Best GRE Verbal Books and Guide for Exam Preparation
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Content Curator | Updated On - May 21, 2024
Highlights:
- The popular GRE verbal books are Barren’s GRE verbal workbook, Kalpan’s GRE verbal workbook, Manhattan Prep GRE verbal strategies, etc.
- The price of these verbal books range from INR 275 – INR 5,424.
- GRE verbal section is based on topics like basic sentence structure: Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, Idioms & Idiomatic expressions, Pronoun agreement, Subject-Verb agreement, Modifiers, Parallelism, etc.
- Popular online platforms where the best GRE books are available is Flipkart and Amazon.
GRE Verbal Books improves a candidate's ability to comprehend and analyze complex written material. The best GRE Verbal Books covers humanities, social sciences, and business. GRE verbal reasoning books provide comprehensive coverage of the specific question types and strategies. GRE verbal book help test-takers familiarize themselves with the exam format and improve their performance. GRE verbal books also enhance vocabulary skills, as a wide-ranging vocabulary is essential for understanding advanced academic texts. GRE verbal scores are often considered by graduate schools as an indicator of an applicant's language proficiency. Some best books for GRE verbal preparation includes Barren’s GRE verbal workbook, Kalpan’s GRE verbal workbook, Manhattan Prep GRE verbal strategies, etc. We suggest you to go through the overview of these books and make your preferred selection among these.
Best GRE Verbal Prep Book
The verbal section of GRE exam pattern is based on topics like Basic sentence structure: Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, Idioms & Idiomatic expressions, Pronoun agreement, Subject-Verb agreement, Modifiers, Parallelism, etc. To ace all these topics, having the best book for preparation is mandatory. Following are the top 10 GRE verbal study material-
Author: Educational Testing Service
GRE official verbal book provides quantitative and verbal reasoning concepts in a detailed manner. It contains more than 150 questions per topic for practice. It also consists of test papers, quality questions, and a CD to help the student make themselves familiar with the test environment. It also includes ideal tips and tricks for a good GRE score. The test papers can be downloaded from the CD by installing a software called Powerprep beforehand. The third edition of this book has four GRE verbal practice book tests.
- Price: INR 1330
- Availability: Amazon
The Official Guide to the GRE® General Test, Third Edition- Check PDF
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| This book has a clear structure and provides specific information on every topic. The practice tests are of premium quality which accurately reflects the types of questions found on the actual exam. The book has a strong analytical writing section. | There are very limited tips and strategies included. It provides little guidance on "how to structure candidate's studying" |
Author: Philip Geer
Barron has been in the line of GRE prep companies for a long time. They have published large scale prep material along with standard test series. The author has discussed the purpose and structure of question types along with 300+ answers and explanations to demonstrate the correct way to arrive at an answer. It includes 1 diagnostic test in the book to help evaluate a candidate's current level of preparation. It also contains two full-length tests with answers and explanations.
- Price: INR 275
- Availability: Amazon
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It contains practice question papers. The tips in the book are provided by the GRE experts. This book is inexpensive as compared to other books. | The reading comprehension is not relatable to the actual test of GRE. The reading passages are extremely lengthy and hard to follow. The answers don't have any logical explanations. |
Author: James L Flowers
It is a competitive workbook with strategies for scoring high marks in GRE. It has 250+ GRE verbal practice test questions with detailed answers. It illustrates essay writing tips for the analytical writing section.
A concise GRE dictionary is provided that covers all the words that are required to be successful in a GRE test.
- Price: INR 326
- Availability: Amazon
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Students get a grip on the vocabulary and use it while practicing. The students will get benefited by the various techniques available in the book. The book can also be bought on Kindle. | The Kindle version is not reliable. The PDF version on kindle is not user friendly. Sometimes the provided guidelines become confusing. |
Author: Kaplan Test Prep
A strategy sheet has been included in the latest edition. Kaplan GRE verbal workbook comprises more than 200 practice questions. It also includes 175+ vocabulary, grammar and mechanics for a proper GRE study plan. The strategies are available for every type of question along with powerful tools to improve vocabulary.
- Price: INR 1940
- Availability: Amazon
Kaplan’s GRE Verbal Workbook- Check PDF
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The exercises and tips are designed in a specific way to be helpful for beginners. It is top-notch in the matter of explanations and vocabulary. A strategy sheet is the newest addition in the book that is helpful in the verbal and writing topics. | The question level in the essay is sometimes hard to tackle. The reading part is tedious due to the endless information. |
Author: Princeton Review
It has tons of material to get a hold on tackling real GRE type of questions. The book contains 1 diagnostic test to pinpoint the strength and weakness of students so that they qualify for GRE eligibility. It also includes 1 full-length practice test online to train candidates for the actual exam.
