A common question regarding the GRE is how to improve on Reading Comp. Whether our problem is speed, comprehending the passages, or — a common complaint — narrowing the choices down to two and then picking the wrong one, RC difficulties are widespread (that is, ubiquitous).

Here’s my advice to a student’s question in the Forums:

The first thing to say is: You really do just have to read and think very fast to get a top score on the verbal GRE. To truly learn to read and process complex information more quickly could take a person years. Obviously, we don’t usually have that kind of time to prepare for the GRE. But for whatever reason, speed-comprehension is a skill being tested on this exam.

So, if speed is a serious problem, you might have to accept that you won’t really get to REALLY answer all the questions — you might want to answer all the vocab questions first, since they’re faster, and then go back and do all the shorter reading passages, leaving the longer passages for last. If you skip something, use the “mark” button, and pick a random answer just in case you don’t get a chance to come back.

(See also: Everything You Need to Know About GRE Time Management Part I and Part II.)

As for taking notes, personally I do not take notes when the passage is on a topic with which I am familiar. But if the passage is complex (usually science passages are, to me), I diagram, and even draw certain processes (for instance, I did a lovely sketch of spiral galaxy formation on one passage, with words and arrows indicating the meaning of that part of the passage). I also always diagram is a contrast is being presented so i can make a T-chart to help me keep track of which historians/scientists/etc. are on which “side.”

I also find that reading many, many GRE passages (you can also practice on books for the old GRE — the Reading Comp is basically the same — or on materials for the LSAT or GMAT) familiarizes you with certain topics and structures. I now know more about astronomy than I ever thought I would, and when I begin reading something about history, I’m always expecting the same evidence to get reinterpreted in a new light (I’d say I’ve become very familiar with the idea that historical and anthropological evidence is often interpreted by historians and anthropologists through the lens of their own time and culture).

An example — I was recently working with a student on a long, hard RC passage about a particular type of fish, and how it had evolved to have both its eyes on the same side of its head (and then there was a long description of the twisting of the optic nerves), and how these fish in some parts of the ocean have their eyes on the left side of their heads, and in other parts, on the right side. The passage investigated what the evolutionary advantage could be to having both of one’s eyes on the left side versus the right side. (A good question! What on earth COULD be the advantage to such an adaptation? Do sharks always attack from the left or something? Ha.)
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Harder quant questions combine two different areas of math, and that’s what we’re going to take a look at today.

First, try this problem (© Manhattan Prep) from our Geometry lesson during class 5.

If 2m + 20 > 100, which of the following could be the value of n?
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Each week, we post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for two free Manhattan Prep GRE Strategy Guides.

Quantity A

The number of different ways all 9 letters in the word TENNESSEE can be arranged.

Quantity B

The number of different ways all 7 letters in the word WYOMING can be arranged.

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The verbal portion of the GRE presents many opportunities to test us on our understanding of idiomatic language. Such language can come in the form of expressions or constructions that mean something different than what the individual words might mean on their own. Alternatively, we may be looking at a secondary or more rare definition of a word. This kind of language can be tested both on vocab questions (text completion and sentence equivalence) and on reading comprehension.

First, try this problem (© Manhattan Prep). Select the answer choice that most closely represents the meaning of the original sentence.

The experiment only looks like a success.

(A) It is not possible to see the experiment as anything other than a success.

(B) The experiment might be successful, but we don’t know for sure.

(C) The experiment has the appearance of a success, but really is a failure.

Have you picked your choice? Great, let’s talk about it!

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Take a sneak peek into Manhattan Prep’s 500 Essential Words and 500 Advanced Words GRE flashcard sets!

Turns out, metaphysical doesn’t just mean “really deep, man.” And let’s not even talk about ontological and empirical. Check it out:

Want to adopt 1,000 new flashcards? Visit our store here.

Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.

