5 Expert-Approved GMAT Verbal Tips to Increase Your Score

Improving your GMAT verbal score isn’t about luck but, instead, about strategy. You can do a lot of preparation in advance of your exam to ensure you get the highest score possible, but you can’t study properly if you don’t know how.

This guide will give you GMAT verbal question tips rooted in expert analysis, backed by official practice questions, and supported by real test‑taker insights. Whether you’re struggling with critical reasoning, reading comprehension, or sentence correction, these fivetips will help you master the GMAT verbal section on your first try.

Read: GMAT Focus Verbal: Topics, Timing, Scores, & Tips

What is the GMAT Verbal Section?

The GMAT Verbal section tests your ability to read and respond to a variety of arguments in written English. Business schools need to know that you can not only read but also comprehend text effectively enough to make quick decisions. These are core verbal skills you'll need in any professional career or MBA program.

Unlike the Quant section, GMAT verbal reasoning doesn’t require formulas. Instead, it measures how well you think.

You’ll face three types of GMAT verbal questions:

• Reading comprehension - Analyze a passage and answer comprehension questions about its logic, tone, and structure.
• Critical reasoning questions - Evaluate arguments and spot assumptions, flaws, or supporting logic.
• Sentence correction questions - Identify grammar errors and improve clarity based on standard grammar rules.

Scoring well requires more than just understanding English. It also demands the ability to identify trap answers, apply critical thinking, and answer correctly under time pressure.

Now that you know what the Verbal section covers, let’s dive into five expert‑approved tips to help you increase your GMAT Verbal score.

Read: GMAT Verbal Questions: Types, Strategy, & How to Maximize Your Score

1. Master Active Reading

Reading speed alone won’t boost your Verbal score. To do that, you’re going to need to learn and practice how to engage with the text as you’re reading it.

The GMAT Verbal section includes dense reading comprehension passages that test your ability to identify the main idea, evaluate arguments, distinguish between correct answers and tempting wrong answers, and tackle complex comprehension questions under time pressure.

Most test-takers lose valuable points not because they don’t understand the content, but instead because they read passively and then struggle to apply that understanding when facing the actual question stem.

Expert Strategy: How Top Scorers Approach Reading Comprehension

Elite scorers and GMAT coaches interrogate the structure of every passage. The most effective technique tends to be passage mapping. This involves quickly noting the role each paragraph plays (e.g., background, argument, rebuttal) in the section as a whole. This sharpens your mental outline and makes it easier to predict question types.

To train this skill:

• Summarize each paragraph in 2-3 words max (e.g., “author’s stance,” “counterexample,” “shift in tone”).
• Use untimed practice first to build accuracy; speed should come after comprehension.

Focus on identifying:

• Explicit vs. implied meaning (what’s said vs. what’s suggested)
• The author’s intent and tone (neutral? persuasive? skeptical?)
• Structural transitions like shifts from theory to evidence or objection to resolution

These steps train your brain to read as the test writers think, which is exactly how you start answering reading comprehension questions more accurately and efficiently.

Real‑World Insight

On Reddit, many high scorers recommend focusing on general understanding of the passage before looking at reading comprehension questions; otherwise, you get distracted by wrong answers that seem right but aren’t supported by the passage.

Common mistake: Skipping back and forth between questions and passages prematurely. Instead, build comprehension first, then attack the questions.

Read: GMAT Verbal Guide: Reading Comprehension Questions

2. Tackle Critical Reasoning Like a Detective

GMAT critical reasoning questions can make or break a top-percentile GMAT Verbal score. To excel, you need to build a specific set of skills: evaluating arguments, identifying unstated assumptions, strengthening or weakening conclusions, and spotting trap answers designed to mislead you.

Unlike reading comprehension, which focuses on understanding language and structure, CR questions hinge entirely on logic, which is your ability to dissect reasoning and see the flaws (or gaps) in a given argument.

