How to Evaluate GMAT Verbal Answer Choices More Effectively
When you answer most GMAT Quant questions, you focus almost entirely on one of the five answer choices. You calculate a result, and your task is simply to find that result in the list. Verbal questions operate very differently. You are not computing an answer. Instead, you must evaluate all five choices and determine which one is the best fit. This shift requires a different mindset and a different set of skills.
One of the most effective ways to build these skills is to treat every answer choice as if it were its own question. This approach forces you to engage with each option thoughtfully rather than react to it based on surface-level familiarity or opinion. It encourages a level of precision and discipline that is essential for success on GMAT Verbal.
Consider the following Critical Reasoning example:
Recently, sales of figs have dramatically increased in many areas of the country. Just before the increases in fig sales began, a new video game was released in which characters become powerful by eating figs. Clearly, the reason for the increases in fig sales is the video game's portrayal of figs as a source of power.
You are then asked to identify the answer choice that most strongly supports this conclusion. Suppose you are reviewing answer choice A:
(A) Because fig trees can thrive in a range of climates, it is possible to grow figs in many areas of the country.
A test-taker who is not treating each answer choice as a question might glance at this option and think, That makes sense. If figs grow in many places, more people might buy them. This reasoning feels comfortable, and that comfort can lead to a wrong answer.
A more disciplined test-taker approaches the choice differently. Instead of responding to the idea in the abstract, the test-taker asks a specific question: How does the ability to grow figs in many parts of the country support the conclusion that the increase in sales was caused by the video game? When framed this way, it becomes clear that the choice does not strengthen the argument at all. It does not speak to consumer behavior, timing, or influence. It simply introduces a fact about agriculture, which is irrelevant to the conclusion.
This is the power of treating each answer choice as its own question. It creates clarity. It prevents you from being guided by intuition or partial relevance. It helps you avoid trap answers that feel correct but do not logically advance the argument. Over time, this practice builds the analytical precision that strong GMAT Verbal performance requires.
Happy studying!
Warmest regards,
Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep
