Word Smart: Building an Educated Vocabulary

In a word: Excellent. This book clarifies the meaning of words. So not only will you learn them, become aquainted with them, or use them -- you will properly use them. Wielding words in the proper context. It's a must have for people serious about using an "educated vocabulary". . . .

This book is essential for anyone taking the SAT/GRE/GMAT/LSAT. I'm currently studying for the Law School Admissions Test, and this book has saved me from misunderstanding entire paragraphs before. There is no worse feeling come test day than coming upon a pivotal sentence and then not knowing what it means because you're drawing a blank on the meaning of the verb. Even in day to day affairs, like watching the news or reading for pleasure, the words contained in Word Smart and Word Smart II have helped in my understanding of various issues. Clearly, if you want to participate in the "educated" community that (barely) exists in America, then Word Smart and Word Smart II are essential reading.

Word Smart gives one of the best selections of need-to-know words I have ever seen. It lists over 800 every-day-useful words, while avoiding the temptation of adding some long, snooty-sounding words for the sake of intellectual arrogance. These are words that most college students should know. If you can master these in high school, you will be on the way to a rock solid vocabulary.The format of the book is straight forward. After a very helpful chapter on tips for learning new vocabulary, the set of words is introduced in alphabetical order. Every ten words or so ends in a quick quiz. This allows you to test what you have learned; you can also start with the quiz to see what words you can skip over. The concluding chapters contain a lengthy final exam, the SAT and GRE hit parade (words you should have mastered well before taking these standardized tests), word roots, common usage errors, abbreviations, and some lists for the arts, science, finance, and foreign words.This is a great book for anyone who would like to beef up on their vocabulary, or for those who would just like a good review to make sure they are not using some words wrongly.

I used these books when I was studying for the SATs years ago (I memorized ALL the words in BOTH books) and my score shot up 80 points to the 97th percentile in the verbal section. I am a teacher now and I use them inside my classroom and even as reference books at home. They are awesome because they not only provide you with solid, easy-to-understand definitions, but sentences that really give you a good understanding of the words. Even when I taught for Kaplan(SAT test prep) in college, I always secretly recommended these particular books to my students. Kaplan is good but these Princeton Review books are so far the best for vocabulary. Use them even if you're not preparing for the SATs... I hope this review helps. :)

I have read many books throughout my life, but this by far has been the greatest and most helpful book I have EVER read. Mere words in this review can not begin to explain how immensely this book has affected my academic career. In high school, when I took the pre-SAT for the first time, I got a 340 on the verbal. YES, that's right! a 340! Since English is not my first language, my vocabulary was EXTREMELY limited. My goal was improvement, but knowing that I had read very little English when I was young, I had to figure out a QUICK way to raise my score. That's when I discovered Word Smart. After memorizing the definition of the words in this book, and many others, my score shot up to 710 on the verbal! Keep in mind I learned English in the third grade, but I still managed to score very high. Words in this book WILL appear on EVERY SAT and GRE, not to mention all major newspapers and books of ALL kind. You can count on that. After learning the words in this book, in a very twisted way I have yet to completely understand, my writing ability also dramatically improved. In conclusion, you are a COMPLETE FOOL if you take the SAT or the GRE without first extensively studying this book. Your future is very important, don't risk it.