Essential Words for the GRE (Barron's Test Prep) Fourth Edition

I just finished taking the GRE last month - I had only 3 weeks to study because of an administrative glitch, so I needed a good resource and some quick shipping (thanks, Amazon). For my overall study guide, I picked Princeton Review based on previous use of their products and the overall positive reviews, and I was generally very pleased with it and its ability to help me work through the entire test prep matter in 3 weeks. That said, I could not have achieved my verbal score of 770 without this book from Barron's. I'm actually not sure I would have come closer than 700-720....it's that good. A reviewer for the Princeton Review general guide recommended this Barron book and I must second that review and all other five-star reviews here. The word list is EXTREMELY comprehensive and the exercises and 10-word unit breakdown really help you learn. I wound up going unit by unit. For each one, I'd read all the words and definitions and identify the ones I didn't know (or didn't "really" know...maybe I had a hunch but not a clear sense). For those unknown words, I wrote them down in a notebook, with a definition in my own words and a sentence I made up myself (Barron's also has sentences which will help you understand the word better but I think making up your own definitions and sentences and then writing them down helps it sink in). After working through all 80 units (whew) I turned to the notebook list of "trouble" words and basically quizzed myself and had others quiz me in multiple rounds, where in each round I highlighted the words I still didn't know, until that list got smaller and smaller and then disappeared. It was a lot to do in three weeks but Barron's really helped me focus. Seriously - get this book and you will maximize your score. For people like me whose verbal and essay scores are most important, this book is really worth the time it takes to work through. Get it! Get it now! Good luck, everyone!

many of the gre verbal study guides out there have great info in them about analogies, antonyms and sentence completion. most also have a list of 200ish words you should know. the problem is that 200ish words won't cut it. you need way more vocab in your arsenal to get a ginormous verbal score. this book has an awesome list of very frequently used gre words. i saw so many on the test! the 800 essential words are broken down into 80 10-word units, each with a variety of short tests at the end - matching, sentence completion and sense or nonsense sentences. after a while, doing all of these little tests feels monotonous, but the gre is monotonous, and it is great practice to use these words over and over in a few different ways so that you know them in various contexts. one word of advice, it's wicked easy to cheat on the matching. so what i do is cover the definitions and just go down the list of words saying the meaning of each. if i can't define it on the spot - i mark that one wrong. that way i don't get lulled into a false sense of security thinking i can just save the hard ones for later (there's not matching on the gre, you know). i highly recommend this book!

It is a good book with each lessons with words and some synonyms and explanation. And also some sentences that try to make more sense the word meaning. With some practice questions that help you to have a better underestanding of the worlds learnt. The only thing that I was not happy was that there was no option to select a s3cond hand book or new book. But I have got a second hand book. It is nice and tidy but I expect a new one. But I am using that book to get ready for the GRE exam.

When I was studying for the GREs, I became a crazy person. It is difficult to improve your verbal score, so I knew that I needed an extra study aid to memorize the necessary vocabulary words. I decided to purchase this book in particular because of the great reviews. Needless to say, the reviews were accurate and the book was amazing!!I would go through a chapter and make an index card for each word that I did not recognize. I used colored index cards (green for positive words, red for negative, etc.) and on the back I divided it into four squares (short definition, synonyms, antonyms, and an illustration of the word...it sounds crazy but it worked!). The end of each chapter included several exercises for the new terms (matching, true/false, and filling in the blanks). I found this extremely helpful; it was engaging and stimulating, which is important when you are studying mundane vocabulary terms. I completed the entire book and managed to memorize the unfamiliar words. I believe that my success on the verbal section of the GREs (I managed to get a 162!) are due, in part, to the activities and words found in this book.As a poor college student, the price of this book was AWESOME. That along with the fact that it was super helpful makes it a great purchase!

