GMAT Reading Comprehension—Always Look Out For Wordplay

As with all preparation for this exam, it is essential that you use official GMAT Reading Comprehension passages and questions. The process that GMAC (Graduate Management Admissions Council) uses to select passages from different fields of study and then create questions from those passages is very particular. Inevitably, unofficial passages created by test prep companies are inauthentic (you can always tell!) and the questions made from those passages will not use the same mechanisms of difficulty you encounter on the exam.

Improving Reading Comprehension skills for the GMAT is all about mastering the way you read the passage and recognizing quickly the tricks and cons employed on different types of Reading Comp questions. The pattern recognition required for this type of improvement can only be gained by practicing with the types of passages and questions you will actually see on the official exam.

Best Practices for Reading Comprehension

The first step in any set of reading comprehension questions is to read the passage in the most efficient and effective way. This means that you should focus on 3 key items in your reading and worry less about small details or complicated, abstract information:

Structure – Focus on the overall organization of the passage and the general topics of each paragraph so you can find keywords from questions quickly. Identify important transition words or shifts in the direction of the passage (nothing is more important than noting strong transitions or continuations in RC).
Type of Passage – Is the passage opinionated or simply presenting information? If there is tone or subjectivity, note what it is and be ready for questions relating to it.
Purpose – Why did the author write the passage and what is the scope of the passage? The primary purpose of the passage must match the type of passage and use the proper scope.

Go ahead and read the passage for the two questions in this section and we will analyze these three elements before attacking the questions:

Example Passage

Scientists have long assumed that Antarctic ice sheets are essentially stable. In theory, snowfall replenishes ice sheets, replacing the mass lost when ice from the sheets flows outward in solid streams and sheds into the ocean as icebergs. However, satellite measurements show that the West Antarctic ice sheet has been losing mass and that its ice streams are accelerating.

To explain these changes, geophysicist Robin Bell and her colleagues have been studying the role played by liquid water under the ice sheet. They have found that although the base of the ice sheet is insulated from changing atmospheric temperatures, it can melt because of friction as it moves over underlying rock. The meltwater lubricates and accelerates the ice streams. Furthermore, some lakes below the ice sheets are draining, adding more lubrication that further destabilizes the streams.

Ordinarily, ice streams cause ice shelves to accumulate at the streams’ ocean outlets. These shelves block and slow the streams. But since ice shelves are sensitive to ocean temperatures, global warming can melt them. In 2002, ice streams flowing into the Larsen B ice shelf in West Antarctica accelerated dramatically after much of the shelf collapsed into the ocean. This suggests that global warming could allow far more land-based ice to flow into the ocean, raising sea levels rapidly.

Structure: Paragraph #1 presents a commonly held belief followed by the important transition word “however,” which presents evidence contrary to this belief. Paragraph #2 presents the findings of a researcher who is trying to explain the changes to the commonly held theory. Paragraph #3 is a continuation of the explanation provided in #2, with additional findings provided to explain the new phenomenon.

Type: This passage is explanatory/descriptive and provides the findings of one researcher along with a potential explanation for a new phenomenon. The author is not providing his own theory or an opinion on the findings.

Purpose: This passage exists to present a change to a commonly held belief and provide a potential explanation for it.

After reading each passage on the exam, you will be answering 3 or 4 questions relating to it. Most verbal sections on the new GMAT Focus exam contain 4 passages, two of which have 4 questions and two of which have 3 questions. For the questions you will encounter, there are three broad types:

General Passage Questions. These questions relate to broader issues in the passage and examples would be: What is the primary purpose of the passage? Which of the following would best describe the role of the 3rd paragraph in relation to the whole? For these questions, you can usually answer them from your initial reading but you may still need to look back to confirm or validate certain answers.
Conclusion/Rephase Questions. These questions require you to make a proper conclusion based on concrete evidence in the passage or simply regurgitate something that exists in the passage. Examples would be: Which of the following can be inferred about the tribal water rights discussed in the 3rd paragraph? Which of the following was mentioned by the author as a reason for the company’s change to its maternity and sick leave policies? For these questions, it is mostly about finding the right information in the passage and then being clear on what constitutes a valid conclusion. Precision in wording and noting wordplay are keys to success in these types of questions.
Function Questions. These questions ask you to explain how or why an author is using a certain example, word, or sentence in a passage. Often, that component will be highlighted in the passage and sometimes you must simply locate what is referenced in the question. Examples would be: The author discusses the hunting traits of Orca whales in order to _________. Which of the following best describes the role of the highlighted portion in relation to the passage as a whole? For these questions, the answer does not lie in the referenced text but rather in the broader context within which you find it.

Given these different question types and the approaches for them, let’s practice a few Conclusion/Rephrase questions from the passage you have just read.

GMAT Reading Comprehension: Example Question #1

The passage most clearly indicates that some liquid water below the ice sheets

1. originally entered lakes that are under the ice sheets because of melting resulting from increasing atmospheric temperature.
2. is creating new ice streams
3. replaces lost mass in ice shelves
4. has increased the frictional resistance between ice sheets and the underlying rock
5. is flowing out of lakes that are under the ice sheets

Detailed Explanation For Question 1

This question is clearly a Conclusion/Rephrase type in which you must make a proper conclusion about the role of liquid water. In reading comp, you will appreciate questions with specificity in the question stem as you can go locate an important keyword(s) more quickly and look for the potential answer. Here you need to locate the keywords “liquid water” and then use that section to analyze each answer.

