Customer Reviews

Kaplan GRE Exam Subject Test: Biology 2009-2010 Edition (Kaplan GRE Biology)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After taking the exam in December 2006, you would be better off buying and reviewing the latest version of Campbell Reece 'Biology' textbook to study for the GRE Biology Exam. This Kaplan book needs a revision as it is misrepresenting a lot of the information that was presented on the exam.

I would say that this book is good reference for a high school biology teacher.

For those of you who are considering taking the Biology GRE subject test, please do not buy this version. It is virtually the same at the older (2nd) edition which is a lot cheaper than this one. Don't be fooled by Kaplan and the so-called 2007-2008 edition. I repeat, this version is virtually the same as the previous edition. The only reason I'm giving this book a 5 stars is because it is indeed an excellent book for preparing the subject test. Peace.

This book provides a decent look at most of the areas that are emphasized on the Biology Subject Test. However, I found inaccuracies in some very basic concepts, so double-check what it tells you with other sources. The book is also poorly written both in terms of grammar/syntax and explaining concepts clearly. Other reviewers recommend purchasing the Campbell Biology text instead of this guide, and that is a good idea if you can determine which concepts will be useful for the GRE and how many details you will be expected to know. Campbell is so detailed that it would be easy to become overwhelmed and to spend too much time studying unnecessary concepts or facts. I studied using both books and found that I could determine what was important with the Kaplan Guide and then learn those topics properly with Campbell.

This book is accessible and covers much of the exam material in the depth you need to know it. However, it glosses over plant biology (a very major component of the exam) as well as much of the animal physiology and evolution material it contains. It was very frustrating on exam day to see all kinds of information not covered in this book -- and I'm not talking specifics here but GENERAL CONCEPTS. If your undergraduate biology study was more focused (i.e. you haven't had development or plant bio or physiology or evolution or cell bio), you're probably better off taking an in-depth review of the Campbell general biology textbook (an older edition of which I'm sure you could get cheaply and not feel bad marking up). Also, if inconsistent diagrams and lapses in text editing aren't really your cup of tea, this book might not be for you.

A bit better than the PR guide, at least the paper is of higher quality. More topics are covered in more details, but there are still things missing. And beware, some of the details in this book may not be correct. The best thing to prepare for your GRE biology is to use this book to determine what materials you need to know for the exam, and study the equivalent topics in your Campbell (or any intro. Biology textbook)

I noticed 3 mistakes within the first few pages of chapter one. If the author doesn't know an ester linkage should have a double bond to oxygen, doesn't know that the chemical formula for an unsaturated fatty acid is not the same as for a saturated fatty acid, and thinks that carbon can have 5 bonds, then I don't feel comfortable using this book as a study guide for more advanced topics. I wouldn't buy this book.

I bought this book to study for the 2009 GRE, which I just took. The book is very light on detail, and very sloppy throughout -- you probably saw better diagrams and explanations on the home-made handouts you got from any of your professors. It certainly isn't up to the standard of a good textbook. All the way through, there are inaccuracies and errors.

However, it does provide a crude sort of overview of what topics are on the test. It's slightly more useful than the official list of topics from ETS, in that you think you might know about a particular topic, but when you read the review section you'll find that you've never heard of certain subtopics. My advice would be to skim it, reviewing the stuff you know, and noting which areas you need to learn more about. DON'T try to learn new material from this review guide. Instead, go pick up a GOOD college intro bio textbook, and learn as much as you can from that over a few weeks. Or if you're really ambitious, and have several months, go to the intermediate textbooks.

The single (!) practice test is also kind of infuriating -- full of sloppy questions and outright errors. And it doesn't give you any feedback about how well you do -- you might freak out after only scoring 75% on the practice test, but if you then take the official practice test from ETS, you'll find that a 75% actually translates to a damn good score -- somewhere around 90th percentile.

You might as well buy any version you want for a test you will take soon, but I did find this book very helpful for reviewing without much time to do so. The situation will change when the test goes electronic, however. In that case the old versions will likely be obsolete.

I studied this book cover to cover and still didnt do well on the biology exam. In some sections, the information is detailed, but in most sections it is not. Unfortunately, there arent any better gre test prep items out there. I am going to study again, but I think I am going to go directly to a textbook and study from there. But dont buy, its a waste of time. Or if you do buy, use as a starter to your studying, but dont end with it.

This is one of the best GRE subject books for any person trying to score high on the GRE exam in Biology. It covers everything you need to know in detail. The illustrations, the diagrams, the graphs, the charts, are all very helpful too. They even show you some basic math to help you understand everything better and for it to make sense for you. It has three sections Cellular and Molecular Biology, Organismal Biology, and Ecology and Evolution. I could not put it down it was so helpful and I understood everything that they wrote down. This book is very specific and as mentioned above and thorougly explains everything without you saying this is too much. There are about 14-15 practice questions at the end of each section and the answers are explained fully. The end of the book there are 200 questions that cover everything that you read in the book and the answers are again fully explained at the end. I am not a good multiple choice test taker but after reading about 10 pages on a certain topic I answered the question correctly at the end. I highly recommend this book you will definately score higher on the GRE subject. Even if you are not a good test taker you will most likely get a higher score! The book might I add is interesting to read too and is very thought provoking.