Sentence completion is a section where you are given a sentence with two blanks and the options include pairs of words which would fit perfectly into those blanks. However, it isn’t always easy to choose the best words to fill a blank and there are certain nuances to help you get to the right answer. Here are some tips that you should keep in mind.

What are the indicators?

Look for contrast indicators, where the author might contradict the first part of the sentence with the second, the support indicators, where the first part is proved by the second part, apposition indicator where one part clarifies the meaning of the other or cause and effect indicator, where one part talks about the cause and the other one talks about effect. This will help you find the answer out more easily.

Try to guess from what you know

It is a good idea to check from your experience, the words that you think will fit in the blank. This helps you avoid confusion when you set your eyes on the options.

Don’t ignore one word because the other one is a perfect fit

In case of two blanks, one of the ploys would be to give you an option where one word fits perfectly but the other doesn’t. So you will have to ensure that both the words in the option fit perfectly. In fact, you can use this trick, to eliminate options where one of the words doesn’t fit at all.

Try to remember usage patterns, idioms and phrases

If one of the options has a word which is used as a phrase or idiom, it will make it easier for you. Similarly if there are usage problems or the overall sentence sounds bad with the word then you can eliminate it.

Consider all the choices for the best fit

Jumping the gun might not be advisable in case of sentence completion. It is wise to try out all the options and see if there are words which had occurred to you when you read the sentence originally.

Don’t panic

It could happen that one of the words is unfamiliar to you. Don’t panic in that case. Try to eliminate as many options as possible. Also try to work out the meaning of the word through its root, prefix or suffix.

Take the Gre Sentence Completion Test to get a better understanding of this section of the test.

Vocabulary part is equally important in GRE. The wordlist preparation is the only thing that is tougher in GRE as compared to any other exams. GRE focuses more on the test of English & Maths as filters to eliminate those candidates who are pathetic at one or both of these.

GRE sentence completion has a significant role in the verbal section of the test. In a test of language, sentence completion plays a very important role. There are 9 questions in all on GRE sentence completion.

In the GRE sentence completion, a sentence is given with a few blanks that make it incomplete. This sentence is followed by options that contain the probable answers to the blanks. The answer option that makes the sentence most logical and grammatically correct is the best answer option. Generally, there are more than one blank in the sentence. However, the number of blanks is not fixed.

It might sound simple to fill in the blanks of an incomplete sentence. However, it needs careful reading and a backup of good language and grammatical skills to attempt it successfully. Here will see few examples of sentence completion questions.

1. To greater or lesser degree all the civilized countries of the word are made up of a small class of rulers ……………….. and of a large class of subjects……………………

1. formed by a small minority ………………… who are uncivilized
2. powerfully corrupt………………pointless crusaders
3. c. corrupted by too much power………………….corrupted by too much passive obedience
4. who are ruled…………who ruled
5. determined
6. b. disinclined
7. quick
8. apt
9. diligent
10. a. Austere
11. Agnostic
12. Stingy
13. Extravagant

1. She is pragmatist, as ……………………… to base her future on impractical dreams as she would be to build a castle on shifting sand.

1. The affluent life styles of contemporary politicians are in sharp contrast to the……….. ways of living of the freedom fighters. Read more…

Here’s a brand new GRE Practice Test – Sentence Completion on Skill-Guru for those of you who want to tease your brain and pit your wits against the zany brainy.

This GRE test is designed to test the important aspects of GRE Vocabulary and Sentence completion.It determines the test taker’s strength in vocabulary and problem solving while filling up the missing words in a given sentence.

The GRE Verbal questions account for nearly 6 out of the 30 questions on your actual test. So, after attempting these practice questions, be sure to review your answer choice, tally your score and gear up ahead.

This is not a timed test, but on average you should time 45-50 seconds for each question.

One of the first things to keep in mind about the GRE vocabulary section is that it is designed to evaluate the college level skills of the examinees. This means that the vocabulary questions will be of a standard meant for a student who is going on to pursue post graduate studies. Your knowledge must be that of a college level student. Another pointer to keep in mind is that the vocabulary section is not the only place where your word skills will be tested. The analytical writing section is there as well.  There are ways to go about preparing for the GRE vocabulary.

• Read, read and read. This is one of the most important things. Read articles, books, newspapers and so on. Whenever you come across a new and unfamiliar word, look it up. Start making a list of suchlike.  Don’t make random lists. Put down similar words of association in lists. Look at the lists every day.
• Make word cards. Keep the word and the meaning on the same side. Keep on looking at these words every day. After a few weeks, look at the cards from the back and try and guess what the word could be.
• Go through free vocabulary tests online.  You will find them on Skill Guru and Fast Vocabulary. These are free and intensive practice tests designed to give you a true taste of how the GRE is like. Here is a recent GRE Sentence completion test
• Another really high tech way of preparing for the GRE vocabulary is by using GRE vocabulary software. Try Ultimate Vocabulary.  A lot of students have found them very helpful.

Remember that since the GRE is an adaptive test, doing well at the beginning is a double edged sword. If the computer detects that you are doing well, then the questions start becoming difficult. Do NOT let that confuse you. One way of keeping new words in mind is by creating personal associations to them in your mind.

The last tip would be to sleep, eat and drink with a dictionary and a thesaurus by your side.