Verbal Comprehension
What you must know
Three item types dominate this domain: antonyms, sentence completion, and vocabulary in context. Antonyms demand precise dictionary meaning plus two extras - register (formal vs. casual) and intensity (mild vs. extreme). Sentence completion demands that you read the sentence's logic before you ever look at the choices: contrast signals (although, yet, despite, on the other hand) point toward an opposite idea, while cause-and-result signals (because, therefore, so that) point toward a consistent one. Context items take a broad word and narrow it to the single sense the surrounding sentence supports.
Traps
- A synonym offered where an antonym is required, or a "near" opposite (warm for hot) that is not opposite enough.
- Words with two common senses; the choices may test the sense the sentence does not use.
- Completions that read smoothly but reverse the sentence's logic.
- Two-blank items where one blank fits and the other does not - always verify both.
Rule of thumb
Cover the choices, state the sentence's logic in your own words ("the second half contradicts the first"), predict a word, then match. For antonyms, place the pair at opposite ends of one scale: frugal and extravagant sit at the ends of the spending scale and are true opposites; frugal and cheap are not.
Worked example: "Although the committee's report was ___ , the chair's summary was praised for its clarity." The word although signals contrast, so the blank must mean unclear or disorganized - rambling or muddled, never concise.