- Price: INR 1141
- Availability: Amazon
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The content is top-notch to rapidly improve GRE verbal scores. The book gives candidates the rough idea of the actual exam questions. | It lacks practical tips and strategies. The book lacks perfection in matters of condition. There are many printing errors in the book. |
Author: Manhattan Prep
Manhattan verbal GRE is a hefty book that contains enough questions to practice to reach a good GRE percentile score. It includes 600+ verbal practice problems. It contains a diagnostic test to measure a candidate's preparation level. GRE verbal strategies Manhattan provides exclusive online learning tools.
- Price: INR 5424
- Availability: Amazon/ Flipkart
Manhattan 5 lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems- Check PDF
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The book covers the whole range of question types that may appear in a real GRE paper. The reading passages are helpful. | The questions don't have any difficulty level assigned. The text completion and sentence equivalence questions are not reliable. |
Author: Manhattan Prep
It is a comprehensive book and considered one of the best GRE preparation book. It aims on clearing the strategies and tactics to tackle verbal questions. It analyzes different GRE verbal questions in depth. The vocabulary is especially designed for the GRE exam. The analytical writing assessment follows easy- to- understand techniques.
- Price: INR 2174
- Availability: Amazon Kindle
Manhattan Prep GRE Verbal Strategies- Check PDF
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Experienced educators have filled the book with premium quality inputs. The questions are easily understandable. | The kindle version of the book is not user-friendly. The book doesn't cover all types of questions. |
Author: Chris Lele
This book provides a list of 1400 essential words arranged in order with the difficulty level for the GRE syllabus. Additional information on every word like roots, pronunciation and etymology is added. Theme organized lessons are added to help candidates to form associations. The book contains exercises after each lesson to retain what the candidate learned.
- Price: INR 821
- Availability: Amazon Kindle
The Vocabulary Builder Workbook- Check PDF
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The student can rely on the content of the book. The quality of the book is praiseworthy. | The book is not beneficial in vocabulary building. The book has a tendency to confuse students with its exercise questions. |
Author: Aristotle Prep
The number of questions is huge and the quality of questions is praiseworthy. This book targets for scoring high in the GRE score card. It addresses the reading comprehension in depth.
- Price: INR 1499
- Availability: Amazon
GRE Verbal Grail- Check PDF
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The book has a separate review section to tackle difficult questions. The book takes a step by step approach which is helpful in understanding the concepts. | Basic spelling mistakes are found. The material of the book is compromised. |
Author: Educational Testing Service
The updated and expanded book covers all the test features and question types. It also provides valuable hints and GRE verbal tips to achieve the best score.
- Price: INR 1095
- Availability: Amazon
The Official Guide to the GRE Revised General Test- Check PDF
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The book comprises four practice tests, two in the book along with two practice tests in PowerPrep mode. Reading comprehension is useful. | The online resources are unreliable. There is no CD-ROM provided with the book. |
There are a number of GRE resources present today, therefore, it is easier to improve the vocabulary than ever. The authors have researched GRE vocabulary, reading comprehension patterns, analytical writing section and have filled the book with useful materials. That is why, purchasing a book will be counted as a useful and time saving strategy during preparing for GRE. Each book has their own pros and cons. Before purchasing a GRE book, be sure of the section the candidate wants to focus on. Then go through the content of books and compare their topics, content and structure.
FAQs
Ques. How do I study for the verbal GRE?
Ans. We recommend to start your practice as fast as possible. Try to identify the important aspects of a passage. Use of new words in writing and creating original sentences with proper vocabulary words is also a good practice.
Ques. Is it hard to get a 160 on the verbal GRE?
Ans. No, it not at all hard to get a score of 160 on the verbal GRE. With proper practice and guidance you can easily achieve this score.
Ques. How many GRE words should I memorize?
Ans. It is suggested to memorize atleast 1000 GRE words for the verbal section. The more vocabulary words you memorize, chances of scoring high in the exam increases.
Ques. What is the minimum GRE verbal score?
Ans. The minimum GRE verbal score is 130. The exam is divided into two sections.
Ques. Does GRE repeat questions?
Ans. GRE exam is an adaptive test which generates question based on candidate’s ability. However, some questions may get repeated.
Ques. Is Barron's 1100 enough for GRE?
Ans. Barron’s 1100 words is indeed very good for the aspiring GRE applicants. You must posses a stock of this book if you are an applicant.
Ques. How many mistakes are allowed in GRE?
Ans. You must try to make no mistake to score well in the GRE exam. However, 1 mistake in the first section of Quant and up to 2 in both Verbal sections is considered minimum for a good GRE score.
Ques. How do I increase my vocabulary for GRE?
Ans. To increase the vocabulary for GRE, try to read more and more. The practice of reading more and learning new words improves your GRE score.
Ques. Which book is best for GRE verbal?
Ans. The popular GRE verbal books are Barren’s GRE verbal workbook, Kalpan’s GRE verbal workbook, Manhattan Prep GRE verbal strategies, etc
Ques. Is it better to skip or guess on the GRE?
Ans. There is no negative marking in GRE. So, its better to guess than to skip any question on the GRE exam.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.