GMAT Verbal Preparation: Top 10 Strategies to Boost Your Score

Putting on your thinking hats for the GMAT Verbal section is an important step in your journey toward achieving a competitive score on the exam. This section evaluates your ability to read critically, think analytically, and communicate effectively. These skills are not only essential for success on the GMAT but also vital in any business environment. With a diverse range of question types, understanding the nuances of each category is key to developing a solid preparation strategy.

With this blog, we will explore the best practices and strategies to amp up your performance in the GMAT Verbal section.

Key Highlights: 

• Read newspapers and magazines regularly to get used to complex language and simplify difficult words in GMAT questions.
• Eliminate wrong answers first and make sure you know grammar rules to answer confidently.
• Focus on Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning to improve your analytical skills.
• Spend about 2 minutes on each question and practice with official GMAT materials to improve speed and accuracy.

Verbal reasoning isn’t just about understanding words, it's about decoding logic, identifying patterns, and drawing conclusions under time pressure. Whether you’re prepping for a competitive exam, advancing your career, or simply boosting your cognitive skills, mastering verbal reasoning can set you apart. Here are 10 expert strategies to sharpen your comprehension, analyse information critically, and attempt every question with ease:

#1: Understand the Question Types

The Verbal Reasoning section of the GMAT comprises of Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning. Recognising the specific demands of each type is crucial for effective preparation. 

Reading Comprehension questions assess your ability to understand, analyse, and interpret written passages. You will encounter both direct questions requiring specific information and inferential questions that demand deeper analysis. 

Critical Reasoning questions evaluate your analytical reasoning skills, requiring you to analyse arguments, identify assumptions, and evaluate the strength of conclusions based on the given premises.

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#2: Read Actively and Intentionally 

Active reading is essential for tackling the GMAT Verbal section effectively. Engaging with the text beyond mere comprehension involves summarising key points after each paragraph. 

When reading a passage about climate change, you could note that the author discusses the impact on agriculture, highlighting decreased crop yields. This method reinforces your understanding and memory of the content.

To practice, try underlining key phrases or jotting down brief notes in the margins as you read. This technique allows for interaction with the material and enhances retention. If a passage states, "Climate change is leading to more extreme weather events," underlining "extreme weather events" and noting their effects on ecosystems will deepen your engagement with the text.

#3: Skim for Key Information

Developing effective skimming skills is crucial for quickly identifying key information in longer passages. When skimming, focus on topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph, which often convey the main ideas. 

In a passage discussing economic policies, look for statements like, "The new policy aims to increase job growth," which provide immediate insight into the passage's focus.

Pay attention to transition words, as they signal important shifts in arguments. The word "however" might indicate a counterargument, prompting you to concentrate on that section. A statement such as, "While economic growth is beneficial, it can lead to increased inequality," signals a change in perspective that merits closer examination.

#4: Toss Out Incorrect Answers

The process of elimination helps narrow down answer choices and increases your chances of selecting the correct one. 

If you encounter choices like "The committee decide" and "The committee decides," you can confidently discard the first option due to the subject-verb agreement error.

In Critical Reasoning, if a question states, "Which of the following strengthens the argument?" and one option presents an unrelated fact, it can be discarded immediately. 

#5: Be a Grammar Nazi!

A thorough understanding of English grammar is vital. Key concepts to master include subject-verb agreement, parallelism, and modifiers. 

With subject-verb agreement, the correct structure would be, "Neither the committee nor the members were present," showcasing the agreement between the subject and verb. Understanding parallelism is crucial in phrases such as, "To win the race, the athlete must train diligently and consistently," where both actions are presented equally.

Modifiers can lead to confusion if not correctly placed. A sentence like, "Running down the street, the dog chased the cat," incorrectly implies that the dog is the one running. The correct phrasing would clarify the subject: "The dog chased the cat while running down the street."

#6: Use Critical Reasoning Techniques

Critical Reasoning questions require you to dissect arguments and evaluate their validity. When confronted with an argument stating, "More exercise leads to better health; therefore, all exercise is beneficial.

It's essential to identify the assumption that all forms of exercise are equally effective. Recognising such assumptions is crucial for answering questions about strengthening or weakening an argument.

Engaging with various argument structures and familiarising yourself with common logical fallacies, such as ad hominem or slippery slope fallacies, is beneficial. A statement like, "If we allow students to redo tests, soon they will expect to redo all their assignments," illustrates the slippery slope fallacy, assuming one change will lead to extreme outcomes.