Note: For Conclusion/Rephrase and Function questions, you should ALWAYS go back to the passage and locate concrete proof for the correct answer and invalidate the other four. This question is a great example: without going back and noting very particular wording in the answers, you are doomed to get it wrong!

In paragraph #2 you can find the keywords “liquid water” easily as shown in the paragraph below (note: since the final paragraph is a continuation of this one, it is possible you will need to look there too):

Now let’s evaluate each answer:

Nothing is given about the original source of the water in the lakes under the ice sheet. This answer uses a few terms found in the paragraph (“atmospheric temperature”) but does not make a proper inference from them and takes the answer out of scope immediately with “originally.”
This is probably the most commonly chosen incorrect answer and it employs classic wordplay. We know that the liquid water can accelerate ice streams but in no place does it say this water is “creating NEW ice streams”. While the water resulting from melting is probably creating some new streams, there is zero evidence for that in the passage.
Easy answer to eliminate. In the first paragraph, you learn that snowfall replenishes ice mass, not liquid water.
The liquid water is created from friction created in the movement…it is not creating or increasing the friction.
Correct. This is the classic “boring but must be true” correct answer that is often used in conclusion questions. This is correct simply because of the clause “some lakes below the ice sheets are draining.” Since draining means “flow out of,” you know for sure that liquid water is flowing out of the lakes under ice sheets.

In creating a question like this, the test-makers are hoping you will overlook words like “originally” or “new” in answer choices (A) and (B), or simply pick one of them because it seems to match what you remember from your original reading of the passage. Remember to be highly analytical in reading comp questions and always evaluate all answers carefully, with a special attention to precision in wording.

GMAT Reading Comprehension: Example Question #2

The passage most strongly suggests that some ice streams have accelerated because _____________.

1. ocean temperatures have increased
2. the West Antarctic ice sheet has lost mass
3. global warming has reduced Antarctic snowfall
4. heat from friction indirectly caused an ice shelf to collapse
5. meltwater has been creating numerous new lakes beneath the ice sheets

Detailed Explanation For Question 2

This is another Conclusion/Rephrase question, but it is a bit trickier. First, finding the right information is harder. Acceleration of ice streams is discussed explicitly in both the 2nd and 3rd paragraph.

Also, you should note in the question step that the word “some” makes it easier to prove:

The passage most strongly suggests that some ice streams have accelerated because _____________. (Note: to prove “some” you must only provide a single example)

Since several answers reference Antarctica, it is likely that the answer will be found where the acceleration is discussed in the final paragraph as shown in red:

Ordinarily, ice streams cause ice shelves to accumulate at the streams’ ocean outlets. These shelves block and slow the streams. But since ice shelves are sensitive to ocean temperatures, global warming can melt them. In 2002, ice streams flowing into the Larsen B ice shelf in West Antarctica accelerated dramatically after much of the shelf collapsed into the ocean. This suggests that global warming could allow far more land-based ice to flow into the ocean, raising sea levels rapidly.

As in the last question, you must then analyze each answer carefully, finding proof in the passage and looking out for wordplay or flawed conclusions that simply use words from the passage:

Correct. This answer requires you to link together a few parts of the paragraph. Fact #1 in 2nd sentence: since ice shelves are sensitive to ocean temperatures, global warming can melt them. Fact #2: an ice shelf collapse in Antarctica (which is directly linked to global warming and thus increased ocean temps in the final sentence) caused ice stream acceleration.
The acceleration was caused by a shelf collapse and we do not know if that was an overall loss of mass in the entire West Antarctic ice sheet.
Substantially out of the scope of the passage. In no place is the amount of snowfall occurring in Antarctica discussed.
The most commonly chosen incorrect answer. In the 2nd paragraph you learn that heat from friction is accelerating ice streams. However, this answer says heat from friction caused an ice shelf to collapse! Read answers very carefully in reading comprehension and focus on precision in wording.
Like in the previous question, you have no idea if new lakes are forming from meltwater so this is incorrect.

Both of these sample questions require you to find the right information and then sort through cleverly made wrong answers that are pretty close to being correct except for a word or two. Once you learn the repeated wording cons and other tricks used in creating these RC questions, they become easier and easier.

Caution: Avoid Unofficial GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions

As you can see from these example questions, success on official Reading Comprehension requires precision in wording and other particular skills that can only be improved by playing the game you will encounter on the actual exam. Improving with unofficial Reading Comprehension passages and questions is analogous to trying to improve your baseball skills by playing cricket! Certainly some of the skills will be improved by playing the closely related game, but you will never get mastery of the strategies and tricks required to succeed on the actual game you see on test day, particularly when the questions are more difficult.

To refine the specific skills necessary for success on official Reading Comprehension questions, consider a live GMAT prep class like those offered by Menlo Coaching. These courses provide targeted training using the actual exam format, helping you master the strategies and tricks essential for excelling on test day.