The GMAT Verbal section measures your ability to read and comprehend written material, to reason and evaluate arguments, and to correct written material to conform to standard written English. It is a multiple choice test. The verbal section comprises of 41 questions in all and the time limit is 75 minutes. Of the 41 questions, 11 are experimental. These experimental questions do not contribute towards your verbal score. However, the candidates cannot identify the experimental questions, which mean one has to treat all 41 questions with equal importance.

Your composite GMAT score is determined from a combination of your scores on the Math and Verbal section of the test. The composite GMAT score ranges from 200 to 800. However, the verbal and the quantitative section is graded separately and awarded raw score on a scale of 0 – 60. The awarding of the raw score takes into account the difficulty level of the question presented to you; how you answered and the number of question you have answered. Apart from the composite score (200-800), raw score (0-60) candidates are also awarded percentiles. A 95 percentile in Verbal means 95% of the candidates in the last four years have scored less than what you have score in Verbal. The average verbal score in GMAT is 27.

The verbal section comprises of three types of multiple choice questions.

Reading Comprehension – This section tests your ability to read, understand and interpret information given in a passage.
Critical Reasoning – This section tests your ability to logically evaluate and analyze a given passage based on the questions asked on the passage.
Sentence Correction – This section tests your ability to apply grammar rules in a sentence, spot grammatical and structural errors in a given sentence.

Sample Verbal Questions:

Sentence Correction

A Combined dash of realism and history, well-known journalist, poet and author, Mamang Dai has tried to bring the north east region into focus through her latest book, “The Legends of Pensam”.

1. A Combined dash of realism and history, well-known journalist, poet and author,
2. The Combined dash of realism and history, well-known journalist, poet and author,
3. Combining a dash of realism and history, well-known journalist, poet and author,
4. Combined with a dash of realism and history, well-known journalist, poet and author,
5. Combining dashes of realism with that of history, well-known journalist, poet and author,

Answer: C

Critical Reasoning

Fonika and Kuji are world leaders in the production and distribution of color, and black and white photography films respectively, though, between the two, Fonika has a bigger market capital. To beat Fonika in terms of business volume, Kuji has planned to increase production volume by setting up a state of the art manufacturing facility which will be operational within a year. Still, analysts are of the view that Kuji’s plan is not well founded.

Which of the following, if true, will strengthen the analysts’ contention?

Fonika uses superior technology to manufacture its films.
Fonika spends more money than Kuji does on marketing and advertisement.
Black and White photography is pursued almost exclusively by photography enthusiasts while color photography is what is generally opted by the general public.
Fonika’s customers place more orders than do Kuji’s.
Kuji will be pumping in huge sums of money in setting up its new facility.

Answer: C

Reading Comprehension Bronze is an alloy of tin and copper. It is relatively stronger than many other metals. Quite interestingly, about half of all Greek sculpture produced during antiquity was made of bronze, which is quite in contrast to the much popular image of Greek sculpture as white marble statues. The strength and durability of bronze combined with a simple method of forging made it a better weapon than lead, stone, tin, copper or wood. Bronze, therefore was first used as a weapon by the Greeks and many other cultures of the time. The characteristics of bronze made it popular among the leaders of various states. Bronze was thus used as a significant metal to raise armies by cities and states. In addition to its being used to make weapons, bronze was also used to make many other articles, like statues, etc. There are, however, very few ancient bronze statues that survived until today. This can be attributed to what can be referred as the “wartime meltdown process”. The bronze articles, including the statues, were melted to make war weapons like shields, swords, spears, and armor whenever there was a war. Bronze working evolved and proved to be more versatile than marble for sculptures, so it contributed immensely to the transition of Greek sculpture into the Classical Period.

