Why Skimming Verbal Question Stems Might Be Wrecking Your GMAT Score

Do yourself a favor and always read each Verbal question stem fully and carefully. It’s easy to tell yourself that you’ve seen this type of question before and you “know what it’s asking.” But here’s the thing: you’re not actually saving time by skimming. More often than not, you’re setting yourself up for confusion, second-guessing, or falling into a trap the GMAT writers laid specifically for hasty test-takers.

In fact, rushing through the question stem often leads to a double loss: you not only waste time trying to make sense of something you didn’t fully read, but you may also end up selecting a wrong answer and hurting your score. It’s a false economy—what feels like speed is just sloppiness in disguise.

And even if you think you’ve trained yourself not to rush during practice, don’t underestimate the test-day pressure. Maybe the clock is ticking louder than usual. Maybe nerves are creeping in. Maybe you get overconfident halfway through and start cutting corners without realizing it. Any of these can cause even strong test-takers to slip into bad habits.

So make it a point—every time—to slow down just enough to fully understand what the question is asking. Read it. Process it. Then proceed. If rushing through stems is one of your weaknesses, tackling it head-on could easily mean the difference between a good Verbal score and a great one.

Reach out to me with any questions about your GMAT prep. Happy studying!

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep