Choosing the best GRE prep book is the first step to graduate school. Furthermore, selecting a GRE book from a seemingly unlimited supply might take much work.
GRE prep books come in various flavours, each with advantages and disadvantages. Because no book can teach you everything you need to know about the GRE, I recommend studying from various sources.
Every firm claims to have created the "best" GRE prep book. Some publications provide actual practice exams.
Some offer excellent approaches to the questions. Others, on the other hand, provide suitable practice activities.
Choosing the correct book for a practical prep guide depends on critical factors. Let's have a look at some of those characteristics.
What makes a good GRE book?
- GRE questions are formatted in a certain way. Too generic practice questions will miss the intricacies of GRE questions. A decent GRE prep book would provide practice questions like the actual GRE.
- A good GRE prep book would include effective tactics for taking the test. They would advise you on how to manage your time, what to do when you are unclear about an answer option, how to make an educated guess, how to exclude particular answers based on context clues, and so on.
- A solid GRE prep book would explain why a specific answer is accurate. It outlines the techniques to remove incorrect response options and reduce them to probable correct answers even if you need the precise solution.
- Any ideal GRE prep book would feature full-length practice examinations similar to the real one. Real-world practice examinations familiarise you with the GRE structure.
As previously said, no one book will meet all of the requirements listed above, but knowing which books meet which criteria
1. Official GRE Super-Power Pack
Each area of the GRE has its chapter in the book that explains the various question styles. There are practice sets after the book, followed by explanations. Two full-length practice examinations are free on their online tool, Powerprep.
PROS
- These three volumes provide the most realistic and GRE-like questions in any book.
- This pack is ideal if you want to buy only a few books from different publishers.
- These instructions categorize questions as superficial, medium, or challenging.
- A comprehensive chapter on the AWA section
- The official ETS GRE prep guide is one of the few that devotes a complete chapter to the AWA part. Essays might be challenging to grade since they do not include "particular response questions."
CONS
- The official GRE Guide's verbal portion needs more in-depth explanations of why confident response options are erroneous.
- Unlike many other publications, ETS does not include a list of terms.
- Not only are the explanations brief, but they are also phrased so pupils can grasp them.
2. Manhattan Prep GRE Set of 8 Strategy Guides
There are a total of eight books in the collection. These are the books to buy to go above and beyond with your GRE preparation.
Most GRE books would contain sections dedicated to each of the GRE sections. Some book sets include separate books for quantitative and verbal components.
On the other hand, Manhattan has each volume dedicated to a specific quantitative topic.
Six of the eight books cover quantitative themes. They are as follows:
- Algebra
- Fractions, decimals, and percentages
- Geometry
- Number properties
- Word problems
- Quantitative comparisons and data interpretation
The verbal books are:
- Reading comprehension and essays
- Text Completions and Sentence Equivalence
PROS
- Incredibly comprehensive
- Eloquent style
- Very well organized
- Plenty of drills and practice tests
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Talk to an ExpertCONS
- Verbal guides are not as good as quantitative
- Too costly
- Bottom line
Everything to know about GRE Test
3. Manhattan’s 5Lb GRE book
As the name implies, Manhattan's 5LB Prep GRE book has over 1800 practice problems. The book includes questions from both quantitative and verbal parts. The focus is on practice. It will not teach topics from the ground up.
PROS
- Variety of practice questions
- Advanced quant for higher learning
- Detailed answer explanations
CONS
- Not all questions resemble actual GRE
- Obscure vocabulary
- Non-Context based questions
- Bottom line
4. Kaplan’s GRE Complete
Kaplan's GRE Complete, which includes 1700+ practice problems, is the newest addition to their GRE training program. The first book is a generic GRE guide. It will go through the details of the GRE, such as format, time duration, scoring method, etc.
The second book is Kaplan's GRE Math Workbook, which focuses on the quantitative component of the GRE. The math workbook has a series of GRE-style math questions. You will learn the formulae and strategies needed to solve quantitative issues.
"GRE Verbal Workbook," the third volume, is devoted to GRE verbal questions and methods. You will be given a full guide to the verbal portion and detailed explanations and methods.
PROS
- An abundance of practice questions
- 6 Computer-based GRE full-length practice tests
- Additional online learning material
CONS
- Some practice questions do not resemble GRE
- Quantitative questions lack complexity
- Full-length GRE practice tests lack difficulty
- Bottom line
5. Princeton Review GRE Prep
The book is divided into four sections. The first section serves as an orientation and basic overview of the GRE, how the exam operates, how it is formatted, how the scoring system operates, and so on.
The 2nd half is all about the verbal section. You'll discover a vocabulary list of the most prevalent GRE terms. You will discover ways to answer appropriately.
The quantitative component is the focus of the third section. The math segment, like the verbal, will begin with the fundamentals. It will offer you ideas and tactics for dealing with any question type.
The fourth and last segment is devoted to analytical writing. This component is significantly shorter than the verbal and math parts. It will teach you how to write an "argument" and a "problem essay."
PROS
- Great test strategies
- Explanation of fundamental concepts
- Four full-length practice tests
CONS
- Sub-par math section
- Practice tests are not authentic
- Strategies not as reliable as they seem
- Bottom line
