Verbal-Focused GRE Study Schedule

Preparing for the GRE can pose significant challenges, especially if you feel that verbal reasoning is your weak point. It’s no secret that verbal improvement can take a lot of time and often happens at a slower rate than improvement in Quant (math). It’s simply the nature of the Verbal beast. Thus, while many study plans emphasize dividing your focus pretty evenly between quantitative and verbal, you might find that focusing more effort on verbal concepts is necessary for you to achieve your target score. In this article, we’ll guide you through how to modify a 1 week, 1 month, 3 month, or 6 month Magoosh GRE study guide as a test taker who needs to spend more time on the verbal side of the aisle.

General Advice for Verbal Prioritization

Before diving into the specifics, it’s important to understand the key elements that contribute to success in the GRE verbal section. Here are some strategies to keep in mind as you adjust your study plan:

Start ASAP

We cannot emphasize strongly enough that it takes a lot of time to realize a significant improvement in Verbal performance. Building vocabulary and increasing reading speed and retention is no easy feat. Many students who are weaker in verbal, or are non-native English speakers, might give themselves up to a year to prepare for the exam. So, if you know that Verbal concepts pose a challenge for you, give yourself adequate study time. The earlier you start building more dedicated Verbal practice into your schedule, the better.

Build a Strong Vocabulary

The GRE verbal section tests your ability to understand complex texts, which often includes a range of advanced vocabulary. Increase the amount of time you spend studying vocabulary each day. Use flashcards, read challenging materials, and incorporate new words into your speech and writing to reinforce retention. For a more in-depth look at how to ramp up your vocabulary study, check out our How to Study GRE Vocabulary post.

Master Reading Comprehension (RC)

Reading comprehension is a critical component of the verbal section. Focus on understanding the main ideas, identifying authors’ arguments, and recognizing underlying assumptions in passages. Practice active reading by summarizing paragraphs and anticipating where questions might come. Unfortunately, there isn’t a great “quick fix” here. Improving your reading comprehension takes dedicated practice, a substantial time investment, and a whole lot of patience. One of the main components of tailoring a verbal-focused schedule is carving out A LOT more time for RC practice–up to an hour or more each day.

Read GRE-Like Materials

It’s important to read materials that are similar to what you’ll encounter come test day. Consider such tired and true publications as The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, and Arts & Letters Daily. Take a look at our post on reading comprehension practice, which focuses on using some of those publications. Or, if you prefer reading books, check out our recommended fiction & non-fiction.

Try to Think Like a Test Writer

The GRE is largely template-based. The test writers follow particular patterns and structures when designing questions. Therefore, the more familiar you are with the elements of a passage that test writers use to build questions and the more familiar you are with their question type and trap answer phrasing, the easier it will be for you to navigate the twists and turns of the exam–both in Verbal and Quant. The ability to think like a test writer is a large step towards becoming fluent in the language of the GRE.

Additional Practice of Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence

These question types require not only a robust vocabulary but also a deep understanding of sentence structure and the logical connections therein. Regular practice with these questions will help you develop the ability to quickly identify essential clues and eliminate incorrect answers.

Regular Review and Analysis

Keep an error log to track the types of mistakes you make in verbal practice. Review this log regularly to identify patterns and target areas for improvement.

Week-by-Week Modifications for a Verbal-Focused Schedule

Note: We’ve based these modifications on our 3-Month schedule for beginners, but these substitutions can be applied to any study schedule. Ultimately, your goal is to scale back on Quant and replace that time with Verbal.

Weeks 1-2: Laying the Foundation

• Original Plan: Introduction, GRE Math, GRE Verbal.
• Modified Plan: After the introductory lessons, increase the time dedicated to verbal from Day 5 onwards. Replace some of the GRE math practice with increased verbal practice, such as extra reading comprehension sessions or additional vocabulary study.

Example:

• Additional Practice in the schedule suggests that you devote time to both math and verbal flashcards and your reading material(s) of choice, noting difficult grammatical structures and words you don’t know. If you’re already familiar with the math concepts, just do a very quick review or skip them altogether. The verbal components of Additional Practice should become essential daily practice. It’s especially important to allocate more time to reading and studying highly difficult, low-frequency vocabulary if you are aiming for a top verbal score.

Weeks 3-4: Deepening Verbal Skills

• Original Plan: Introduction to various math concepts (Arithmetic, Fractions, Percents) and initial practice tests.
• Modified Plan: Introduce more verbal early on by swapping out some of the math-focused days for verbal-focused days. Look ahead in the schedule to find those verbal days and move them earlier in the timeline. Also, consider replacing math flashcard sessions with additional sentence equivalence and text completion drills or additional vocabulary and/or RC practice.

Example:

• Replace some of the time devoted to math lessons and practice with Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions from The GRE Official Guide (OG). One of the best ways to build your vocabulary for the GRE is from words you don’t know that crop up in test questions. What better resource than the questions in the OG, the ones written by the folks who write the actual exam. You might also spend time working through challenging texts that are chockablock with esoteric diction 😁

  Something to ask yourself: When navigating difficult texts, are you starting to be able to use context to navigate around the bits that are confusing or that introduce an unfamiliar word? The goal should be the ability to understand the general makeup of the forest, not every single tree.

  • Word to the Wise: If you are pretty darn certain that you don’t need to study some of the quantitative subject areas tested on the GRE (they’re already very familiar to you), go ahead and skip the lessons but still do some of the associated practice and review of those topics. You might need some exposure to how the GRE tests the concepts or to uncover an unexpected area of weakness.

Weeks 5-6: Balancing Practice Tests and Verbal Review

• Original Plan: An uptick in practice and review as well as digging deeper into math topics like Algebra and Geometry.
• Modified Plan: On days dedicated to math, reduce the math practice and supplement with even more verbal drills. Be sure that you are still consistently practicing challenging reading comprehension. If you are aiming for a topnotch verbal score, at this point, you should be well into memorizing the more difficult vocabulary that can show up on the exam.

Example:

• Day 31: Use a Mixed Practice or Flex day to fully focus on verbal drills and spend additional time reviewing any complex vocabulary encountered during practice. Remember to use the OG as well as Magoosh for practice questions.

Weeks 7-8: Intensifying Verbal Focus

• Original Plan: Geometry and advanced math strategies.
• Modified Plan: Further increase the time devoted to verbal practice.

Example:

• On dedicated practice days, prioritize verbal sections over math. For instance, on days with a geometry focus, reduce the number of geometry questions and replace them with additional verbal practice, particularly in your weaker areas.

Weeks 9-12: Final Push for Verbal Mastery

• Original Plan: Coordinate Geometry, Probability, Statistics, and final practice tests.
• Modified Plan: With the GRE test date approaching, spend even more time reviewing verbal concepts. Utilize the flex days to exclusively practice verbal sections and review vocabulary. Begin reducing the emphasis on learning any new concepts (in both Quant and Verbal) and focus on maintaining verbal accuracy and speed.

Example:

• During these weeks, the Quant in the schedule focuses on some of the hardest, rarely tested concepts, like Counting, Probability, and Statistics. If you’re already somewhat comfortable with those concepts, or know that you’ll skip them (on the off chance you’ll see them) on test day, you should feel free to replace those lessons with time dedicated entirely to verbal practice and review. Revisit your error log frequently during these last few weeks to focus on recurring mistakes.

Conclusion

By tailoring your GRE study schedule to prioritize verbal concepts, you can significantly improve your performance. Remember, consistency and focused practice are key.

Good luck with your GRE preparation—you’re well on your way to achieving your target score!