Cracking the GRE Literature, 3rd Edition (Princeton Review: Cracking the GRE Literature in English) [Paperback]

Doug McMullen Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2000 | Series: Princeton Review: Cracking the GRE Literature in English

The Princeton Review won't overwhelm students with four centuries of literature -- they'll teach students only what they need to know to score higher on the GRE Literature. There's a big difference. In Cracking the GRE Literature, TPR will teach test-takers to think like the test-makers.

This is accomplished by teaching students how to:
Eliminate answer choices that look right but are planted to fool the test-taker
Improve one's score by focusing on the material most likely to appear on the test
Prepare with TPR's brief summaries of major literary works and figures
Review TPR's introduction to literary terms, verse forms, and schools of criticism

*This book includes a full-length simulated GRE Literature test. All of The Princeton Review's sample test questions are like the ones test-takers will see on the actual GRE Literature test, and every solution is fully explained.

Contents Include:

Part I: The Big Picture
Orientation
What's on the Test?
Part II: Cracking the System
Basic Principles
Advanced Principles
Part III: Cracking the System by Cracking the Books
Why Should You Study?
Heavy Hitters -- Homer and Other Greeks
The A, B, and C Lists
Literary Terms, Verse Forms, and Schools of Criticism
The Last List
Part IV: TPR Review Diagnostic Test
Part V: Answers and Explanations

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The Princeton Review won't overwhelm students with four centuries of literature -- they'll teach students only what they need to know to score higher on the GRE Literature. There's a big difference. In Cracking the GRE Literature, TPR will teach test-takers to think like the test-makers.

This is accomplished by teaching students how to:
Eliminate answer choices that look right but are planted to fool the test-taker
Improve one's score by focusing on the material most likely to appear on the test
Prepare with TPR's brief summaries of major literary works and figures
Review TPR's introduction to literary terms, verse forms, and schools of criticism

*This book includes a full-length simulated GRE Literature test. All of The Princeton Review's sample test questions are like the ones test-takers will see on the actual GRE Literature test, and every solution is fully explained.

Contents Include:

Part I: The Big Picture
Orientation
What's on the Test?
Part II: Cracking the System
Basic Principles
Advanced Principles
Part III: Cracking the System by Cracking the Books
Why Should You Study?
Heavy Hitters -- Homer and Other Greeks
The A, B, and C Lists
Literary Terms, Verse Forms, and Schools of Criticism
The Last List
Part IV: TPR Review Diagnostic Test
Part V: Answers and Explanations

About the Author

Douglas McMullen, Jr. has worked for the Princeton Review since 1987 in a variety of capacities, including teacher, writer, and editor.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Review; 3rd edition (August 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375756175
• ISBN-13: 978-0375756177
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,487,146 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars S'ok, January 12, 2001

By 

Cathleen C. Jenkins (Grand Ledge, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracking the GRE Literature, 3rd Edition (Princeton Review: Cracking the GRE Literature in English) (Paperback)

This book can indeed help you prepare for the test, but if you haven't read the bulk of the 19th century British Lit, the test can still floor you. If you have an extra 6 months before the test, why, then there is still time. I left myself one month to prepare, bought the book and dug right in. I found that the book did help me prepare for a lot of the little things, like Chaucer and Marvel and Marlowe and the like, authors I might not have brushed up on had I not bought the book. Unfortunately the bulk of the questions I had to answer pertained to authors I had never heard of from the Victorian age as well as some Romantics. Stuff I never wanted to read, and still don't. Another point that must be considered when preparing for the test: there are different versions of the exam. Case in point, one reviewer here indicated that his test had many more questions on literary theory than the book had led him to believe there would be. My version of the test had exactly 4 questions pertaining to literary theory . . . disappointing considering I had taken that reviewer at his word and really cracked the theory books in preparation. One thing the book definitely helps with is in the strategy department; that is, it helps you learn HOW to take the test. I am still awaiting my scores, but I am not holding my breath. Good luck to you.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars insufferable poseurs, June 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Cracking the GRE Literature, 3rd Edition (Princeton Review: Cracking the GRE Literature in English) (Paperback)

This book describes the way the test "feels" to a tee. The test feels like a cocktail party full of people who haven't actually _read_ any of the books mentioned but have read the Encyclopedia of Literature and know character names, places, titles and authors. I'm a comparative literature major and i blew the test (there's _very_ little of anything but British literature-- it's even skimpy on American literature. The only non-English language literature that you should really know is that Dostoyevsky wrote Crime and Punishment). Anyway, it's really not worth too much effort-- the test is like a serious of inside jokes that you have to pretend to understand. This review guide tells you the basic stuff you need to know to get the ETS' clever little jokes about Milton without ever having opened Paradise Lost. If you're going to review anything other than this guide, I'd suggest reviewing major Shakespearean plays and the more significant of the Canterbury Tales; also for some reason there were 2 questions on Vanity Fair (this is really a major piece of literature?). Get this book, the Norton Anthology, and perhaps an Encyclopedia of Literature (or look over a good time-line online) and you should be perfectly fine.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Friendly, funny, outstanding guidance, December 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Cracking the GRE Literature, 3rd Edition (Princeton Review: Cracking the GRE Literature in English) (Paperback)

This book was of enormous help in preparing for the test. I scored in the 97th percentile and, in all honesty, was hoping to be in the 70's. It includes a timeline of authors as well as several really focused (and reasonable) reading lists. I'm incredibly weak when it comes to poetry, so having a list of must-read poets/poems was a godsend. I think the book's tests are a bit harder than the real thing so your actual score will most likely be an improvement on your practice scores. In addition to following the tips in the PR, try to read up on contemporary criticism, and be sure to familiarize yourself with some of Shakespeare's history plays (ETS loves to nail you on those). Other helpful resources include: The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms, Frank Magill's summaries, and the Norton Anthology of Poetry.