Kaplan-exclusive strategies for all question types
Powerful vocabulary-building methods
Hundreds of practice questions
Detailed answer explanations
Complete chapter dedicated to the Analytical Writing Assessment
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I recommend this book expecially for foreigners or students who have difficulties in the verbal section of the GMAT. However this book helps to get started, to give you a method, but it is not enough if you are aiming at high score in the GMAT (i.e. more than 640). So keep in mind that you'll probably need an additional book
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am a non-native speaker but have used this book to get 96th percentile on Verbal!
~~~~ SUMMARY ~~~~
Though not as detailed as some of the dedicated RC, CR, SC books, it provides great balance of useful strategies/instruction and time required to cover them. Good number of practice questions and also a grammar/style usage guide at the end.
~~~~~ STRENGTHS ~~~~~
- No tricks, just straightforward strategies to every section (3-4 steps). Easy to remember and simple to use
- Was just the right length for me (covered it in 3 weeks)
- Good number of exercise questions; both 220 GMAT-like (220) and exercises in the chapters; the questions are on the harder side
- Style/Usage guide and list of idioms (you must know all of these)
- Sets the right expectations (GMAT-style reading is very different from casual reading). You must forget what you know and re-learn reading to succeed
- The CR approach to answer the question before reading answer choices works like a charm
- The RC section is what really shines in this book
~~~~~ WEAKNESSES ~~~~~
- I felt the SC section was a little weak (5 pages plus a grammar section in the back). If you are a non-native speaker, you should definitely plan on getting a dedicated grammar book. Kaplan's Verbal Foundations is not bad
- One of the question sets/banks overlaps with the online exercises in the Kaplan Premier book
- The CR questions are slightly different from the official "flavor", which is typical for third-party questions. Keep this in mind and make sure you train your ear on the Official Guide or GMAT Prep before the test
~~~~~ BOTTOM LINE: Great book for those who don't have months to prep for the verbal section but there are better dedicated SC and CR resources. Manhattan GMAT (a wholly owned subsidiary of Kaplan has great SC and CR books).
~~~~~ GMAT CLUB'S TIPS ~~~~~
Here is a list of both tips and mistakes I have seen people make through my years at GMAT Club:
- Whenever you practice, do so in a timed environment (give yourself an average of 2 mins). If you don't, you are really wasting your time and setting unrealistic expectations
- Follow the strategies to the "T". If you are not getting a good score, it is probably because you are not following the strategies exactly and cutting corners. It is very important to read the CR passages twice, and to read the RC completely
- Leverage your strengths and perfect the timing. Strike a balance between the question types. Reading was the hardest for me and I peaked at about 2.5 mins per RC question. (I noticed that if I spent only 2 mins on average, my success rate went down from 90% to about 60-70%) That was not good enough but instead of trying to break through that wall, I worked on answering SC questions in 1 min average and CR's in 1.5 mins average. That gave me enough time to approach RC properly
- Have a problem with keeping attention through the long or intense GMAT passages - try to be passionate about the passage. Imagine that it is the most interesting/revolting/provocative/unbelieavable stories. Care about it!
- Optional suggestion (which I think is very helpful by the way) - read quality fiction books in your spare time. Our minds are not prepared to read the GMAT-level passages (length or intensity or timing wise). You need to train your mind to be open to these and to know how to deal with them. I would recommend getting some quality fiction books (google "GMAT Fiction") - it will help not only with RC but also with SC as your grammar ear will be much more trained. This is how I managed to crack SC's in 1 minute or less.
- If you are a non-native speaker, make sure your English is OK before you start on the verbal section. Knowing strategies is valuable only when you understand what you reading. I know this sounds obvious but so many people ignore this
- On the test, draw a grid and use it to eliminate answer choices. By the time you reach the verbal section, you are 3 hours into the test and your mind will not be able to hold anything. A grid (which you can draw during a break or as you are reading the instructions) will help eliminate/track answer choices on hard questions
- You don't need to take dozens of practice tests. Don't use practice tests to learn material; instead, know it ahead of time and use practice tests to hone your strategies and timing. It should be enough to take 5-10 tests total.
P.S. I am not a tutor nor do I provide any GMAT services.
I am a founder of GMAT Club, a free community for MBA applicants - contributing to each other's learning since 2002.
Good Luck on your GMAT and let me know if any questions - I Reply to Comments!
