The Best Test Preparation for the Graduate Record Examination, GRE in Literature in English: Test Preparation

You need this book if you are studying for the Literature GRE. A couple things about this book: 1) Yes, the review chapters are not very good. 2) Yes, you will do relatively poorly on the practice tests. They are pickier and more difficult than the actual exam. 3) Yes, the seven-page reading list at the beginning is something of a joke, although you should really only be using it to pick out the handful of authors you know nothing about to see which of their books might be worth skimming. 4) Yes, the "explanations" for why an answer is correct or not is lacking, and the de-emphasis on literary theory is a bit out of date. However, the book's been a bit unjustly maligned by other reviewers, some of whom seem a bit bitter that they did badly on its (completely meaningless) practice tests. The fact is, having three full-length practice tests for the Literature GRE, when the Princeton Review book contains only one, is worth the cost of the book alone. You simply need to cover the broadest range of stuff possible in studying, and this book, by its very nit-pickiness, will help make you aware of some holes in your knowledge you didn't know you had. (In my case, early American, where I wouldn't have even known half the names to look up to find more about.) My advice is not even to score the tests; seriously, it will depress you. But take them! And after each one, go through answer by answer with a reference like the Norton Anthology or Oxford Companion to British Literature in your other hand, and look up each and every answer choice you didn't know (whether it was correct or incorrect). You will cover a lot of ground very quickly, and it will make a difference on the actual exam. That is a smart way to use this book. Also if you are studying for this exam, read (or re-read) King Lear. Now. Forget that the Princeton Review book tells you not to read any Shakespeare.

I've read some negative reviews of this book on this page, and I'm not familiar with the Princeton book, so maybe that book is better than the REA book. But I do have a couple of comments. One: I used this book for my review and I did well on the test. I would not have known what to expect, nor would I have done nearly as well without the review book. Two: Yes, there are some pretty obscure questions on the sample tests in the book. But the fact is that there are lots of obscure questions on the actual GRE subject test in literature.

This is a great book! The review is substantial and there are 3 practice tests. While I understand that many previous reviewers are not happy with REA removing 3 practice tests from the first edition (which had a total of 6), they also replaced them with review chapters. The first edition was only a book of practice tests. I have sat for the actual test once already and I think the questions are exactly the types that are asked. The review chapters won't be enough to review, but no one book ever will be. You will have to pull out all of your Norton Anthologies and read for months. And I seriously recommend a course in literary theory to anyone who is still enrolled in school. There's no way around it. This test is getting harder. Just try one practice test before reviewing all that much and you will see what I'm talking about.

The best test preparation gives you some guidance in how to prepare. Simply having a sample test and a list of all the works of literature that you could be tested is not helpful. Although these tests were not created by ETS (the makers of the GRE), REA did base the tests on past subject tests. This also gives you some guidance on what, and when, to study.This book contains three samples tests and some drills. For the tests, the answers are explained so you know which answer is right as well as why the other answers are wrong. This is a big plus in studying. The drill questions are designed to see if you are learning the information from the study pages in the front.The study pages are helpful. They discuss the main ideas and writers for the different periods of literature. As most books, they recommend going to the work itself, but if you do not have time, this information is helpful. With the writer, you get what the person was famous for, and if that work was very influential, what the main ideas of it were. It also discusses the major theories of literary criticism.With the study pages and the tests is the timeline. I think this is the under-rated part of the book. It is designed for eight weeks of study, but it mentions that it could be condensed to two weeks. Although it is rather general, it still provides you with a guide to help calm you through the stress of studying.I would recommend getting this book to help practice and prepare for the GRE Subject Test in Literature.