GMAT Verbal
Reading Comprehension
Read passages for structure, purpose, attitude, and detail location rather than trying to memorize every fact.
Mindset
Read for structure, not for total recall.
Your first pass should tell you the main point, the author's attitude, each paragraph's role, and where major details live.
Structure
Build a short mental map.
- 01What topic or context does the passage introduce?
- 02What viewpoint, problem, or evidence appears next?
- 03Is there a counterview or contrast?
- 04What conclusion or implication does the author leave you with?
Main idea
Main idea answers must cover the passage at the right scope.
An answer focused on one vivid detail is too narrow; an answer introducing a broader issue the passage never addresses is too broad.
Detail
For detail questions, return to the relevant lines.
Do not rely on memory when the passage can verify the exact claim.
Inference
Inference questions still require textual support.
The answer may not be quoted directly, but it must follow from what the passage establishes.
Function
Function questions ask why a sentence or example is there.
Connect the detail to the paragraph's role: example, evidence, contrast, objection, definition, or implication.
Tone
Tone comes from evaluative language and framing.
Words such as however, notably, unfortunately, promising, or flawed can reveal the author's attitude.
Mini application
Try this: Paragraph 2 presents a rival theory only to show evidence against it.
What is the likely function of that paragraph?
Solution
Its function is to introduce and challenge a competing view.
The paragraph's role is structural, not simply to provide background details about the rival theory.
Remember this
Know what each paragraph is doing.
A structural map makes main idea, function, detail, inference, and tone questions easier to locate and evaluate.