GRE General Test Verbal Reasoning Syllabus

Describe the substitution strategy for Vocabulary-in-Context questions.

Cover the tested word, reread the sentence, and predict your own replacement word from context. Then substitute each answer choice into the sentence; the correct choice preserves the sentence's exact meaning and logic. Choices that are valid definitions of the word but distort the sentence are wrong.

In a GRE argument, what is a premise and what is a conclusion?

A premise is a statement offered as evidence or support—a fact, finding, or reason the author asks you to accept. The conclusion is the claim the author is trying to establish, which the premises are meant to support. The conclusion depends on the premises; the premises stand on their own.

Name common indicator words for premises and for conclusions.

Premise indicators: 'because,' 'since,' 'for,' 'given that,' 'as evidenced by.' Conclusion indicators: 'therefore,' 'thus,' 'hence,' 'consequently,' 'it follows that,' 'clearly.' Caution: the conclusion often appears first or without any indicator, so use the 'why test'—the conclusion is the claim supported by everything else.

What is the 'therefore test' (why test) for locating the conclusion of an argument?

Take two candidate statements and read them as 'A, therefore B' and 'B, therefore A.' Whichever ordering makes sense identifies the conclusion (the statement after 'therefore'). Equivalently, the conclusion is the statement for which asking 'why?' is answered by the other statements.

What is the general method for answering a Strengthen-the-Argument question on the GRE?

Identify the conclusion and premises, find the gap (assumption) between them, then pick the choice that closes that gap—by confirming the assumption, ruling out an alternative explanation, or adding independent evidence for the conclusion. The correct answer need not prove the conclusion, only make it more likely.

What is the most common way a correct answer weakens a causal GRE argument ('X causes Y')?

By presenting an alternative explanation: a third factor causes Y, reverse causation (Y causes X), or the X-Y correlation is coincidental or an artifact of the sample. Showing a case with X but no Y (or Y without X) also weakens the causal claim.

In strengthen/weaken questions, why can the correct answer introduce information not mentioned in the passage?

Unlike inference questions, strengthen/weaken answers are treated as new facts to be accepted as true; you judge their EFFECT on the argument, not their provability from the passage. New, seemingly out-of-scope information is often exactly what confirms or undermines the argument's hidden assumption.

What is an assumption in a GRE argument?

An unstated premise the argument requires: a piece of information that is not written in the argument but must be true for the conclusion to follow from the stated premises. It bridges the gap between evidence and conclusion.

Describe the negation test for GRE assumption questions.

Logically negate an answer choice and reinsert it into the argument. If the negated statement destroys the argument (the conclusion can no longer follow), the original choice is a necessary assumption and is correct. If the argument survives the negation, the choice is not required and is wrong.

Name three classic assumption patterns in GRE Critical Reasoning arguments.

1) Causal: the observed correlation reflects the claimed cause and no alternative cause or reverse causation is at work; 2) Sampling/representativeness: the studied group represents the population the conclusion generalizes to; 3) Plan/proposal: no other factor will prevent the plan from producing the intended result (and past conditions will continue to hold).

What does an Evaluate-the-Argument question ask, and what does the correct answer look like?

It asks which additional information would be most useful for judging whether the argument's conclusion is sound. The correct answer poses an issue (often phrased as a question or 'whether...' statement) whose two possible answers point in opposite directions—one would strengthen the argument and the other would weaken it. This is the 'variance test.'

What is the task in an Explain (resolve the discrepancy) question, and how do you approach it?

The stimulus presents two facts that seem to conflict, and you must choose the statement that allows BOTH facts to be true simultaneously. Accept both facts as true, look for a new piece of information reconciling them, and reject choices that explain only one fact or deepen the conflict.

What is the logical flaw in this argument: 'Every student surveyed at an elite university studies more than 40 hours a week; therefore, most college students nationwide study more than 40 hours a week'?

Unrepresentative sample (hasty/biased generalization): the argument generalizes from a sample (students at one elite university) that is unlikely to represent the broader population (all college students nationwide).

Define the correlation-causation flaw and the circular reasoning flaw as tested on the GRE.

Correlation-causation: concluding that X causes Y merely because X and Y occur together, ignoring reverse causation, a common third cause, or coincidence. Circular reasoning: the conclusion merely restates a premise in different words, so the argument assumes what it is trying to prove.

Name and define three additional logical flaws commonly tested on the GRE besides sampling and causal flaws.

1) False dichotomy: treating two options as the only possibilities when others exist; 2) Ad hominem: attacking the person or source instead of the argument's substance; 3) Equivocation/scope shift: a key term subtly changes meaning (or the conclusion covers a different group, time, or quantity) between the premises and the conclusion.

How do you approach a bold-faced (boldface) question about the roles of two highlighted statements?

First find the main conclusion of the whole argument, then classify each bold portion by its FUNCTION—main conclusion, intermediate conclusion, premise/evidence, opposing position, or concession—rather than by content. Check each answer choice's description of the first boldface before considering the second, eliminating any choice whose first half fails.

