The Biggest Mistakes You Can Make in the GRE Verbal Section Sentence Equivalence Questions

Lets talk some GRE Verbal. Now, if youre studying for the GRE Verbal section, youre thinking about Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence as two major question types that you need to be ready for. And as youll see, you can talk about them in terms of the word vocabulary, because the right answers tend to be an individual word or a short phrase that is some kind of vocabulary   a word you need to know the meaning of and fit into the meaning of the sentence. Heres where students tend to study wrong, ineffectively, and inefficiently: they over-study their 500-word flash card decks (the most ridiculous and obscure words they can find). Yes, you do need to have a decent vocabulary to do well on these questions, but what these students  dont study enough as theyre chasing really strange words over and over again which they may only see three or four of on test day is knowing that, very often, these questions require you  to work. Continue reading or check out our video explanation of this concept below: Its not about knowing some memorized definition of a weird word often, the test will use  words you know, but you will need to work a little bit to figure out exactly what type of meaning you need in that sentence, and whether  that word youre looking at (a word you probably use in sentences every day, week, month, etc.) has the precise meaning you need in that particular space. Now lets take a look at this Sentence Equivalence example that will shed some light on what were talking about: While the cost of migrating to more automated piloting and air traffic control systems is substantial, the eventual cost savings are large enough that the up-front expenditures are not as ______ as opponents claim. Select the two choices that fit the meaning of the sentence and give the sentence the same meaning. (A) fiscal (B) imprudent (C) reasonable (D) excessive (E) massive (F) paltry Now, if you look at whats going on in this sentence, we have a contrast (and the word while sets this up). The sentence is saying that even though the cost is substantial   were agreeing this will cost a lot of money what youre going to save in the long run means that its not as *blank* (as big of a deal) as opponents claim. What tends to happen with this problem is people look for synonyms. They say, We think the cost is big, but maybe not as big as we once thought, so theyll look and see excessive and massive two words that in some way mean big.  Then theyll pick those answer choices and get this question wrong. Why are these choices wrong?  Its about a  little, subtle difference in meaning, and the Testmaker wants to reward those who pick up on it. The word massive means big, while the word excessive means too big. If you look at whats going on in the sentence, anytime theres a comma (or two sentences in one prompt), the part that is not near the blank space really does matter. This is a classic Think Like the Testmaker moment you should be thinking, Why did they put that part there? To reward those who are thinking of the meaning of  the whole sentence. Nobody is arguing that changing to automated piloting is not a big cost. Nobody is saying, Hey, while its big, actually  its not big. What they really want to say is, Hey, this is going to cost you a lot of money its a big expenditure up front but in the end, youre going to save enough money that its not too big of an investment or an unwise decision. So what you really want here is too big. Were not debating whether the expense is big or not; were only debating whether its a wise investment, or too much to spend up front. With this in mind, answer choice E, massive or big, is wrong, even though its really tempting. Imprudent, on the other hand, means impractical or too big, which is what were looking for. So the answers are B and D. Again, what this question really comes down to is that tiny, subtle difference between the meanings of words that you know. In this case, we want too big, so the test tries to hit you with a word that means big. Thats what we mean when we say you need to prepare to work on these questions. Its about understanding the meaning of the sentence as a whole, finding those subtle differences, and holding up the words youre putting in the blank and saying, Is that really the exact word I need, or are they just  overall related? As you study for the GRE Verbal section, you do want to have a good vocabulary, but dont let that come at the expense of your willingness to really go to work on subtle differences in meaning with words that you know. Want to jump-start your  GRE preparation? Register to attend one of our upcoming free online GRE Strategy Sessions or check out our variety of GRE Course and Private Tutoring options. And as always, be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter! By Brian Galvin.