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Verbal Reasoning Section

Read, Understand, Evaluate and Correct Written Material 

The Verbal Reasoning section of the GMAT exam measures your ability to read and comprehend written material, reason and evaluate arguments, and correct material to express ideas effectively in standard written English. It consists of 36 multiple-choice questions. You will have 65 minutes to complete it.

Three Types of Questions in the Verbal Section

There are three types of questions in the Verbal Section: Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, and Sentence Correction. Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning questions have sub-types that are designed to test specific verbal skills.

You will not need specialized knowledge of the subject matter to answer the questions.

Reading Comprehension

  • Measures your ability to understand words and statements, understand logical relationships between significant points, draw inferences, and follow the development of quantitative concepts. Specifically, the following reading skills will be tested: main idea, supporting idea, inference, application, logical structure, and style.
  • Each Reading Comprehension passage comes with questions that ask you to interpret material, draw inferences or apply to a further context. The passages discuss topics including social sciences and humanities, physical and biological sciences, or a business-related field.

Critical Reasoning

  • Measures your ability to make arguments, evaluate arguments, and formulate or evaluate a plan of action.
  • Critical Reasoning questions are based on a short reading passage, usually fewer than 100 words. Typically, the short text comes with a question that asks you which of the five answer options strengthens or weakens an argument, tells why the argument is flawed, or strongly supports or damages the argument.

Sentence Correction

  • Measures two broad aspects of your language proficiency. First, correct expression, referring to sentences that are grammatically and structurally sound. Second, effective expression, referring to sentences that effectively express an idea or relationship clearly, concisely, and grammatically.
  • Each Sentence Correction question presents a sentence, part or all of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined part. Paying attention to grammar, word choice and sentence construction, you must choose the answer that produces the most effective sentence.

Test Your Verbal Skills

Sample Reading Comprehension Question







(A) Specific ways to evaluate the biases of United States history textbooks
(B) The centrality of the teacher's role in United States history courses
(C) Nontraditional methods of teaching United States history
(D) The contributions of European immigrants to the development of the United States
(E) Ways in which parents influence children's political attitudes 

Answer: (A)

Sample Critical Reasoning Question







Answer: (C)

Sample Sentence Correction Question






(A) cost associated with
(B) costs associated with
(C) costs arising from
(D) cost of
(E) costs of

Answer: (B)





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