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Sentence Completion
In general, sentence completions are easy when the vocab is really easy and
when the sentence structures are not very complex.
So, GRE makes sentence completions hard by
using difficult vocab, complex
sentence structures, and difficult ideas.
Sentence completion questions account for about one quarter of the marks for
the verbal section of
GRE. Each question contains one or two blanks, and you have to find the best
answer choice to make the sentence make complete sense. Be sure to study the
sentence carefully so that you notice all the clues built into the sentence.
Look for key words and phrases in the sentence that tell you where the
sentence is going. Is it continuing along one line of thought? If so, you're
looking for a word that supports that thought. Is it changing direction in
midstream? If so, you're looking for a word that sets up a contrast between the
thoughts in the sentence.
To get your mental wheels turning and help you to "get into" the question,
first think of your own words that complete the sentence at hand. Although you
shouldn't expect to find your words verbatim among the answer choices (most GRE
Sentence Completion questions aren't that easy), determining up front what sort
of words you're looking for will help you zero in on the best answer choice.
Don't choose an answer to a dual-blank question just because one of the
words is a perfect fit. As often as not, one word that fits perfectly is paired
with another word that doesn't fit well at all. This is the test-makers' most
common Sentence Completion ploy; don't fall for it!
Check for usage and idiom problems if you're having trouble
homing in on the best answer. Sentence Completion
questions cover not just overall sentence sense but also word usage and
idiom (how ideas are expressed as phrases). So eliminate any answer choice that
makes any part of the sentence confusing, awkward, or sound wrong to your ear.
In dual-blank questions, if you can eliminate just one of the words, the
whole choice won't work, so you can toss it out and go on.
Don't confirm your response until you've considered each and every one
of the five answer choices. Remember: The qualitative difference between the
best and second-best answer choice can be subtle.
Sentence completion exercise 1
Sentence
completion exercise 2
Sentence completion
exercise 3
Sentence completion exercise 4
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