Yes, reading comprehension is a foundational and demanding component of the GRE General Test. It is not a passive exercise but an active test of analytical reasoning. Therefore, when asking is there reading on the GRE, understand that it permeates the Verbal Reasoning section, specifically designed to assess your ability to dissect complex academic prose.
The reading you encounter on the GRE is characterized by several distinct features:
- Passage Diversity: You will face a variety of texts, including dense academic writing from fields like natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Consequently, you must quickly grasp the structure and argument of unfamiliar, sophisticated material.
- Complex Question Types: The questions go beyond basic comprehension. They require you to identify the author’s stance, analyze the logical structure of a passage, evaluate supporting evidence, and draw inferences from the text.
- Integration with Verbal Skills: The reading skill is also tested indirectly in Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions. Success here demands a strong vocabulary and the ability to understand how words function within intricate sentence structures.
To succeed with the reading on the GRE, a strategic approach is essential. Firstly, focus on identifying the main idea and the author’s tone in every passage. Secondly, practice active reading by anticipating questions as you read. Finally, master the process of elimination for multiple-choice questions, as wrong answers often contain subtle distortions of the passage’s meaning.
Ultimately, the answer to is there reading on the GRE is a definitive yes, but it is a specific type of critical reading. The exam tests your capacity to analyze, evaluate, and reason with written information at a graduate level. Preparing for this requires moving beyond simple comprehension to engaging in a deep, critical dialogue with the text.