The year was 1999. I was excitedly telling my mother about a movie I had recently watched.

“It stars Sanjay Dutt. He plays a don in the movie. The name of the movie is Vaastav. (Vaastav means ‘reality.’)”

I hadn’t even finished when my mother, quite matter-of-factly, said:

“He must be dying in the end.”

I was stunned. She was right. Sanjay Dutt’s character does die in the end.

“HOW DID YOU KNOW?!” I asked in astonishment.

Her reasoning was simple:

A don in a movie called Vaastav? He had to die.

At the time, I had never imagined that such deductions could be made with so little information. It was an eye-opener.

What I learned that day

That incident still amazes me, even over 25 years later. But the real lesson wasn’t just about my mother’s deduction.

It was about the way she thought.

She looked for meaning in the movie title. I, on the other hand, saw titles as just placeholders—labels to identify movies. Had I looked at them the way she did, maybe I could have made similar deductions.

Key Takeaway: Your ability to interpret information depends not just on the data you receive, but on how deeply you think about it. If you assume that something (like a title) has no deeper meaning, you won’t even look for one. This is key – the realisation that there can be meaning in places that perhaps we are not even considering at this point.

Why am I sharing this with you?

There is so much discernible meaning in language. And the more clues we gather as we read, the better our understanding becomes. I ask my students to figure out as much as they can as they read – pick up on subtle cues and anticipate where the author is going.

I encourage them to:

1. Get a ‘sense’ of what the author is saying.
2. Be clear about the distinction between getting a sense and inferring something.

At this point, you might be wondering:
“What’s the difference between getting a sense and making an inference?”

Here’s a quick way to think about it:

• A sense is an expectation based on language and context. It’s like saying, “I have a feeling the author might disagree with this point.”
• An inference is something you can be sure about based on clear evidence in the text. It’s like saying, “The author disagrees with this point because they explicitly state, ‘This claim is incorrect.’”

Let’s see how this works in practice.

Developing a sense while reading

Consider this sentence fragment:

"Until recently, zoologists believed that …"

What sense do you get about what’s coming next?

For me, this phrase suggests that the author is about to tell us what zoologists used to believe—and that they probably don’t believe it anymore.

But can I be sure? No.

For example:

"Until recently, my name was Anish."

This statement is true. But does it mean my name is no longer Anish? Not necessarily, right? In fact, my name is still Anish. Just that in case there’s been no change in my name, that’s a weird thing to say.

Yet, why this matters: Developing a sense helps you predict where the passage might be going. Even if you aren’t 100% correct, these early insights help you stay more engaged and make better sense of the text as you read. Moreover, if your sense turns out to be false, you can course-correct and still come out on the other side with clear understanding.

Another example

Read this sentence:

"It is widely assumed that people need to engage in intellectual activities in order to maintain mental sharpness."

Now, ask yourself:
Is the author including themselves in this assumption? Or are they distancing themselves from it?

Again, I am not asking you what can you say with certainty. I am asking you about what SENSE you get.

Think about it before you continue reading.

The SENSE I get is that the author is distancing themselves. They are pointing out an ‘assumption’ that people make. The term ‘assumption’ has a slight negative connotation. If I say to someone: “You are assuming that point.”, I am kind of pointing out a mistake in the other person. I believe the author is pointing out a deficiency in people. That indicates that the author would not be including themselves. Moreover, an assumption is something that we subconsciously believe, not consciously. And since the author is stating the assumption, I further believe that the author is not one who makes this assumption. 

Why this matters: By getting a sense of the author’s stance early on, you can anticipate where the passage is headed. This makes it easier to process information as you read.

Now, let’s add the next sentence:

"In fact, however, simply talking to other people suffices."

Simply talking is enough.

Enough for what? We’ll need to refer back to the previous sentence.

“It is widely assumed that people need to engage in intellectual activities in order to maintain mental sharpness. In fact, however, simply talking to other people suffices.”

Aah. Simply talking is enough to maintain mental sharpness. 

Let’s continue connecting this second sentence back with the first one. 

It is widely assumed that people need to do something complex to maintain mental sharpness. In fact, something simple is enough. So, if this other simple thing is enough on its own that means the first complex thing is not needed. So, in the second sentence, the author contradicts the widely-held assumption from the first sentence. All this corroborates the sense I had got while reading the first sentence that the author is distancing themselves.

Why Does This Matter?

Are you wondering: “How did getting that ‘sense’ in the first sentence help me? Afterall, I could have anyway figured all this out after reading the two sentences together.”?

I’ll answer this through a question.

When watching a murder mystery, do you try to guess the killer? 

Of course! It’s part of the fun.

Now, consider this: In the end, they’ll tell us who the killer is anyway. So why try to guess and look for clues throughout?

Because it keeps us engaged, it makes the experience richer.

Even if you guess wrong, it enhances the experience—it doesn’t ruin it.

I doubt anybody thinks, “Oh damn! I guessed incorrectly. That ruined my whole movie experience.”

