Good GRE books for vocabulary

[capacityplanner]

Hi all,

A question -- I am studying for the GREs (especially the verbal/analytical).

What books would you recommend to really improve vocabulary?

some suggestions I heard were books by melville (moby dick), dickens..

Thanks..

capacityplanner

[Koa]

what's GRE?

[baddad]

Hi all,

A question -- I am studying for the GREs (especially the verbal/analytical).

What books would you recommend to really improve vocabulary?

some suggestions I heard were books by melville (moby dick), dickens..

Thanks..

capacityplanner

Increased vocabulary?.......Crossword puzzles, and lots of 'em!!

[verybaddmom]

ooohhh..good call. i try the new york times one every day, havent completely finished one yet, but have been getting closer! perseverance, right?

[Raven]

Victorian Literature or Terry Pratchett - everytime you get to a word you don't know, look it up, that's how I improved my vocabulary.







And not by 'reading the dictionary' as my cruel brother suggests!

[starter]

Very detailed comparison of top GRE books extending pluses/minuses of each book such as Kaplan's, Barron's, Cracking GRE (Princeton's Review(PR)),
and GRE Prep book by ETS on http://www.fpilus.com/undergraduates.html

[jgweed]

Many of the Victorian authors will certainly be worth exploring with a view to improving your vocabulary as well as sentence structure, and I would recommend Macaulay especially.

[wilbur lim]

Three words a day would be mediocre enough.

[Lena *]

I shoud take this test in two months. I really don`t get why they ask about vocabulary. I feel it will be a nightmare for me, because i`m not a nativespeaker...I try to learn words, but it`s also pretty boring, especially when you know that nobody going to undestand them in everyday talks... I see no perpose in such questions.

[JBI]

Memorize Keat's poems. His vocabulary is fantastic, and it is actually rewarding to read him anyway.

[Etienne]

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

Learn vocabulary and feed the world.

[hardword]

You can start with root words by going through the book word power made easy by Norman lewis.You can also have Barron's For more words.
There is lot of material avaiable in many sites:
http://www.vocabularywiki.com/

[JBI]

Victorian Literature or Terry Pratchett - everytime you get to a word you don't know, look it up, that's how I improved my vocabulary.







And not by 'reading the dictionary' as my cruel brother suggests!

Reading the OED is the best way - when you don't know something, you look it up - when you don't know the exact meaning of a word in the meaning, you look that up, and eventally, you keep tracing until you know thousands of words and numerous ways to use them.

Of course, the best way to build vocabulary is through poetry over prose, if someone wants to read something. Poetry is closer to language than prose, and plays more with meaning and vocabulary, and really puts diction central, moreso than prose does. The best starting point is probably Wordsworth, but one gets a lot from reading Tennyson, or, for a modern example, Richard Wilbur, who is a true master of word manipulation.

Reading Joyce though, builds vocab - but one has to really know loads before embarking on that.

[Quark]

A question -- I am studying for the GREs (especially the verbal/analytical).

What books would you recommend to really improve vocabulary?

some suggestions I heard were books by melville (moby dick), dickens..

The two suggestions at the bottom are good ones. I think 19th C novels are a generally fantastic sources of new language. Thomas Hardy, George Eliot, and the Brontes might also help you. If you want something more contemporary, maybe you could Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections which had quite a broad vocabulary. I would read widely, though, instead of focusing on an author or two. Everyone has their own set of words and phrases that might be new at first, but by the time you're three or four novels into reading them they might seem less unique.

You might also consider cramming. I know it sounds less inspired, but it does work. I take it you're going to take the test next fall--which leaves you a lot of time--but it's a slow process trying to read your way into vocabulary. With a vocab list you can go a little faster. Also, practice tests are useful. That way you'll know what you're in for.

Hope it goes well.

[Lulim]

what's GRE?
As some people around here seem to know what GRE is, why does nobody feel called upon to answer that question? -- I would like to know it myself ... :(

[Wilde woman]

what's GRE?

Seriously, nobody?

The GRE is the graduate record examination. Almost all graduate programs in America (with the exceptions of medical and law school) require it.

Capacityplanner, I actually took mine last fall so it's fairly fresh in my mind. If you've only got a limited amount of time to study for it, I wouldn't recommend going around and reading pieces of actual literature. It is an ideal way of learning vocab, but only if you have an unlimited amount of study time. I recommend getting an actual GRE prep book with a vocab list in it and studying from that. The advantage is that they'll actually have practice tests so that you can see if you can apply what you learned.

I've heard really good reviews of the Kaplan's Verbal workbook. I didn't use it so I wouldn't know but you might want to check it out. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-GRE-Exam-Verbal-Workbook/dp/1419552198/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236807178&sr=1-1

I used Barron's prep book (http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-GRE-Graduate-Record-Examination/dp/0764179497/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236806893&sr=1-6), but I wouldn't recommend it. Although their vocab list is pretty comprehensive, there are actually some definitions which are wrong, and even occasional entries with NO definitions whatsoever. The editors did a bad job with this book. But you can check out the user ratings of many GRE prep books on amazon.com.

PS - what grad program are you applying to? I'm actually prepping to take my GRE in English lit in April.

[Quark]

As some people around here seem to know what GRE is, why does nobody feel called upon to answer that question?

It's an expensive, three-part test designed to let graduate schools know the abilities of their applicants. One of the sections tests verbal ability--which is what the first poster wanted wanted help with. Looking at his post, though, I think this person probably already took the test months ago. I'm not entirely sure why the conversation started up again. Anyway, we have the GRE in the Unites States, and perhaps it's also used in Canada. I don't think it's used much outside of North America.

[Drkshadow03]

Hi all,

A question -- I am studying for the GREs (especially the verbal/analytical).

What books would you recommend to really improve vocabulary?


capacityplanner

If you can afford it, a private tutor. They will usually provide you with books. At least mine did.

1) We basically used the higher level version of the Vocab Book series that we used in High School (can't remember the series name off the top of my head).

2) You could also find an SAT Vocab Prep.

3) Take practice GRE tests. Keep track of the words you get wrong. Memorize those words.

4) Find word games online. I found a vocab game that cycled words and their definitions, but every once in awhile you would get old questions. This proved to be a fun way to improve vocab fast.

5) I would advise against sitting there with a dictionary and trying to memorize the dictionary. Unless you are a) really dedicated and think you could learn that way b) have a long time before you can take the test.

Make sure you can write a decent essay too.

[Drkshadow03]

(with the exceptions of medical and law school)

Yeah, but they have their own tests. For Law school it's LSATs. I have no idea what medical school requires, but I'm sure it requires a test.

In America, life is a series of standardized test after standardized test, then you die.

[miyagisan]

I'm planning to pursue a graduate degree in English, so I'll be taking the GRE as well as the Subject test in Literature some time in the next two years or so. I'm preparing for both of them by working through a reading list I found which is organized by their frequency in showing up on the Subject Test:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/5187/gre.html

[Wilde woman]

Yeah, but they have their own tests. For Law school it's LSATs. I have no idea what medical school requires, but I'm sure it requires a test.

Yes, I know. Law school requires the LSAT and med school requires the MCAT. And these are much harder tests than the GRE general test. I wasn't implying that these graduate programs don't require tests...of course they do.

[Drkshadow03]

Yes, I know. Law school requires the LSAT and med school requires the MCAT. And these are much harder tests than the GRE general test. I wasn't implying that these graduate programs don't require tests...of course they do.

Oops sorry.