Success on the GRE’s Text Completion section can be easier to attain if you keep in mind some important points regarding vocabulary and strategy. Here, our experts walk you through some key tips and tricks.

Time keeps on ticking

You'll get approximately six Text Completion questions on your test; this means you should spend between ONE and TWO minutes on each question.

Don't panic and speed through the words, but if you're still staring at the question after three minutes have elapsed, cut your losses and move on.

Fill in the blank with a helpful phrase

Let's look at a sample question (from ETS) with one blank.

In parts of the Arctic, the land grades into the land-fast ice so _______ that you can walk off the coast and not know you are over the hidden sea.

  1. permanently
  2. imperceptibly
  3. irregularly
  4. precariously
  5. slightly

Now, we know the correct word is going to mean something like "so gradually that you don't know it's happening," so why not just use that phrase as your placeholder? Remember: no one will ever know how clever and/or silly your own replacement words or phrases may be! 

See how easy this technique makes it to eliminate choices A, C and D right away?

Now you're down to choices B or E, and this is where our next tip comes into play.

Beware the "obvious" answer

The test-makers want to trick you. See that "slightly" in the phrase we came up with? The test-makers know you're going to think of the phrase "slight grade" and that's why they’ve included choice E. But "slightly" doesn't mean "gradually," it means "a tiny bit."

Don’t forget your roots

What do the words "placate, " "complacent, " "placebo, " and "placid" have in common? They all come from the same root! 

"Plac" is Latin for "to please or make happy." So, even if we don't know the exact meaning of all the words, we know that they must have something to do with being happy or pleasing. Therefore, if we’re looking for a word with a sad connotation, we can eliminate anything with the root "plac. "

A whole new word

You remember affixes: they come at the beginning (prefixes) or the end (suffixes) of a root word, and they can change everything. Put "in" at the beginning of "competent" and the meaning becomes opposite, but put an "in" on flammable, and nothing changes. They can be tricky, so be careful!

Quick review:

  • Non-, im-, in-, un-, a- mean "not" and they negate the root.
  • Com-, em-, con- mean "with."
  • Circum- means "around."
  • Super- means "above."
  • Inter- means "between two groups."
  • Intra- means "within one group."

There are more, but these are some of the most popular in the English language.

Be cognizant of cognates

Cognates are words that resemble other words in different languages. Why do they resemble other words? Generally because they're related! This can be helpful if you're struggling to find the meaning of a word.

"Amicable" is an English word that means "friendly." It looks a lot like "amici" from Italian or "amigo" from Spanish because they're all descended from the same Latin root. "Desiccate" looks like the Spanish "desecar" (both words mean "to dry out") for the same reason.

Keep these tips and tricks in your arsenal and you’ll be well prepared to tackle Text Completion!

For additional help and tips, check out The Economist GRE Tutor. Try it for free for 7 days.