A large number of books are available in the market to help you prepare for the GRE in all the three sections, Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing. You should, however, ensure that you get only the latest editions of the books as the contents get updated frequently.

Starter’s Menu for GRE Test

You could start with GRE for dummies: With practice tests available online by Ron Woldoff and Joseph Kraynak. This book will give you an overall idea about the test structure, scoring pattern, subject reviews, and a practice test.

In your quest for basic knowledge and facts, GREs: Webster’s quotations, facts, and phrases by Icon Group International’ will be of great help.

The Main course

Books for Verbal Reasoning

The Official GRE verbal reasoning practice questions by ETS is a paperback that comprehensively covers the vocabulary section. A 150-vocabulary question bank is an added bonus.

The GRE power vocab by The Princeton Review offers an in-depth look at vocabulary and writing. The compilation of the test banks in the book is particularly useful.

Verbal Word Smart for the GRE: A guide to perfect usage (Smart Guides) by Princeton Review will help you build your vocabulary. It also gives tips on how to add new words to your vocabulary as well as techniques for scoring high.

The book titled 500 GRE verbal questions to know by test day includes practice questions and tips and tricks to deal with this section.

The GRE Hit Parade in the book reveals the words that appear frequently on the exam, quick quizzes and a final exam. It also explains secondary definitions to help you avoid any confusion over similar-sounding words and the like that may make you lose marks during the test.

The 6^th edition of The Princeton Review’s Verbal Workout for the GRE points out the key test topics and explains how to deal with tough questions. It has more than 250 practice questions along with detailed answers.

All question types including text completion, reading comprehension, and sentence equivalence are included. You also get essay writing tips and rules for the Analytical Writing Section.

The book has sample essays for the Argument Task. Here, you consider the evidence and reasons presented and write an essay that demonstrates your abilities to analyze and evaluate arguments. Important vocabulary words and quizzes are other features of the book.

Barron’s Essential Words for the GRE has been revised and updated. It presents 800 words of graduation level with their definitions and frequently appears on the exam. It will familiarize you with the usage of the words in various contexts.

The book has a pre-test that serves as a diagnostic tool, a lengthy word list with extensive sentence-completion exercises and a chapter that discusses and analyses essential word roots.

There is a post-test at the end of the book. Answers are provided for all exercises and for all questions in the post-test.

Barron’s GRE Verbal Workbook by Philip Geer talks about the purpose and structure of the question types, giving more than 380 example questions with explanations that demonstrate how to arrive at correct answers.

The book includes s a diagnostic test that would make you aware of your strengths and weaknesses. The practice and review chapters cover all three general question types, namely, sentence equivalence, text completion and reading comprehension.

It has two full-length verbal practice tests with answers and explanations. The book also has a concise GRE Dictionary—a vocabulary list with definitions.

The book, 1100 words you need to know by Murray Bromberg and Melvin Gordon, now into the fourth edition is available with the list of standard vocabulary, a newly added section called Panorama of Words.

Each of the 1100 words appears in a sentence selected from well-known novels, plays, poems, and even newspaper editorials and TV broadcasts. It has word lists with definitions, analogy exercises, entertaining word games and words-in-context exercises.

Books for Quantitative Reasoning

Barron’s GRE math workbook by Blair Madore and David Freeing explains the structure, question types and scoring. It provides strategies for problem-solving. The book also consists of different types of problems and solutions based on numbers and number theory, algebra, data analysis and geometry.

The two full-length math sample sections are structured to reflect the actual exam. All questions come with answers and explanations.

Cracking the GRE mathematics subject test by Princeton Review has subject reviews for all potential topics, including precalculus, calculus I and II, differential equations, linear algebra and number theory among others.

It provides preparation strategies and test-taking techniques to help you notch up top scores. It suggests shortcuts and strategies to speed up the pacing and increase accuracy. Clear diagrams will familiarise you with three-dimensional coordinate problems.

One full-length practice test will familiarize you with the quirks and patterns of the GRE Mathematics Subject Test and more than 150 guided practice problems that directly demonstrate key strategies for dealing with tricky topics from trigonometric functions to double integrals, homomorphisms, and complex logarithms.

In the GRE psychology subject test, the 8^th edition (graduate school test preparation) by Princeton Review provides practical information on the test and a subject review of the topics.

Apart from strategies to hit top scores, it claims to reveal tactics to avoid trick questions. The book has charts, figures, diagrams, and bullet lists to help understand the concepts. It has a subject review for all exam topics as also study tips from the Princeton Review expert tutors and teachers.

Speaking of Strategy

Manhattan GRE set of 8 strategy guides, 2nd edition comprises two separate books that focus on eight different areas of study like algebra, fractions-decimals and percentage, geometry, number properties, word problems, text completion & sentence equivalence, reading comprehension & essay and quantitative comparisons & data interpretation.

Barron’s GRE 21^st edition by Galgotia covers all three sections. The highlight of the book is the GRE test tips.

Barron’s 6 GRE practice tests published by the New Age International Publishers provides a low-cost alternative to the online tests that could be more expensive.

Barron’s GRE 20th Edition paperback edition by Galgotia publications has two sample GRE papers that are solved and explained. It also has a CD on tips and tricks to crack the GRE. The master word list is also helpful in building up your vocabulary.

Yet another book to help you with vocabulary is The 45-Day GRE vocab book is published by the Wiley India Pvt. Ltd. The book has 45 exercises to boost your vocabulary. It also includes practice test papers.

Mc Graw Hills 6 practice tests have six advanced GRE questionnaires. You could replicate the actual test conditions by timing each section.

A paperback titled 101 ways to score higher on your GRE is a systematic attempt to make you familiar with all the language-based questions.

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