As someone who has never had a problem with verbal standardized tests, I can tell you this much - YOU CANNOT ACQUIRE STRONG VERBAL SKILLS OVERNIGHT. The kind of critical thinking that you need to apply when reading long dull art passages, and the kinds of questions that are asked - require a constant internal thread of thought to be maintained in your mind as you are reading the passage. This thread of thought is very introspective and internal to your reasoning style. But it comes through reading habits that are acquired several years prior, the ability to read fiction or non-fiction of significant length over perhaps several days, but maintaining the continuity of this thread of thought through the entire process. The key to strong verbal and reading comprehension performance is how strong and thick you can make this thread. My personal advice is that lots of practice can help you raise your score a point or two or three, but to really get the big bang improvement, this needs to be a part of your daily routine, over a year or two. The analogy that comes closest to mind is that lots of practice with verbal helps you create lots of Schwann cells producing a lot of myelinated sheaths that look like its one continuous axon, but to get the underlying neuronal structure built, you need the strong thread of thought that you get through highly developed reading habits.
Sorry for the rambling - but I hope you understand what I mean. All the best.
What kind of books do you recommend?