I personally found this book very helpful in learning new words, especially since I had only two weeks to do it, thus I had to stuff my head with 50 words on average every day. The examples after the definitions and match + fill-in-the-blank exercises in the end of each 10-word unit made learning easy and stress free. I rarely had to consult other sources for additional clarification. Also, the book contains a word roots section in the end, where it teaches you how to recognize and approximate the meaning of unknown words by taking them apart/learning the common roots. Finally, there are two tests/reviews, one after the 800 essential words, and one after the root section, summarizing test for the whole book. Overall, I would say that this is a helpful, simple, yet comprehensive study guide for all the words you will need for GRE, and surely ever AFTER it. If you begin studying early, you will discover that this book is a miracle.Strongly recommend. I think it is one of the best products (also considering its value) in its category on the market.

I think this is the most useful book for me to prepare for the GRE

Easy and quite fun to learn. Really helps with the prep

It is a very efficient way of learning WORDS for GRE.The methods used in the book make a long lasting impression in one's mind so as to remember the words and their meanings.

Positiv:+ Der Umfang der enthaltenen Vokabeln. Mit 800 Wörtern ist dieses Buch, so weit es meine Recherche ergeben hat, mittlerweile fast das umfangreichste reine Vokabelbuch für den GRE auf dem Markt.+ Der Aufbau: Die Vokabeln sind nicht alphabetisch angeordnet, sondern in 10 Vokabeln pro Lektion unterteilt, wobei jede Lektion mit einem kleinen Vokabel-Quiz endet. Das ist angenehm, da man nach jeder Lektion das Gefühl hat, schon ein bisschen was geschafft zu haben. Wenn man hingegen eine alphabetisch geordnete Liste von mehreren 100 Wörtern vor sich hat, die man einfach nur ein Wort nach dem anderen abarbeitet, wird man schnell frustriert, da es nicht voranzugehen scheint. Ich persönlich habe die Quizze nicht genutzt, da ich mir Vokabel-Karteikärtchen gemacht habe und das Buch eigentlich nur gekauft habe, um eine umfangreiche Vokabelliste zu erhalten, aber ich denke, wer wirklich schon während des Durcharbeiten des Buches lernen will, für den sind diese kleinen Abfragen am Ende jeder Lektion ideal.+ Vorher vs. Nachher: Ganz vorne und ganz hinten im Buch sind zwei längere Vokabeltests, mit denen man sein Wissen vor dem Lernen und nach dem Lernen vergleichen kann. Die Fragen sind im GRE-Format gestellt. Allerdings ist darauf hinzuweisen, dass das Format noch nach dem alten GRE von vor 2011 gerichtet sind, aber sooo viel hat sich ja seit dem nicht verändert.+ Die Definitionen: Anders als bei vielen anderen Vokabellisten, die man so im Internet findet, sind die Definitionen der Wörter hier super. Meistens gibt es noch Beispielsätze und Zusatzinformationen, Hinweise auf verwandte Wörter usw. Ich musste nur wenig selbst im Internet nochmal nachschlagen, um die genaue Bedeutung des Wortes zu verstehen. Top.Negativ:+ Roots: Das Buch enthält auch einen Teil mit immer wieder kehrenden Wortbausteinen wie "anti", "pre", "uni" usw., die meistens aus dem Lateinischen kommen. Diese soll man lernen, damit man eventuell auch die Bedeutung unbekannter Wörter erschließen kann anhand der Bedeutung ihrer "Bausteine". Das ist allerdings größtenteils unbrauchbar, denn so einfach geht es leider nicht. Meistens kann man nämlich, auch wenn man die Bedeutung der einzelnen Wortbausteine weiß, nicht die richtige Bedeutung des Wortes erschließen. Roots lernen ist wirklich Zeitverschwendung. Konzentriert euch lieber darauf, so viel wie möglich "ganze" Wörter zu lernen, das bringt euch mehr. Diesen Teil des Buches hätten sich die Hersteller sparen können und es dafür billiger machen.

This book is great.