If you have been prepping for the GRE, flash cards, prep books, and practice problems have probably become your closest companions. Being the ambitious studier that you are, you may find yourself feeling a strong sense of guilt if you stray from your prep plan to take a leisurely break. Fortunately, we have a simple, guilt-free activity that is both enjoyable and helpful in prepping for the GRE: Reading! Because you (hopefully) keep up with the standard stock list (The New York Times, The Economist, National Geographic, etc.), we have compiled a list of fresh reading material, compliments of our very own GRE instructors, that combines a plethora of GRE words with beguiling storylines. Plus, now that it’s finally summertime, what better way to fill your study breaks than to lay out in the warm sun with a great novel in hand?

Recommendations from Stacey Koprince:

The Source by James Michener: The book chronicles an archaeological dig in Israel, hopping back and forth in time, sometimes telling the story of a certain artifact, and sometimes returning to the present to talk about modern day political and social issues (set in 1960s).

The Eighth Day by Thornton Wilder: A renowned 1967 National Book Award-winning novel that is a murder mystery and philosophical novel all in one.

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Check out some of these great articles that we have gathered from the month of June!

I Have a Low GPA: Should I Apply to Grad School? (About’s Grad School Guide)
About’s Grad School Guide considers all of elements of the graduate school application and answers the tough question of whether to apply to competitive schools with a low GPA.

Negotiate 7 Graduate School Pitfalls (U.S. News Education)
Read up on how to respond to unwelcomed grad school situations such as having a difficult professor, less-than-ideal student service, cheating classmates, and unfair grades.

How Writing A Science Blog Saved my PhD (Next Scientist)
A young scientist shares his grad school experiences and explains how blogging helped him to not give up on his PhD.

To Stay on Schedule, Take a Break (The New York Times)
Are you spending hours and hours at a time prepping for the GRE? The New York Times shares why breaks are necessary to recharge your internal resources.

Why the Admission Essay Shouldn’t Drive You Insane (Grad Share)
This post from Grad Share offers some great information about graduate school admission essays as well as tips for how to make your essay standout.

Check out some of these great articles that we have gathered from the month of June!

I Have a Low GPA: Should I Apply to Grad School? (About’s Grad School Guide)
About’s Grad School Guide considers all of elements of the graduate school application and answers the tough question of whether to apply to competitive schools with a low GPA.

Negotiate 7 Graduate School Pitfalls (U.S. News Education)
Read up on how to respond to unwelcomed grad school situations such as having a difficult professor, less-than-ideal student service, cheating classmates, and unfair grades.

How Writing A Science Blog Saved my PhD (Next Scientist)
A young scientist shares his grad school experiences and explains how blogging helped him to not give up on his PhD.

To Stay on Schedule, Take a Break (The New York Times)
Are you spending hours and hours at a time prepping for the GRE? The New York Times shares why breaks are necessary to recharge your internal resources.

Why the Admission Essay Shouldn’t Drive You Insane (Grad Share)
This post from Grad Share offers some great information about graduate school admission essays as well as tips for how to make your essay standout.

During class 2 of our program, we teach a lesson entitled Math Refresher. I thought it would be fun to share one of the problems with you and talk through two things: (1) the actual algebra (real math) we would need to solve the problem, and (2) the standardized testing skills that allow us to solve the problem much more easily.

First, try this problem (© Manhattan Prep). Note: there are no multiple choice answers: you have to come up with a number on your own!

Sarita and Bob together contribute to the cost of a $40 gift. If Bob contributes $12 more than Sarita does, how much does Bob contribute?

How did you do it? Did you write some equations? Try out some numbers? Find some other cool shortcut?

On this one, the best approach is a very neat shortcut that I’m going to show you “ but only after I show you the actual algebra. It’s important to know how to do the algebra, just in case you don’t know or can’t find any good shortcuts.
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Mnemonics or mnemonic devices are memory tricks to help us remember things like vocabulary words. However, many mnemonics are pretty cheesy — often involving the kind of jokes some people call “groaners.” For instance…

Disingenuous means, “insincere; lacking in frankness or candor; falsely or hypocritically ingenuous.”

Here’s the mnemonic:

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