Customer Reviews

Word Translations, 4th Edition (GMAT Strategy Guide, No. 4)

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

 

 

I self studied and scored a 770 on the GMAT. Here are my thoughts on the Manhattan GMAT Word Translations guide:

===== OVERVIEW =====

Finally, a guide that addresses combinatorics and statistics properly! Well, let's not get too excited, the book could always use more practice problems (I'm firmly convinced that practice is as important as theory in the GMAT), but compared to other resources on the market, the fourth guide in the Manhattan GMAT series of quant books is definitely one of the best when it comes to these pesky problem types. Word problems can be tricky even for those who are well-versed in math: it takes more than just pure calculations or formulas to get to the bottom of them.

The book follows the same structure of all MGMAT quant guides, with a basic to intermediate section (95 questions) and a more advanced part (only 13 questions, though). The combinatorics and statistics chapters are golden and offer significantly more explanations and practice than anything else I've reviewed. As such, these chapters cater directly to the students aiming for high scores: you will likely see three or four such questions in your GMAT and they might just make the difference between a scaled score of 48 and a scaled score of 50.

===== PROS =====

*Good coverage of the basic word problem types (i.e. how to translate English into math), but also of the more advanced concepts you'll see if you're targeting a superior score. You also get the highest number of practice questions for the types that make people nervous (just mention "combinatorics" on a forum and people will start complaining of their difficulty)

*Access to online resources: 25 extra questions and the 6 MGMAT computer adaptive tests to track your overall performance throughout your prep

*The quality of the explanations is consistently high, which I believe is crucial for a GMAT book. In my opinion, these explanations are there to substitute for a tutor and, as such, the ones you'll find in this guide are pretty good

*The problems in the The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition that test these concepts are neatly grouped at the end of the two parts to form a quick reference for practice

===== CONS =====

*Could have used more practice on advanced questions, especially on statistics (very few on standard deviation, which is probably also the hardest concept in the lot). However, some of the topics are more difficult by nature (I've already mentioned combinatorics above).

*Data Sufficiency problems with combinatorics, probability and statistics are possibly any test taker's nightmare (I got one DS statistics question on my test day that simply made my brain freeze). Sadly, the authors do not offer such problems for practice

*While the use of tables is at times warranted on the GMAT, this technique is just not the fastest for some of the problems that the book throws at you. It's often quicker to use some other strategy, especially if you're a more advanced learner.

===== BOTTOM LINE =====

A must have, honestly. I really loved this book because it's simply the only one I've read so far that deals with the concepts that I myself feel a bit uncomfortable with. Whether you're just starting out and trying to figure out how to work around the complicated phrasing of some problems or you're already at a decent level and looking for a challenge, the Manhattan GMAT Word Problems guide should be on your shopping list.

About me: Dana Jinaru, 770 GMAT scorer, expert at Beat The GMAT - a community serving 1.5 million+ MBA applicants each year

There are 2 MGMAT books that stand out from the pack - this one and MGMAT Number Properties.
Here is why: The number properties book covers arithmetic very well (Arithmetic is 50% of the GMAT questions actually). This book covers the "money" questions aka the "700" questions aka - the hardest questions. GMAT score depends not on how many questions you answered correctly but rather on how many hard questions you answered correctly and this book covers the areas most have issues with since highschool or college. Here are the 5 reasons to get this book:
- Combinations
- Probability
- Statistics
- Overlaping sets
- Advanced word problems

My suggestion would be to get the full 8-book MGMAT set but if you are cherry picking a few books, this is the one you want to get. Also make sure you grab a copy of the OG 12 in case you have not yet - that's the only book that contains actual real GMAT questions.


* IMPORTANT - this is not well described; these books are a great value.
- all MGMAT books come with access to 6 full online tests - a $45 value (therefore you want to have at least one MGMAT book)
- there are additional online question banks/exercises that come with each guide
- this book contains additional recommended practice from the Official Guide 12 (lists of relevation question numbers)

See my other reviews for book recommendations. Let me know if you have questions about this book - I reply to comments.
BB, Founder of GMAT Club
GMAT 750

Definitely worth the money paid, in my opinion. While it may not be the ideal material for people who are already scoring 700+ in tests, this book is very useful to refresh and strengthen the basic concepts.

I didn't take a class, but I have alot of friends who have and have used the Kaplan book and practice tests in addition to the Manhattan. Manhattan prep material and tests are head and shoulders above Kaplan. My only wish is that I had started with the Manhattan series and not even worried about Kaplan. Kaplan may have the brand name, but the fact that Manhattan focuses only on the GMAT shines through. The material goes wayyy more in depth, and it really leverages the other best source of practice material you have, the Official Guide (it has a great feature called rephrasing that references the OG problems directly to give data sufficiency help. It almost makes so much sense that it seems obvious but ingenious at the same time. Why not use the actual old test problems provided by the GMAC as much as you can?).

I wasn't going to buy the whole series but was so impressed by the first book I used (Sentence Correction), that I bought a couple of the quantitative prep books. I was so impressed by those, that I ended up buying all the rest of them. I can not stress enough how much more focused and useful this material is than Kaplan. When used in conjunction with the Official Guide, you have everything you need to break 700.

The things these books provide make so much sense as the best way to prepare, that it makes you wonder why everyone else doesn't do it. My guess is that Manhattan benefits from a focused business model of limiting itself to the GMAT. If you're not looking to score that well and only need to practice some and get used to the questions, the Official Guide is enough. But the Manhattan series is also nice in that it allows you to pick and choose the certain topics you need extra help with. Also, by only buying one book, you get access to six practice tests that are very difficult and provide invaluable information in its readouts of your performance (much more detailed and useful than Kaplan's. Hate to keep hating on Kaplan, but it's the only thing I have to compare to. It's not horrible really, it just pales in comparison to Manhattan. I think of the Kaplan material like I think of McDonald's, very well-known but pretty junky. It'll fill you up, but you won't feel great afterward...)

I've never taken the time to review any items on Amazon.com before, but I have been so impressed with this product that I felt compelled to let others know about it.

Don't waste your money on a class, get the Manhattan series instead. You'll save over a thousand dollars and be better prepared as well!

Good luck!