BB, Founder of GMAT Club
750 (q49, v42)
~~~~ SUMMARY ~~~~
Though not as detailed as some of the dedicated RC, CR, SC books, it provides great balance of useful strategies/instruction and time required to cover them. Good number of practice questions and also a grammar/style usage guide at the end.
~~~~~ STRENGTHS ~~~~~
- No tricks, just straightforward strategies to every section (3-4 steps). Easy to remember and simple to use
- Was just the right length for me (covered it in 3 weeks)
- Good number of exercise questions; both 220 GMAT-like (220) and exercises in the chapters; the questions are on the harder side
- Style/Usage guide and list of idioms (you must know all of these)
- Sets the right expectations (GMAT-style reading is very different from casual reading). You must forget what you know and re-learn reading to succeed
- The CR approach to answer the question before reading answer choices works like a charm
- The RC section is what really shines in this book
~~~~~ WEAKNESSES ~~~~~
- I felt the SC section was a little weak (5 pages plus a grammar section in the back). If you are a non-native speaker, you should definitely plan on getting a dedicated grammar book. Kaplan's Verbal Foundations is not bad
- One of the question sets/banks overlaps with the online exercises in the Kaplan Premier book
- The CR questions are slightly different from the official "flavor", which is typical for third-party questions. Keep this in mind and make sure you train your ear on the Official Guide or GMAT Prep before the test
~~~~~ BOTTOM LINE: Great book for those who don't have months to prep for the verbal section but there are better dedicated SC and CR resources. Manhattan GMAT (a wholly owned subsidiary of Kaplan has great SC and CR books).
~~~~~ GMAT CLUB'S TIPS ~~~~~
Here is a list of both tips and mistakes I have seen people make through my years at GMAT Club:
- Whenever you practice, do so in a timed environment (give yourself an average of 2 mins). If you don't, you are really wasting your time and setting unrealistic expectations
- Follow the strategies to the "T". If you are not getting a good score, it is probably because you are not following the strategies exactly and cutting corners. It is very important to read the CR passages twice, and to read the RC completely
- Leverage your strengths and perfect the timing. Strike a balance between the question types. Reading was the hardest for me and I peaked at about 2.5 mins per RC question. (I noticed that if I spent only 2 mins on average, my success rate went down from 90% to about 60-70%) That was not good enough but instead of trying to break through that wall, I worked on answering SC questions in 1 min average and CR's in 1.5 mins average. That gave me enough time to approach RC properly
- Have a problem with keeping attention through the long or intense GMAT passages - try to be passionate about the passage. Imagine that it is the most interesting/revolting/provocative/unbelieavable stories. Care about it!
- Optional suggestion (which I think is very helpful by the way) - read quality fiction books in your spare time. Our minds are not prepared to read the GMAT-level passages (length or intensity or timing wise). You need to train your mind to be open to these and to know how to deal with them. I would recommend getting some quality fiction books (google "GMAT Fiction") - it will help not only with RC but also with SC as your grammar ear will be much more trained. This is how I managed to crack SC's in 1 minute or less.
- If you are a non-native speaker, make sure your English is OK before you start on the verbal section. Knowing strategies is valuable only when you understand what you reading. I know this sounds obvious but so many people ignore this
- On the test, draw a grid and use it to eliminate answer choices. By the time you reach the verbal section, you are 3 hours into the test and your mind will not be able to hold anything. A grid (which you can draw during a break or as you are reading the instructions) will help eliminate/track answer choices on hard questions
- You don't need to take dozens of practice tests. Don't use practice tests to learn material; instead, know it ahead of time and use practice tests to hone your strategies and timing. It should be enough to take 5-10 tests total.
P.S. I am not a tutor nor do I provide any GMAT services.
I am a founder of GMAT Club, a free community for MBA applicants - contributing to each other's learning since 2002.
Good Luck on your GMAT and let me know if any questions - I Reply to Comments!
BB, Founder of GMAT Club
750 (q49, v42)
By G. pande
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It's a good book. I used the Barron's review book as well as this one and I scored over 85 percent in my GMAT English section.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
20 pages of the book are not clear, the lines are put on together
Dear Sirs,
I got the bought book, Kaplan Gmat verbal Workbook, however there are about 20 pages which are not clear and many lines and words in the same line, pls see... Read more
I got the bought book, Kaplan Gmat verbal Workbook, however there are about 20 pages which are not clear and many lines and words in the same line, pls see... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Nguyen Thi To Ngoc
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Material
This is a solid GMAT prep book and will help you improve your verbal score. The questions are very representative of real GMAT questions. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Sesh
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