Step‑by‑Step Approach

Top scorers treat every critical reasoning question like a logic puzzle, not a vocabulary test. Here's the expert process:

• Start with the conclusion - Don’t even look at the answer choices until you’ve isolated the conclusion in the argument. Everything hinges on it.
• Break the argument into structure - Identify the evidence, assumption, and conclusion. Don’t confuse what's stated with what's implied. Strong CR performance depends on your ability to spot the gap between evidence and conclusion; that's where the assumption lives.
• Ask this question for every choice - “Does this impact the conclusion?” If not, eliminate it even if it’s true or well-written.
• Watch for extreme language in answer choices (“always,” “never,” “must”) - These are red flags. The GMAT favors moderate, logically sound responses.
• Use the process of elimination ruthlessly - Get rid of:
  • Irrelevant points that don’t touch the argument’s core logic
  • Reworded evidence that adds no new information
  • True statements that don’t change the argument’s strength or weakness

Examples of CR Questions on GMAT Verbal

• Strengthen - Which answer reinforces the link between evidence and conclusion?
• Weaken - Which option exposes a flaw or undermines the logic?
• Assumption - What must be true for the conclusion to hold?
• Evaluate - What would help determine if the argument is valid?

Pro Tip: Don’t rely on superficial keyword matching. A choice might look correct but fail to affect the conclusion’s logic. That’s why experts emphasize answering correctly based on structure, not appearance.

Read: GMAT Verbal Guide: Critical Reasoning Questions

3. Make Sentence Correction Second Nature

Sentence correction questions on the GMAT Verbal section test your precision. The exam rewards test-takers who can apply formal grammar rules, identify concise and unambiguous phrasing, and spot subtle flaws in parallelism, modifiers, and subject-verb agreement.

These are not speed questions. Rather, they’re accuracy questions in which every word, clause, and phrase in the sentence serves a function, and your job is to eliminate ambiguity, redundancy, and grammatical error.

Top scorers approach these like editors, not readers: they don’t just ask “does this sound right?”, they ask “is this the clearest, most grammatically sound version possible?” That mindset shift is what separates solid scorers from those who consistently select the correct answer.

How to Train for Sentence Correction Like a Pro

Top performers train themselves to recognize patterns and eliminate faulty logic in real time. That starts with mastery of core grammar rules, including:

• Subject‑verb agreement - Match singular/plural subjects and verbs every time, even across long modifying phrases.
• Verb tense - Choose the tense that reflects logical sequence, not just what's common in speech.
• Comparison errors - Ensure you're comparing like with like (e.g., “more than she does,” not “more than her”).
• Parallel structure - Maintain consistent grammatical form across lists, phrases, and paired elements.

But knowing the rule isn’t enough. You need to train by studying answer explanations, not just to understand why the right choice is correct, but why each wrong answer is incorrect. That’s how you build judgment.

In borderline cases, follow these expert heuristics:

• Choose the simplest grammatically correct option
• Eliminate redundancy because the GMAT values clarity
• Go with the version that aligns with standard written English, even if the others sound “okay” conversationally

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Picking what sounds right (sound can mislead; logic never does)
• Falling for wordy constructions (when in doubt, brevity wins)
• Ignoring the original sentence structure (every edit must improve clarity or fix an actual error)

The goal is to develop the instincts of a sharp editor who can spot and fix flaws at a glance.

4. Practice Smart, Not Just Hard

Doing well on the GMAT Verbal section is about how strategically you use your time. High scorers don’t grind through hundreds of random questions. They follow a system: focus on official materials, isolate weak spots, study answer patterns, and drill with purpose.

Every session has a goal, and they track what and why they get wrong. That self-awareness is what transforms average performance into a competitive verbal score.

How to Structure High-Impact Verbal Prep

Start with official practice questions from the Graduate Management Admission Council; they reflect real test logic, question structure, and difficulty better than any third-party resource. Then build a consistent, smart study routine:

Daily Routine

• Warm up with 10-15 reading comprehension questions to build focus and active reading skills
• Alternate days between critical reasoning and sentence correction questions to keep pace and variety
• Review every answer explanation, not just for the right answer, but for why your original choice was wrong

Weekly Routine

• Take at least one practice test under timed conditions to simulate the test day
• Block off 1-2 sessions for untimed practice, where you slow down and dissect the logic behind each answer
• Track your most frequent error types (e.g., comparison errors, CR assumptions, RC tone traps), then drill those specifically

When to Time Yourself and When Not To

Timed practice helps build pacing and pressure endurance. But in early and mid-prep, too much timed work can lock in bad habits. Use untimed practice to develop a deep understanding, spot trap answers, and rebuild flawed logic.

