GRE Prep Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Director
Joined: 16 May 2014
Posts: 592
Given Kudos: 0
GRE 1: Q165 V161
Review Of Verbal Advantage
[#permalink]
23 May 2014, 06:29
23 May 2014, 06:29
Expert Reply
Basic Description
Verbal Advantage is an advanced vocabulary builder for those with a strong command of the English language. The book covers 500 main words and thousands of synonyms in 50 lessons. Quizzes are included to help in retaining the material, as well as sections covering grammar and word usage. As of the time of this post, Verbal Advantage is slightly more expensive than a number of other vocabulary books.
Pros
1. Vocabulary - There are certainly more than the 500 advertized words. And while not all of the synonyms are comprehensively discussed, the book does an adequate job in defining as many as possible.
2. Definitions - Explanations are thorough and complete. Usually it feels more like an enlightened conversation than a dry list of definitions.
Cons
1. Advanced Words - Many of the advanced words are simply too obscure to really be of benefit to anyone. Some energy and time will be lost for test takers who would have been better served using other resources.
2. Questions – There is not much variety in problem types. Also, the number and difficulty level of questions might be insufficient to retain the massive amount of information. This is the only real disappointment of the book.
Closing Remarks
This book is an excellent and interesting vocabulary builder, especially for advanced words. But if we limit ourselves strictly to GRE purposes, there are more appropriate (and cheaper) options available. For those who particularly benefit from vocabulary books or want to equip themselves with additional words that will not necessarily be found in other resources, this product could be of some service. By then, however, we must consider the danger of vocabulary burnout. There probably is no need to cover multiple vocabulary workbooks for GRE. Completing one or two, along with GRE flashcards, should suffice for most test takers.
Verbal Advantage is an advanced vocabulary builder for those with a strong command of the English language. The book covers 500 main words and thousands of synonyms in 50 lessons. Quizzes are included to help in retaining the material, as well as sections covering grammar and word usage. As of the time of this post, Verbal Advantage is slightly more expensive than a number of other vocabulary books.
Pros
1. Vocabulary - There are certainly more than the 500 advertized words. And while not all of the synonyms are comprehensively discussed, the book does an adequate job in defining as many as possible.
2. Definitions - Explanations are thorough and complete. Usually it feels more like an enlightened conversation than a dry list of definitions.
Cons
1. Advanced Words - Many of the advanced words are simply too obscure to really be of benefit to anyone. Some energy and time will be lost for test takers who would have been better served using other resources.
2. Questions – There is not much variety in problem types. Also, the number and difficulty level of questions might be insufficient to retain the massive amount of information. This is the only real disappointment of the book.
Closing Remarks
This book is an excellent and interesting vocabulary builder, especially for advanced words. But if we limit ourselves strictly to GRE purposes, there are more appropriate (and cheaper) options available. For those who particularly benefit from vocabulary books or want to equip themselves with additional words that will not necessarily be found in other resources, this product could be of some service. By then, however, we must consider the danger of vocabulary burnout. There probably is no need to cover multiple vocabulary workbooks for GRE. Completing one or two, along with GRE flashcards, should suffice for most test takers.
gmatclubot
Review Of Verbal Advantage [#permalink]
23 May 2014, 06:29
Moderators:
|
|
||
