...
predict your own word to complete the sentence. It does not need to be an actual word, it can simply be a paraphrased idea.
The quickest way to get a question wrong on a text completion is to ...
read the answer choices prior to predicting your own word after reading the sentence carefully.
When you are confronted with long or verbose sentences on the text completion, it may be easier to ...
read the sentence, break it down or take it apart, and rephrase it into your own simple and short words.
Often times but not all times, when quotation marks are used in a sentence, it is the author's way of using ...
sarcasm. Ex:The quotation marks around the word successful ("successful") indicate that the author does not think Farminghouse is actually a successful novelist.
READ THE DIRECTIONS FIRST, to see if you need to select one word, or two because its a ...
sentence equivalency. When you have to select more than one answer there will be a box next to the answer choice.
Within text completions, the author will use structural key words to signal connections between ideas, and determine ...
the direction of the relationship. (Straight-ahead road signs)
The purpose of the text completion section is to test your ability to read critically- to recognize ..
the point of the sentence and find the best word(s) to fits its meaning.
When you come across a difficult GRE word, if you cannot decipher its meaning, then it may be easier to just ...
understand its connotation. Try to figure out whether the word is positive or negative based on the context of the sentence. Understanding the difficult word's connotation maybe all you need to help you in identifying the missing word.
