Customer Reviews

Word Smart: Building An Educated Vocabulary (Princeton Review)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read many books throughout my life, but this by far has been the greatest and most helpful book I have EVER read. Mere words in this review can not begin to explain how immensely this book has affected my academic career. In high school, when I took the pre-SAT for the first time, I got a 340 on the verbal. YES, that's right! a 340! Since English is not my first language, my vocabulary was EXTREMELY limited. My goal was improvement, but knowing that I had read very little English when I was young, I had to figure out a QUICK way to raise my score. That's when I discovered Word Smart. After memorizing the definition of the words in this book, and many others, my score shot up to 710 on the verbal! Keep in mind I learned English in the third grade, but I still managed to score very high. Words in this book WILL appear on EVERY SAT and GRE, not to mention all major newspapers and books of ALL kind. You can count on that. After learning the words in this book, in a very twisted way I have yet to completely understand, my writing ability also dramatically improved. In conclusion, you are a COMPLETE FOOL if you take the SAT or the GRE without first extensively studying this book. Your future is very important, don't risk it.

This is a book for the highly-motivated student who wants to know the most frequent words on the SAT and GRE exams and is willing to work his or her tail off to learn them. It has several other things going for it: the authors recognize the inseparability of language from thought; they caution against mistaking a large or esoteric vocabulary for knowledge; they provide some tips about etymology and the uses of Latin and Greek roots and affixes but they do not overrate this occasionally helpful tool (word meanings are dynamic and frequently arbitary, having little to do with the original word form).

The downside of the volume is that it doesn't provide a "programmed" approach capable of engaging the less-motivated reader in a progressive series of fun yet educational exercises. For this purpose, the Norman Lewis books are a better bet, even though the latter author tends to overemphasize esoteric words and overrate the importance of etymology.

When you buy a reliable name, such as Princeton Review you are buying into the company. You are placing your faith that this company will continue to provide good products and satisfy its consumers. I will be honest, I bought Word Smart because of the name and publisher. The people at Princeton Review have belted out hundreds of books with an exceptional amount of educational value. Their review and study guides have helped me get through not only my SATs, but my GREs and SAT 2s. On my expansive book shelves I can be credited with owning probably a dozen Princeton Review books. Word Smart is no disappointment. In order to illustrate how effective these books are, I can not help but to reveal my scores on the SATs, humbly of course. My first time around, I scored a 1350. I was ecstatic to say the least. My verbal score was a 720, and this should be noted because on my next try, after mulling over Word Smart I missed a single question on the verbal section, resulting in a near perfect score. Word Smart's hit parade found in the back of the book was endlessly useful, and many of the words found there were, to my delight on the SATs. Buy this book, you won't be disappointed. No serious student should go without it.

If you're taking the SAT anytime soon, this book is for you. It helped me get a 800 Verbal score. It gives you many ways to memorize some difficult words. It is a lot more helpful than flashcards because it gives you sample sentences that not only show you how it's used in a sentence, but also helps you memorize them. If you take this book piece by piece (that is, read it a section at a time, making sure you have each and every word of the section down cold), your verbal score will increase. In conclusion, I highly recommend this book if you really want to improve your verbal SAT score.

Seven years ago I was serving an evangelical mission, attempting to learn to read French and speak Haitian Creole. I began to read a very scholarly tome by James E. Talmage. I was so infuriated by my blatant inability to mentally grasp the well-written English I was reading, that I set out on a quest to dramatically improve my grasp on the English language.

It was my great fortune to happenchance upon this reference tool in a book retailer at a local mall. I have implemented the simple, yet effective, methods of vocabulary expansion explained in this book. I am now equally comfortable grimacing through the latest cacophony from Eminem, as I am discussing philosophy with suits that have earned Ph.D.'s.

If you're looking for a tool for self-improvement that will bring a new confidence in your verbal and written communication, then you've found the right book. The work of finding the words you *need* to know has been done for you. All that remains is for you to find creative way to put them to use for you in your daily life. May you, like me, enjoy years of quality articulation as a result of this wonderful tool!

Of the many vocabulary building books I have looked through, I find that this one stands out. It has a very good introduction, which gives some interesting information on the basics of vocabulary building. It is geared specifically towards doing well on the high school level SAT test and the words reflect that level.

If you want to augment or ameliorate your vocabulary, you might want to study this book. I think that it is geared more towards high school students than adults, although the next WordSmart is suitablt for anyone.

It helped me preparing for the GRE. It covers about 20-30% of the vocabulary in the verbal section of the GRE. The author has a good sense of humor. The examples, quizzes and final exams are very helpful. They make memorizing a lot easier.

Were it only available years ago!

I left school in the third week of sixth grade and didn't return until a GED test enabled me to start college studying engineering at 23 years of age. A couple of years later as a U.S. army draftee my perfect Verbal/English score of 152 along with my Arithmetic/Reasoning test score of 146 yielded an Army I.Q. of 149; among the top two percent of Mensa members. But it had been won at immense cost in time and effort. Wordsmart provides perhaps 80% of all that is needed for a perfect score; thus much of the benefit of hundreds of books is condensed into one - Wordsmart! I'm ordering from Amazon.com a copy of it for each of the students in my class. It can transform lives!

If you're considering buying Word Smart + Grammer Smart the Compact Disc Audio Edition, I urge you to look else where for you vocab building needs. The quality of the definitions, illustrations, and word selection is second rate. Many of the words, such as anguish, are elementary. Anyone with good reading skills and experience should avoid this program.