Customer Reviews

The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There isn't much in this book to distinguish it from the verbal portion of The Official Guide for GMAT Review, but that's ok: if there's one thing GMAT students need, it's practice questions that look and feel just like the ones on the test. While the questions in the Quantitative Review book are somewhat easier than in the Official Guide, that isn't the case (to the same degree, anyway) with the verbal, so I can recommend this to just about anybody.

Further, the difference between authentic questions and inauthentic ones (i.e., those generated by writers at test-prep companies) is much greater in verbal material than in math. I should know: I've written hundreds of practice verbal questions, and matching the voice, structure, and objectives of the original is a daunting task. Some inauthentic practice materials are better than others, but you should take advantage of all the "real" questions that the testmaker has made available.

Contrary to the information at some MBA chat sites, the questions in the two supplements, The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review and The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review, and the main volume, The Official Guide for GMAT Review, are largely carried over from the 10th edition and the PDFs of retired exams sold by MBA.com. So if you have the 10th, you won't get as much as you might hope from spending for the new main volume, or $17 a pop for the supplements. You will get what GMAT calls "improved" explanations. Improved? Maybe. They're still pretty circular at times (eg, D is correct because it's uh....correct), but they do seem more detailed and better organized. These books are good study tools, just not as new as the GMAT folks would like us to believe.

The difficulty level of the questions in this book is about the same as that of the Official Guide for GMAT Review. I recommend this book to people who wish to have more practice. I think two of the questions in this book can be found in the official guide as well. But it's only 2 out of 300 questions. It shouldn't be a big deal.

This book contains exactly the same material contained in the verbal section of the complete version of the Official Guide for GMAT Review (by the way I've checked only the reading comp section). So don't buy this book if you already have the Official Guide and you are looking for additional verbal questions.

If you are serious about taking the Gmat and getting a good score, you absolutely must buy this book along with the other two official supplements. Between the three books, you will have access to over 1,000 problems that have been retired from the Gmat and are 100% representative of what you are going to see come test day.

My scores:

Powerprep 1 (Official software) - 700 - no studying
Princeton 1 - 630
Kaplan 1 - 560
Kaplan 2 - 600
Kaplan 3 - 580
Powerprep 2 - 730
Actual Gmat - 750

I am 100% certain that using all three books is what raised my score those last 50 points. On test day I was the only one at the center and I got to know the receptionist pretty well. She told me that she sees hundreds of these scores a year and the ones who get 700+ all have one thing in common - they have all done every problem in all three books.

My advice: spend the money on all three. Work every problem, noting which ones are hard and which you get wrong. When you are done, go back and work the hard/incorrect problems again. Then, when you are done, start over from page one. You effort will be rewarded on test day.

The GMAT verbal, especially the Sentence Correction, has been made substantially more difficult than it has been in the past. For example, GMAT SC tests such things as "gerunds which pose as nouns" and how they can only be parallel to action (but not regular) nouns. Unfortunately, this book leaves a lot wanting in the more difficult questions of the GMAT verbal.

Simply put, this book does not provide the type of questions the present real GMAT will give you.

You are far better off studying the Manhattan GMAT (especially SC) 3rd edition books. And no I do not work for Manhattan GMAT.

Do yourself a big favor and practice GMAT Prep (downloaded free from MBA.com) prior to taking the real GMAT. Otherwise, you will be in a shock at the difficulty of the questions when you take the real GMAT.

Unless you are shooting for sub 650 score, do not rely solely on this book for your GMAT verbal preparation. I suggest you spend your valuable study time on Manhattan GMAT books and GMAT prep.

I have worked through most of the guides out there and the OG is one of my favorites. I believe their verbal explanations are only OK.Therefore if you are looking for detailed explanations on solutions this may not be worth your money as you will get the same level of detail found in the OG 11th edition main book. I liked this book because it gives you 100 questions to practice in each section CR/RC/SC. As anyone studying for GMAT knows the more practice the better! my only wish is that they would rank the questions so you know what is "easy vs. hard." GOOD value if you need more material to practice with.

While I did not compare this with other guide books, like some reviewers have, I did use it to prepare for the GMAT. There are tons of questions, their answers and explanations for the answers. There is also a good section on how to approach the analytical writing section of the GMAT.

If - again for some insane reason - I were to have to take the GMAT again, I would buy this book again.

PS: I scored 90% on the verbal and 6 on the writing (hazaa!)

If you already have the Official Guide for GMAT review, then this book is not worth the money.
All the questions have been picked from the Official guide for GMAT review. So if you already have the GMAT review then this book has nothing additional.

This book is an excellent book, no doubt about it. It is a must have book. I have yet to take my GMAT test but I do know this book is very helpful in my preparation. I especially admire the answer reviews b/c every question is explained in great details. Basically the book teaches you the tricks about each question and every given answer.