#7: Create a Strategy for Reading Comprehension Passages

A structured approach to reading comprehension enhances your ability to analyse passages and respond to questions. Before reading a passage, preview the questions to know what details to focus on. 

When a question asks about the author’s attitude, you should pay special attention to tone indicators within the passage, such as words that convey emotions or strong opinions. After completing the passage, reviewing your notes can refresh your memory before answering questions. 

If a passage discusses the effects of pollution, summarising that "the author is concerned about public health and advocates for policy changes" can assist in addressing questions about the author's perspective.

#8: Time is Everything 

Effective time management is crucial during the GMAT, especially in the Verbal Reasoning section. Practising pacing is vital to allocate enough time for all questions while maintaining accuracy. 

Aim to spend about two minutes on each reading comprehension question to ensure sufficient time for the entire section.

While taking the GMAT mocks, monitor your clock to build familiarity with pacing. Setting a timer for each question type and gradually decreasing the allotted time as you become more proficient will help solidify your time management skills.

#9: Review and Learn

After practice tests or quizzes, reviewing your incorrect answers is essential for understanding your weaknesses and improving over time.

If you frequently miss inference questions in reading comprehension, focusing on similar questions can enhance your skills. Analysing the reasoning behind both correct and incorrect answers allows you to identify recurring themes in your mistakes.

If misinterpretation of the main idea of a passage is common, practising summarising passages in your own words before answering questions can clarify your understanding. This not only reinforces your ability to extract key points but also improves overall comprehension.

#10: Use Official GMAT Resources

Finally, using official GMAT practice materials is vital, as they accurately reflect the GMAT test's format and question styles. Engaging with these resources ensures that you are well-prepared, providing a solid foundation for your study plan.

The GMAT Official Guide contains real questions with detailed explanations that clarify the rationale behind correct answers. 

The GMATPrep Software offers free practice exams that simulate the test environment, allowing you to build familiarity and confidence. The software tracks your progress and highlights areas needing improvement, enabling targeted practice that enhances your overall performance.

Suggested: GMAT Previous Year Papers

How To Prepare for GMAT Verbal?

Learn the most advantageous approach to each verbal reasoning question type with these GMAT verbal preparation tips to enhance your score in the verbal reasoning section.

1. Develop a Habit Of Reading

From the very beginning of your GMAT verbal reasoning section preparation, you must start reading newspapers and magazines. Get familiarised with the sophisticated English language present in the GMAT by reading The Economist, Outlook, India Today, National Geographic and Business Standard.

2. Simplify the Language Given In The Questions

If you go through the sample GMAT questions for the verbal reasoning section, you will notice that the English language used is very proper and sophisticated. You may get confused at first while reading through the given passages. The only way to avoid this is to simplify the difficult words and sentences in an understandable manner.

3. Read The Questions Properly

The questions asked in the verbal reasoning section contain long and short paragraphs. To determine the main idea conveyed through the passage and draw inference from it, you must read the passage slowly and carefully. Take notes for every important fact mentioned in the paragraph.

4. Use The Process Of Elimination

While going through the answer choices for a particular question, use the process of elimination to determine the correct answer. Read all the answer choices carefully and repetitively to identify and eliminate the wrong answers first. Then you will be able to choose the correct answer more confidently. 

Do’s & Don'ts to Remember During GMAT Verbal Preparation

While customising your GMAT verbal preparation study plan, you must keep certain important GMAT do’s and don’ts in mind. These do’s and don’ts will help you understand ‘how to study for GMAT verbal section’ effectively.

Do's 

• Learn 20 - 30 new words daily with their proper meaning and usage.
• Make a proper study plan to develop the best GMAT verbal preparation strategy.
• Make your own vocabulary flashcards to remember the newly learnt words.
• Keep a record of time you need to complete a full GMAT verbal mock test.

Dont's

• Memorise new words without learning their meanings and usage in sentence.
• Randomly follow any GMAT study plan without proper guidance.
• Keep your doubts unresolved and ignore your weaknesses.
• Ponder over the questions you are finding difficult to answer.

From the Desk of Yocket

It is always advised to start your GMAT preparation as early as possible. Keep at least 1 to 3 months’ time in hand to cover the GMAT syllabus thoroughly and understand the exam pattern precisely. If you’re having doubts regarding the other 3 sections of the GMAT? Get in touch with our Yocket Prep to know everything about the GMAT exam, thorough prep resources, and other required information.