GRE Study Material: Reviews of the Best GRE Prep books

"Which is the best GRE book to prepare from?,” “Which GRE prep book is more suited towards those who have lost touch with Math like me?,” “Which is the most effective GRE book for increasing my overall score?” and “Which is the most comprehensive GRE study guide to buy?” are some of the most commonly asked questions by students searching for the most suitable GRE study guide. They reflect the different needs faced by various students who have varied expectations from the guide they buy.

Choose the GRE prep book that suits you best: Know its Pluses & Minuses

We understand that you want the best GRE study guides on your shelf before you embark on preparing your hardest. What is well-suited for one student as a study aid may not be such a good choice for another. You need to go through the list of GRE prep books below and read through the positives and negatives of each book before you make a decision to buy the most suited book or books. Having attempted the GRE myself, I am aware of the positive difference good GRE preparation materials along with hard work make towards the outcome.

The Major GRE Prep Book Publishers:

Over the years, the students who have attempted the GRE have relied on three to four major publishers who are very widely referred to even today. These books are the Princeton Review's “Cracking the GRE ” series, the Barron's GRE 2011 book and the Kaplan GRE prep book.

A word of advice before you read the reviews.

Make Sure that the GRE Prep Book you choose strengthens your Weak Spots:

My personal recommendation before choosing GRE prep books is that you need to be aware of how strong you are inherently in a particular section. If you are a very logical person or did well in high school math, then GRE Math would be easier for you. And if you are a regular reader of classic novels and can easily glean the intent and tone of complex, verbose passages then the verbal section wouldn't be much of a bother for you. Only you know your strengths. You should accordingly choose the gre prep book that strengthens your weak areas better. In many cases you might have to invest in two or more books to get the best exposure to sample questions and explanatory material.

Review of Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE 
Review of Kaplan's New GRE 2011-2012 Premier with CD-ROM

How to write high scoring Issue essays in AWA

In spite of ETS pre-disclosing most of the essay questions, most of the students feel harried by the GRE writing task. It is true that composing an essay calls for more activity than answering a multiple choice question. But its certainly not beyond your reach. By navigating towards this page, you have taken the first step to overcoming your essay-phobia.

You will have Issue 1 and Issue 2 before you. Read the statements carefully with an eye for its possible pros and cons. Breakdown the claim into two or three parts, analyze it, and take a tentative position. Brainstorm for examples from present and past that will lend support to your claim. You will now have one of the issue topics to be more convincing to write than the other. Go for it!

The second step is to get hold of your scratch paper. Jot down any idea that comes to you. Don’t filter them, don’t worry about the order, just write them as they come to you. Even if it seems clichéd, far-fetched, or unconvincing at the moment, do not bother, jot them down. Next, classify your points as, ‘for’ and ‘against’ the statement’s position. My small piece of advice to you: take a neutral stand in the essay. Taking the neutral position will enable you to elaborate the pros and cons of the statement. Remember, ETS does not have any “correct” answer on an issue. In other words, what’s important to ETS is how you analytically structure your essay with relevant examples, and not whether you are for or against the issue.

Compose the essay in not more than five paragraphs, the first and last dealing with the introduction and conclusion respectively. The first sentence of every paragraph conveys to the reader the essence of the paragraph. Make sure you get them right. You can use anything like facts, quotes and general statements to catch the reader’s attention. Arrange your paragraphs such that your essay flows logically and persuasively from one point to the other. In the conclusion paragraph, phrases like “to conclude”, “in sum” can be used. Make sure your introductory and concluding paragraphs are consistent with each other.

You can find sample Issue essays here: http://www.ets.org/gre/general/scores/how/issue/index.html