Typically every wrong guess is a chance for us to think deeper, look for clues that we might have earlier missed – try to think about: what am I missing?

I’m asking you to do the same thing while reading GMAT passages.
No, not guess the killer—get a sense.

• Pick up on clues.
• Make logical deductions.
• Engage more deeply with the content.

Doing this will enable you to understand the text with higher clarity, which in turn will help you answer questions with greater accuracy.

Your Turn!

What sense do you get from the following sentences?

Practice sentences – Get a sense

1. “Many experts initially dismissed the idea that artificial intelligence could rival human creativity.”

What sense do you get? Does it seem like the author agrees with these experts, or is the author setting up to challenge their view?

Explanation:
The phrase “initially dismissed” suggests that these experts no longer dismiss the idea. This implies that AI might actually rival human creativity—contrary to what was once believed. The author is likely setting up a shift in perspective rather than agreeing with the experts.

2. “It was once thought that consuming fats was the primary cause of heart disease.”

What direction do you think the passage might take? Will the author reinforce this belief or challenge it?

Explanation:
The phrase “It was once thought” suggests that this belief may no longer be considered true. The author is likely going to challenge this idea and introduce a more updated perspective on the causes of heart disease.

3. “Surprisingly, researchers found that individuals who sleep fewer hours sometimes perform better on cognitive tests than those who get a full night’s rest.”

What does the word “surprisingly” suggest about what the reader might have expected?

Explanation:
The word “surprisingly” signals that the result is unexpected—meaning most people assume that sleeping more leads to better cognitive performance. The author is likely highlighting a counterintuitive finding, where less sleep might sometimes be beneficial.

4. “Most people believe that willpower is the key to maintaining long-term habits.”

What sense do you get? Does it seem like the author is going to support or question this belief?

Explanation:
Since the author frames this as a widely held belief (“Most people believe”), there’s a good chance they might challenge it in the next sentence. If the author completely agreed, they might have stated it more directly instead of presenting it as something “people believe.”

5. “While conventional wisdom suggests that multitasking increases efficiency, …”

What sense do you get? What does the phrase “conventional wisdom suggests” imply about how commonly accepted this belief is today?

Explanation:
“Conventional wisdom suggests” tells us that this idea is widely accepted. However, the word ‘conventional’ and the word ‘suggests’ indicate that maybe there’s a recent finding that goes against conventional wisdom. We can expect the passage to argue that multitasking is not as efficient as people think.

6. “Some argue that strict discipline is necessary for success, but others claim that flexibility leads to better outcomes.”

What sense do you get? Does the author seem to favor one viewpoint, or is the passage setting up a debate?

Explanation:
The phrase “Some argue… but others claim…” presents contrasting perspectives, suggesting that the passage will explore both sides. At this stage, it is unclear whether the author supports one side or is simply presenting a debate.

7. “Critics often claim that new technology threatens traditional industries, …”

What sense do you get? Does it seem like the author supports the critics’ claim, or is the author setting up a counterpoint?

Explanation:
The phrase “Critics often claim” introduces a viewpoint. I expect there to be a contrast after the comma. Something like: “Critics often claim that new technology threatens traditional industries, yet history shows that innovation frequently creates more opportunities than it eliminates.” The phrase ‘critics often claim’ indicates to me that the author would go against the critics. 

Is this relevant only in Verbal?

Very relevant in Verbal. But not only Verbal. Word problems in Quant and Data insights can also be read and understood the same way. 

Example:

"If the enclosure is made of steel instead of copper, how much less money will be needed?"

Even without seeing any numbers, can you tell which metal enclosure is cheaper?

Yes. Steel.

How? The phrase “how much less” already tells us that less money will be needed for the steel enclosure. It is only a matter of figuring out how much less. 

For example, say a flight from Delhi to Mumbai costs INR 10,000 and a train costs INR 2,000. Now, if I take a train instead of a flight, how much less money would I spend? – Reasonable question, right? I’d spend INR 8,000 less. Instead, if I ask: If I take a flight instead of a train, how much less money would I spend? – This question doesn’t make sense. I won’t spend less on a flight than on a train.

Next question: what’s the benefit? In the question we could probably anyway do the calculations and figure out that steel is cheaper and by how much.

Well, capturing such clues can help prevent errors. Say by mistake you figured out that the steel enclosure would cost $15 and the copper enclosure would cost $10. If you hadn’t noticed that steel needs to be cheaper, you might just subtract 10 from 15 and look for $5 among the answer choices. If by chance $5 is an option, you’d probably just mark it and move on at that point. Reading more deeply could help prevent such a situation.

Final thoughts

Developing a sense while reading is a powerful tool. With great power, though, comes great responsibility.

You need to be clear about the difference between:

1. A sense – An expectation based on language and context.
2. An inference – Something you can be certain about.

Master this, and you’ll read more deeply, stay more engaged, and process information with greater clarity. The next time you read a GMAT passage, pause after each sentence. Ask yourself: What sense do I get? Then read on. See if as you read, do things start to ‘fall into place’? This could lead to a much richer reading experience.

That’s it for this time.