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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Defenitly Deserves the Title. (Add "And A Quick Reference too!", March 25, 2007
This review is from: The PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible: A Comprehensive System for Attacking the GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions (Paperback)
Defenitely deserves the title and what'smore, this book can be a very quick reference, making it very practical and helpful.
Don't be afraid to buy a whole book for this question type. All the other books (Princeton, Kaplan, Official Guide, etc...) do not cover this GMAT speciality topic in depth. This book will clear all your doubts about how to solve and how to think about CR questions. It also provides a quick reference. For example, if you think you need to review how to best think about "Weaken" questions, you can very easily in five minutes read the section summary and be confident again. Tomorrow is my exam and in 1/2
an hour I reviewd the whole book!
This book clearly divides the CR question types into ten and not eight like most of the other question types and believe me knowing the question type is a fundamental that you need to master. Even more, it gives you innovative specific techniques for each question type, example, Fact Test, Variance Test, Assumption Negation Techniques. All these techniques are simplifying techniques that allow you to intelligently tackle CR questions.
The book also discusses why its techniques are different from and better than those of other books. Eg: This book unlike Princeton (I am not Against Princeton, in fact I think it is much better that Kaplan) teachs you and convinces you to read the Argument first and then questin.
By exactly knowing what you should do for eah question type you can become an expert in solving CR questions. The thinking process becomes "automatic" one, that is you don't have to think really hard because the strategies that you learned become natural.
I recommend this book to anyone seriously preparing for the GMAT.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ultimate Answer to Your Critical Reasoning Needs, April 24, 2009
This review is from: The PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible: A Comprehensive System for Attacking the GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions (Paperback)
This is the best CR book out there. Though pretty similar to Manhattan GMAT book, it offers more practice questions in the book and has a slightly better overview of the Critical Reasoning questions.
~~~ Strengths: ~~~
1. In-depth overview of the Critical Reasoning strategies and approaches to questions
2. Clearly divides the CR question types and provides specific strategy for each type as well as the pitfalls and common errors. You will also get to know how the CR questions are made.
3. Good quality GMAT-like practice questions
4. Created by the authors of the best LSAT books (LSAT logic section is much harder than CR on the GMAT; there is actually a decent amoount of overlap in this book with the LSAT book). Speaking of which, for extra hardcore (and absolutely not necessary but still), you can get the PowerScore LR book (comes with quite a few LSAT questions)
~~~ Weaknesses: ~~~
1. Could use more practice questions (more than mgmat though); you will need to find another source of CR questions such as GMAT Official guide 12 or the verbal supplement to the Official Guide (though the verbal OG has questions on the easier side)
2. Some explanations are too convoluted
3. No tests or online excercises/additional content
~~~~ My Suggestions ~~~~
- Read explanations to every question. Even if you got a question right, it does not mean, you solved it correctly (that is you used the correct approach or found all the shortcusts). You will be surpised sometimes and will pick up helpful tips even from explanations of questions you answered correctly
- Follow the actual strategies (DUH). This is probably the most common mistake people make - they start inventing their own approaches. Don't do it until you have a high verbal score. If you don't, just follow!
- If you don't have any Manhattan GMAT books, you want to get at least one, as each comes with access to 6 online CAT tests (these tests are worth the purchase). There is not a whole lot of value to get both Powerscore CR and MGMAT CR; the content is by large the same.
Good luck on your GMAT!
BB, Founder of GMAT Club
GMAT 750 (q49, v42)
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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply the BEST GMAT Critical Reasoning Book available, November 10, 2009
This review is from: The PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible: A Comprehensive System for Attacking the GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions (Paperback)
I self studied and scored a 770 on the GMAT. Here are my thoughts on PowerScore's Critical Reasoning Bible:
===== OVERVIEW =====
The PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible (or the CR bible, as you'll see it commonly referenced in online forums) is published by the renowned LSAT-prep gurus, PowerScore. The LSAT and the GMAT have two question types that are somewhat similar: Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning (known as `Logical Reasoning' in the LSAT). This book comes in as an abridged form of the company's massively successful Logical Reasoning Bible. This CR bible has a solid reputation as a comprehensive guide to one of the most puzzling question types on the GMAT.
The CR bible covers the topic of GMAT Critical Reasoning with incredible depth and detail. Questions are neatly organized according to "families" in order for the reader to understand the various logical connections between question types. The book deals with ten types of Critical Reasoning questions, all remarkably well analyzed, in ten separate chapters. The CR bible even addresses many rarely-tested CR question types; although I would love to see a separate chapter for boldface critical reasoning questions in a future edition (boldface critical reasoning questions are considered among the toughest question tested on the GMAT). One could argue that this book will also help in case you're having trouble with Reading Comprehension. I personally found the `Main Point' chapter particularly enlightening and relevant to reading comprehension.
===== PROS =====
* Detailed analysis of Critical Reasoning question types means that you will have a quick reference guide at hand should you ever feel the need to review for one topic or the other
* Practice questions, although few, are the closest I've ever seen to actual GMAT questions (in terms of style). Explanations are also top notch, with great analysis of why a wrong answer is wrong. In my opinion, understanding why an answer is wrong helps you avoid common traps and is almost as useful as understanding why the correct choice is right
* After reading the CR bible, you will be able to see why the GMAT is so popular with business school admissions. The process of "creating" a Critical Reasoning question is carefully explained, a fact which made me realize the amount of talent and effort that goes into making just one GMAT question. The author of the book clearly shows due respect to the GMAT test and its creators, which inspired me
* If pressed for time, the book offers a quick strategy for studying the most important question types
===== CONS =====
* At around 50 practice questions, the CR bible needs to be supplemented with other resources, such as The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition or The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review, 2nd Edition
* Unlike most prep books, this book does not come with a CD or online access to CATs (computer-adaptive practice tests)
* The book only features two boldface questions (this question type is described in the `Method of Reasoning' chapter)
===== BOTTOM LINE =====
The PowerScore Critical Reasoning Bible is definitely worth the money if you feel you're having trouble with Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension. Its strategies and tips, if carefully studied and applied, will surely translate in an increase in your score. I attribute much of my 11-point verbal raw score increase (from 36 to 47) to this book.
About me: Dana Jinaru, 770 GMAT scorer, expert at Beat The GMAT - a community serving 100K+ GMAT students/month
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