5. Learn to Eliminate - It’s Half the Battle

Ask any 90th+ percentile scorer, and they’ll tell you: elimination is the most underrated skill on the GMAT verbal section. You don’t need to know the right answer immediately, but if you can consistently eliminate incorrect answers, you massively increase your odds of scoring high.

Whether it’s sentence correction, reading comprehension, or critical reasoning, the GMAT is designed to reward test takers who can identify flawed logic, subtle grammar traps, or irrelevant reasoning and cross them off with confidence.

The Elimination Mindset

Top scorers approach every question with the assumption that most answers are wrong. Here’s how they think:

• In sentence correction, eliminate choices with awkward phrasing, ambiguous modifiers, or broken subject-verb agreement.
• In reading comprehension, cut out choices that distort the main idea, overstate the author’s tone, or misrepresent key details.
• In critical reasoning, cross off options that don’t logically affect the conclusion, even if they sound “reasonable.”

When you're down to two, your odds of selecting the correct answer rise significantly, and more importantly, you're solving strategically, not emotionally.

Avoid Tempting Wrong Answers

The GMAT is full of traps designed to lure you in. Watch out for:

• Statements that are true but irrelevant to the question
• Answer choices that restate evidence without addressing the conclusion
• Subtle grammar rule violations that “sound fine” but fail under scrutiny
• Logical leaps that twist or oversimplify the given argument

Quick Tips and Tricks Summary

Read: How to Study for GMAT: The GMAT Tutor's Guide

Final Thoughts: Raise Your GMAT Verbal Score

Improving your GMAT verbal reasoning is about using the right strategies consistently. With targeted verbal tips, smart review of practice questions, and a mindset built around logic, clarity, and precision, you can raise your Verbal score into a competitive range for top business school programs.

Focus on mastering critical reasoning, refining your grammar in sentence correction, reading actively and strategically in reading comprehension, and using elimination to break down every question.

Want expert eyes on your prep? Work with a GMAT verbal coach on Leland to build a personalized plan, get real-time feedback, and turn your strategy into a score jump.

Also, join GMAT test prep bootcamps and free events for more strategic insights!

Read: The 10 Best GMAT Tutors

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• GMAT Study Tips From Pro Tutors: From 600 to 700+
• Best Free 50+ GMAT Preparation Resources: Study Tools, Practice Tests & Tips
• 3 Things You Need to Know About the New GMAT Focus Edition

FAQs

What’s the best way to improve my GMAT verbal score fast?

• If you're short on time, focus on high-impact strategies: master the logic behind critical reasoning, review grammar rules for sentence correction, and practice reading comprehension with official questions. But don't skip error analysis because that's where real improvement happens.

Why am I so much better at quant than verbal on the GMAT?

• It’s a common issue. Many test takers have stronger math backgrounds, but struggle with verbal because it tests logic, precision, and nuance in English. The fix? Train verbal like quant: break down patterns, drill weak spots, and study answer explanations carefully.

How do I stop falling for trap answers on GMAT verbal?

• Trap choices usually sound correct, but either twist the logic, distort the passage, or break grammar rules. Practice elimination strategies, identify your most frequent wrong answer types, and slow down during review to spot what’s actually being tested.

Should I read the whole RC passage first or jump to the questions?

• Always read the full reading comprehension passage first, but do it actively. Summarize paragraph roles, note the main idea, and get a feel for the author’s tone. Skimming or jumping ahead leads to confusion and missed context.

How many GMAT verbal practice questions should I do each day?

• Quality > quantity. A solid target is 20–30 mixed verbal questions per day, with at least 50% of your time spent on reviewing answer explanations and tracking patterns. One hour of focused review is more valuable than grinding 100 questions.