What distinguishes a paradox question stimulus from an ordinary argument stimulus?

A paradox stimulus contains no conclusion—only two facts in apparent tension (often signaled by 'yet,' 'surprisingly,' 'paradoxically'). Your job is not to strengthen or weaken anything but to select the fact that dissolves the tension while keeping both original statements true.

What is the format of a single-blank Text Completion question on the GRE?

A passage of one to five sentences with one blank and five answer choices, exactly one of which is correct. You must choose the word that best completes the passage's meaning; there is no credit for a 'close' synonym that breaks the logic.

What is the standard strategy for single-blank Text Completion?

Read the sentence ignoring the choices, find the clue (the phrase that dictates the blank's meaning) and the road-sign words (contrast: 'although,' 'despite'; continuation: 'and,' 'indeed'; cause: 'because'), predict your own word for the blank, then pick the choice closest to your prediction. Never plug in choices first—it invites trap answers that merely 'sound right.'

In Text Completion, how do 'same-direction' and 'opposite-direction' trigger words change the blank's relationship to the clue?

Same-direction triggers ('and,' 'moreover,' 'because,' 'in fact,' semicolons) mean the blank matches the clue's meaning/charge. Opposite-direction triggers ('but,' 'although,' 'despite,' 'however,' 'paradoxically') mean the blank contrasts with the clue. Identifying the trigger tells you whether to predict a synonym or an antonym of the clue.

How are double-blank Text Completion questions structured and scored?

The passage has two blanks, each with its own column of three choices; you select one choice per blank, giving $3 \times 3 = 9$ possible combinations. Credit is all-or-nothing: both blanks must be correct to earn the point, so the raw guessing probability is $\frac{1}{9}$.

What is the recommended order of attack for multi-blank Text Completion questions?

Do not automatically work left to right. Start with the blank that has the strongest, most direct clue (often the second or third blank), fill it, then use that established meaning as an additional clue for the remaining blank(s). Finally, reread the completed passage to confirm overall coherence.

How are triple-blank Text Completion questions structured, and what is the guessing probability?

A passage (typically two to five sentences) with three blanks, each offering three choices—$3 \times 3 \times 3 = 27$ combinations. All three blanks must be correct for credit, so blind guessing succeeds with probability $\frac{1}{27}$.

Why are triple-blank Text Completions considered high-risk time investments, and what pacing advice follows?

They take the longest of any verbal question yet are worth the same one point with all-or-nothing scoring across 27 combinations. Pacing advice: don't sink excessive time into them—make your best structured attempt (anchor on the easiest blank), select an answer for every blank (no penalty for wrong answers), mark for review, and move on.

What is the 'charge' (word polarity) elimination technique for GRE vocabulary questions?

Determine from context whether the blank needs a positive, negative, or neutral word, then eliminate all choices of the wrong charge—even ones you can't fully define. Knowing a word's emotional polarity is often enough to eliminate it, dramatically improving guessing odds.

In Sentence Equivalence, why should you eliminate any choice that has no synonym or near-synonym among the other five choices?

Because the two correct answers must both complete the sentence with equivalent overall meaning, a word with no meaning-partner in the list cannot be part of the correct pair. Grouping the six choices into synonym pairs (plus loners) quickly narrows the field—but the pair must also fit the sentence, since a decoy pair of synonyms that doesn't fit is a common trap.

Why is aggressive elimination mathematically valuable on GRE verbal questions?

There is no penalty for wrong answers, so you should always answer. On a 5-choice question, blind guessing gives $\frac{1}{5} = 20\%$; eliminating two wrong choices raises the odds to $\frac{1}{3} \approx 33\%$, and eliminating three raises them to $\frac{1}{2} = 50\%$. Partial knowledge (word charge, extreme wording, scope errors) converts directly into points.

What is the format and scoring rule of a GRE Sentence Equivalence question?

One sentence with one blank and six answer choices (square checkboxes); you must select exactly two words that BOTH complete the sentence sensibly AND produce sentences with equivalent overall meaning. Credit is all-or-nothing—both selections must be correct.

Why is 'find two dictionary synonyms' an incomplete strategy for Sentence Equivalence, and what is the real criterion?

The two correct words need not be perfect dictionary synonyms—they only need to give the completed sentence the same overall meaning; occasionally correct pairs are loose synonyms in that context. Conversely, a perfect synonym pair that doesn't fit the sentence's logic is wrong. The criterion is: both words fit the clue/trigger structure AND yield equivalent sentences.

Contrast Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence on the GRE across format, choices, and goal.

Text Completion: 1-5 sentences, 1-3 blanks, five choices (one blank) or three per blank (multi-blank), one correct selection per blank; goal is the word(s) best fitting the passage's meaning. Sentence Equivalence: always one sentence, one blank, six choices, exactly two correct answers; goal is two words producing coherent sentences alike in meaning. Both are all-or-nothing and both reward predicting the blank before viewing choices.