The quality and strength of bronze allowed it to be static and hold the most complex shape, which gave the sculptors the freedom to innovate and experiment with less rigid poses. The sculptors during the Archaic Age could never innovate or experiment with poses and were, therefore, confined to the Eastern-influenced stringency of poses like the kore and kouros. This was primarily due to the characteristic of the materials, like marble or terra cotta clay, which would crack if, say, the hand was extended or would even collapse if the body was twisted to show an action. Bronze also had the capability to hold leaden weights inside the hollow feet or legs, thus allowing all kinds of structural poses, which were not possible with marble or clay. This was also because bronze was very light but, at the same time, very strong.

Nevertheless, sculpting life-sized bronze statues was definitely a Herculean task. The complexity involved required techniques that took years and years of innovation and experimentation to master. Also, the amount of bronze required to create such life-sized bronze statues was immense, and the metal would get distorted by its weight if used as a huge, solid mass. This lead to the development of hollow sculptures because casting hollow sculptures was the only solution to this problem of the metal distorting under its own weight. It is believed that the Mesopotamians first developed this casting technique. However, the development of the technique is also attributed to the Greeks around 550 BC. However, there is a possibility that the Greeks might have acquired the metalworking techniques from the Egyptians of the time.

The primary purpose of the passage is to

Challenge a widely accepted theory
Describe the discovery of a metal.
Describe the use of a metal
Compare one metal with another
Present evidence to support the author’s viewpoint on a particular metal.

Answer: C

The author includes all of the following in the passage EXCEPT

Bronze contributed to fifty percent of Greek sculpture.
Bronze made better weapon than many other metals.
The bronze statues were used to make war weapons during wartime.
The techniques of hollow sculptures solved the problem of metal distortion.
The Mesopotamians were the first to use bronze.

Answer: E

The “wartime meltdown process” refers to

The melting of the war weapons at the end of the war
The melting of metal articles to make war weapons
The melting of the bronze sculptures to make war weapons
The process of identifying redundant bronze statues and melting them to make war weapons
The melting of war weapons like shield, spears and arrows to make statues.

Answer: B

Tips for verbal section

Test takers should keep the following tips in mind while practicing as well as taking the test.

Interpret the Question: It is absolutely important to understand what the question is asking. Questions are structured to mislead; read the questions carefully and interpret the question in your own words. Its only when you understand the question correctly, you can find the scoring answer.
Use the process of elimination to get to the right answer. It is easier for you to hunt for four wrong answers than one right answer. Keep eliminating till you reach your one right answer.
Make educated guess: some questions are bound to be really hard. Don’t panic, eliminate whatever you can, make a guess and move ahead. DON’T WASTE TIME ON KILLER QUESTIONS.

Important Points for Sentence Correction;

Grammar is important – brush up your grammar. Pick up any normal grammar book and revise the basic grammar rules.
Read the sentence carefully. Try identifying errors in the underlined section. Errors are likely to occur either in the first word or the last word of the underlined section.
Eliminate answer choices based on grammar error, diction error, style error (Redundancy, Verbosity, Active v/s Passive voice) and coherence in the sentence.
Make sure you have a reason to eliminate answer choices. As long as you eliminate answer choices based on a reason, you are safe.
Make sure you have practiced on the OG ( Official Guide)

Important Points for Critical Reasoning;

1. Read the question carefully and understand what it is asking. Plan your reading of the passage accordingly.

2. Read the given passage carefully. Try to understand the conclusion of the passage (i.e. What the Author is trying to say?). Figure out the reason based on which the conclusion has been derived.

3. As you read the passage keep in mind the question. Be clear on the answer you are seeking.

4. Having understood the passage clearly, come up with your own answer.

5. Go to the answer choices; compare your answer with the five choices; eliminate all those that do not match with your answer.

Important Points for Reading Comprehension;

It is not necessary to understand the passage in its entirety. Do not read the passage with the objective of understanding the passage completely.
Read the question to understand what it is asking. Customize your approach to the question based on what it is asking.
Go to the passage and read the relevant portion. Come up with your own answer.
Compare your answer with the answer choices.
Remember, the answer to an RC question is there in front of you in some form or other. The task is tracing it within a stipulated time.