Books for Prep | |
 - Best for Practice I took a GRE prep course through my college and one requirement was the purchase of this book. It was critical to my studying, I would definitely not use this as a sole source. It is best used as a test practice book, to either practice the full tests or use the sections individually. There are not explanations for incorrect answers, true, but it's not really a prep book it's more like an accompaniment. It's wonderful that you get to work with 10 real exams. This is exactly what they put out. For the people arguing that the actual test appeared harder thats because these tests are from 5-10 years ago. Of course, the test have become difficult over the years. This is one of the best supplements you can have for studying b/c unlike the disk the ETS gives you for signing up you have 10 tests to choose from, that's more than Princeton Review and Kaplan combined. Even in a Princeton course you only have access to 4 tests at the most. Also, it's great for vocab because you get a chance to see what words are really used on the exam. I think it's definitely worth it. I would make sure to either take a prep course or purchase another prep book alongside this one for guidance. I only used it for test practice but the results were great. Practice does make perfect and unlike Kaplan & Princeton Review guides, which has to produce/create their own tests often resulting in study aides that are either too hard or too easy this gives you perfect simulation. Rating:  - Good for practice, but has shortcomings.I purchased this after getting through Barron's, Kaplan's and Princeton Review's GRE prep books. I found the ETS GRE Prep book to be useful in providing lots of practice questions [from actual test questions], but I found that the quantitative test questions were much, much easier than the actual questions I faced on the GRE [this is where the other prep books helped, as many of their questions were at a higher level of difficulty]. But, I rated this book three stars as I found the reading comprehension passages very helpful. The passages were dense enough in most instances to challenge my comprehension skills. The other parts of the verbal component were quite easy, much easier than those I found on the actual GRE. In conclusion, the ETS GRE book makes for a good supplement if all you're looking for are practice questions before the actual exam, but it is insufficient if you plan on just studying this one book for the GRE. Rating:  - Maybe the third GRE book to buyPurchase the Princeton and Barron's GRE prep books first. There is still some useful information here, but the practice questions are way too easy to be considered more than just a introduction to the test. Rating: - Extremely flawed but still necessaryThis is the official review book from the creators of the GRE. There is no other currently published book of real former GRE questions. As such, I consider it necessary for properly preparing to take the GRE. However, the book is terrible in many ways, so use it as a source of GRE practice problems and nothing else. Let me summarize the problems and benefits. Problems: The test material is old. The most recent multiple-choice material in this book is from 1991. The oldest material reaches back to 1984. Not much material, and paltry explanations. There are only 7 exams in this book, and only one of them has a full set of explanations. The rest only have an answer key, so if you miss a question you have to figure it out on your own. Tests are still in the original paper-and-pencil format. The current GRE is a computer adaptive test, which chooses questions based on how you've answered prior questions. The material in this book is still arranged in order of difficulty, from easy to hard, as it was originally published. Obviously you can't make an adaptive book, but they could have mixed up the questions to better simulate the lack of knowledge about question difficulty that characterizes a real computer-based GRE. Benefits: You'll be practicing on real GRE problems. Real questions are always better than simulations. Some test-prep companies write good practice questions, but you should go to the source whenever possible. The essay material is solid. The book contains a good discussion of essay criteria, and gives examples of essays at different scoring levels along with commentary from the graders. I mentioned already that this is the only printed source of real GRE problems, right? In the end, this flawed book is just one more reason to hate the GRE and the people who make it. But if the GRE is in your future, then you should have a copy. Rating: - Accurate practice testsThis book, published by the makers of the GRE, is one of the better GRE review books available. The reading passages, in particular, are great practice for the real thing. The one key difference, of course, is that the real test is on the computer, but practice with these paper tests can still be very helpful. I wish the AWA section was a bit longer. In fact, I ended up using AWA practice questions from the official GMAT study guide. In association with Amazon.com | |