Getting accepted into the business schools that you want to attend is hard enough, even without added stress of the GMAT, and for many students, the GMAT Verbal section causes them the most apprehension; however, with a few good strategies and resources, you can adequately prepare for the GMAT Verbal section without needless stress. Whether you need top GMAT tutors in New York, GMAT tutors in Chicago, or top GMAT tutors in Los Angeles, working with a pro may take your studies to the next level.

The Verbal section of the GMAT features three specific types of problems, all of which are multiple-choice; (there is no essay component to the GMAT Verbal section, though you do write essays in response to two prompts on the Analytical Writing Assessment section of the test). The first type of GMAT Verbal question is Reading Comprehension. As with other standardized tests, Reading Comprehension problems test your ability to analyze written information by presenting a short passage and then asking you questions about the information and opinions the passage presents. The second type of GMAT Verbal question is Critical Reasoning. Critical Reasoning questions test your ability to determine logical conclusions based on a few sentences of given information. Whereas Reading Comprehension questions test your ability to analyze passages of information, Critical Reasoning questions focus more on presenting the first part of an argument or statement, and then asks you to reason through to the appropriate conclusion. The final type of GMAT Verbal question is Sentence Correction. Each Sentence Correction question presents a sample sentence that includes an underlined portion, and then asks you to select from amongst the possible answer choices for the best way of rephrasing or rewriting the underlined part of the sentence. Sometimes no change is necessary, so an option that leaves the sentence written as it has been presented originally is always included amongst the answer choices.

Each GMAT exam contains 41 questions of the above three question types and gives you 75 minutes in which to answer them, giving you about one minute and forty-five seconds per question; however, this does not allow any time for actually reading the passages that accompany the Reading Comprehension questions, so in actuality, you will have slightly less time per question, due to your having to read the passages.

After taking the GMAT (and not canceling your test scores), you will receive a GMAT Verbal score that is calculated on a scale of 0 to 60, with 0 being the worst possible score and 60 being the best. Most GMAT Verbal scores fall within the range of 9 to 44.

If you’re concerned about how you will do on the GMAT Verbal section, you can start preparing for it right now using Varsity Tutors’ free GMAT Verbal Practice Tests. Each GMAT Verbal Practice Test consists of ten to twelve problems. You can either take randomized Practice Tests that each challenge you to answer a variety of GMAT Verbal question types, or you can focus on a single question type that you find particularly challenging. After you finish a GMAT Verbal Practice Test, you will be able to see data about how long you took to answer each question, which is particularly helpful when coming up with a time-management strategy, so you can figure out how long you should take to read Reading Comprehension passages. You also get to see how well you did on each individual GMAT Verbal Practice Test in comparison to others who took the exact same test. Over time, you will be able to identify your strengths and weaknesses in GMAT Verbal material and focus on taking Practice Tests that address the areas you need to focus on. Varsity Tutors also offers resources like a free GMAT Verbal Diagnostic Tests to help with your self-paced study, or you may want to consider a GMAT tutor.

It’s not a bad idea to kick off your review by taking a free Full-Length GMAT Verbal Practice Test. All of the concepts you’ll need to know by the time you take the real exam are covered on these free online tests. The comprehensive setup offers you the chance to check your test-taking speed and endurance. As on the results pages for the topic-focused practice tests, the results pages for these all-encompassing practice tests give you tons of useful statistics, links to in-depth review materials, and extensive explanations that accompany each answer. These online GMAT practice tests can also assist you as you build a personalized review plan focusing on the concepts you most need to review. Once you’ve brushed up on your skills, you can take another free Full-Length GMAT Verbal Practice Test to evaluate your progress. In addition to the GMAT Verbal Practice Tests and GMAT tutoring, you may also want to consider using some of our GMAT Verbal Flashcards.

By making use of Varsity Tutors’ free GMAT Verbal Practice Tests, you can prepare yourself for the GMAT Verbal section and be confident of your abilities on test day!