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Verbal: Text Completion for the GRE Exam
Text Completion questions make up roughly one-third of the Verbal Reasoning section. They test your ability to infer meaning from context, recognize logical and rhetorical relationships within a sentence or short paragraph, and choose vocabulary with precision. Unlike vocabulary tests that reward raw memorization, GRE Text Completion rewards the ability to reason toward a word — reading the logic cues (contrast words like "despite," "however," "although"; support words like "because," "since," "and") to predict what kind of word fits before you read the choices.
ETS GRE General Test Preparation — Verbal Reasoning question types and conventions.
Locale-specific study guides
Pass-rate data, regulatory context, and study tips for Verbal: Text Completion all change by candidate locale. Pick your context:
- Verbal: Text Completion · United StatesCalibrated for American candidates
- Verbal: Text Completion · United KingdomCalibrated for British candidates
- Verbal: Text Completion · IndiaCalibrated for Indian candidates
- Verbal: Text Completion · PhilippinesCalibrated for Filipino candidates
- Verbal: Text Completion · NigeriaCalibrated for Nigerian candidates
Common failure modes
These are the patterns that cause most candidates to lose marks on this topic. Recognising them in advance is half the work.
- !Jumping to answer choices before predicting what kind of word belongs in the blank — this leads to being seduced by plausible-sounding distractors
- !Ignoring transition and logic words that signal contrast or continuation — these are the primary structural clues
- !Choosing a word because it sounds sophisticated, rather than because it precisely fits the sentence logic
- !On three-blank questions, not confirming that all three selected words work together cohesively
- !Underinvesting in vocabulary study — GRE uses rare but precise academic words that reward systematic study
Study tips
- 1Before looking at answer choices, cover them and predict the meaning (or category) of word that belongs in the blank. This prediction step is the single highest-ROI technique for Text Completion.
- 2Study vocabulary through word families and roots rather than flashcard-only memorisation. GRE word lists (Magoosh, Manhattan Prep) organized by root reduce the volume of new words to learn.
- 3For multi-blank questions, fill in the easiest blank first to constrain the logic of the remaining blanks.
- 4Keep a running vocabulary log: every new word you encounter in practice, write it with a sentence example. Reviewing this log daily is more effective than mass flashcard drilling.
- 5Pay close attention to intensifiers and hedges ("barely," "somewhat," "entirely") — they change whether you need a strong or mild version of your predicted word.
Sample GRE Verbal: Text Completion questions
These sample items mirror the format and difficulty of real GRE questions. Practice with thousands more on the free Koydo question bank.
- 1
Despite the senator's reputation for _______ rhetoric, her latest speech was notably measured and restrained, surprising those who expected inflammatory remarks.
- Atemperate
- BincendiaryCorrect
- Cprolix
- Danodyne
- Eequivocal
Why this answer?
"Despite" signals a contrast: the speech was "measured and restrained," so the senator's reputation must be for the opposite — heated, aggressive speech. "Incendiary" (inflaming passions, deliberately provocative) fits precisely. "Temperate" and "anodyne" (inoffensive) would remove the contrast. "Prolix" (wordy) and "equivocal" (ambiguous) are off-topic. (Illustrative — ETS does not publish operational items.)
- 2
The researcher's conclusions, though initially regarded as (i) _______, have since been (ii) _______ by subsequent experimental replications, lending them a credibility they once lacked.
- A(i) prescient / (ii) undermined
- B(i) speculative / (ii) corroboratedCorrect
- C(i) definitive / (ii) qualified
- D(i) speculative / (ii) repudiated
- E(i) prescient / (ii) corroborated
Why this answer?
The structure is: initially [negative/uncertain] → later [positive confirmation] → gained credibility. Blank (i) should mean uncertain/unproven: "speculative" fits. Blank (ii) should mean confirmed/supported: "corroborated" fits. Pairing "speculative" with "corroborated" creates the logical arc of the sentence. "Repudiated" (rejected) in option D contradicts "credibility they once lacked." (Illustrative.)
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