Best Books for GRE Verbal Reasoning

The Graduate Record Examination is divided into three sections namely the Analytical Writing Section, the Verbal Reasoning Section, and the Quantitative Reasoning Section giving the test a duration close to 2 hours. Among the three sections, the Verbal Reasoning Section is considered to be the most formidable, requiring more practice and hard work.

A high score in this section reflects the student's command of the English language and his ability to understand and communicate effectively. To achieve this goal, one has to put a lot of effort into preparation, and the best training comes from choosing the best preparative materials.

10 Best Books to Ace the GRE Verbal Section

Book	Price	Parameters
Kaplan’s GRE Verbal Workbook-10th Edition	$23.65	Questions and Drills Practice Tests Tips and Strategies
Test Prep Series GRE Verbal Reasoning Supreme	$47.99	Info on Test Strategies and Tips Practice Tests and Explanations
PowerScore GRE Verbal Reasoning Bible	$58.49	Strategies and Tips Topic Reviews Practice Questions
Barron’s GRE Verbal Workbook	$14.34	Practice Tests Dictionary for GRE Practice Questions
Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions- ETS	$12.95	Tips and Strategies Info on Test Review of Writing Section
Manhattan Prep's GRE All the Verbal- 6th Edition	$31,49	Tips and strategies Online resources
Test Prep Books' GRE Verbal Reasoning Workbook	$72.84	Practice tests Comprehensive explanation
Princeton Review’s Verbal Workout for the GRE- 6th Edition	$7.99	Practice Questions and Answers Topic Reviews Prompts for Argument and Issue Task
Barron’s Essential Words for the GRE- 5th Edition	$72.84	800+ Words and Definitions Practice Tests Repeated Questions in GRE
Norman Lewis Word Power Made Easy	$9.99	Detailed Subject Review Vocabulary Tips

1

Kaplan’s GRE Verbal Workbook- 10th Edition

Cost: $23.65
The book focuses on the key strategies that can be used by students who are even well-versed in the language. This is because the strategies that have been provided are tailor-made for the GRE General Test by experts who have accumulated wisdom over the years. Purchasing the book and preparing for the test by actually using the book increases one's chances of earning at least 6 extra points.

Pros-

• The book contains questions and drills that aim at training students for the GRE Verbal Reasoning section.
• There are also practice questions exclusive to this edition and six full-length practice tests.
• The book also includes tips for essay writing and strategies to clear the Analytical Writing section of the GRE.

Cons-

• The digital version of the book has been stated to be ill-formatted and user-unfriendly.

2

Test Prep Series GRE Verbal Reasoning Supreme

Cost: $47.99
By obtaining this book, readers will gain access to additional online resources aimed at helping students cope with the stress of their studies. These resources will also aid in creating a structured routine, allowing them to effectively tackle the entire syllabus.

Pros-

• The book includes 575 practice questions along with 4 comprehensive Verbal practice tests.
• This book serves as an excellent introduction for readers who are unfamiliar with the concept of Verbal Reasoning.
• This book provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide to developing a preparation strategy for verbal reasoning.

Cons-

• To some readers, the answer process outlined in the book appears to differ significantly from the actual GRE.
• Readers expressed concerns that while this book may be beneficial for enhancing overall reading comprehension, it does not provide significant assistance for GRE preparation.

3

PowerScore GRE Verbal Reasoning Bible

Cost: $58.49
The PowerScore GRE Verbal Reasoning Bible provides comprehensive solution strategies for effectively addressing Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, and Reading Comprehension questions.

Pros-

• The book includes definitions for nearly 700 frequently encountered words in the GRE.
• The book contains more than 300 entries, each accompanied by comprehensive explanations, examples, practice sets, and drills.
• Readers assert that it serves as a straightforward guide that is easy to comprehend. The language is clear and direct.

Cons-

• Readers assert that while the book presents concepts clearly, it lacks sufficient practice problems.

4

Barron’s GRE Verbal Workbook

Cost: $14.34
This book begins with a diagnostic test that can help students understand their strengths and weaknesses before even beginning to prepare for the test using the book. There are extensive chapters that review the content required for the test. It includes chapters based on sentence equivalence, text completion, and even reading comprehension.

Pros-

• The book also contains 2 full-length practice tests that focus only on the verbal section of the GRE.
• It contains a dictionary for the GRE which contains vocabulary and definitions based only on words that are frequently asked in the GRE.
• The book is all about practice rather than reviewing the content and hence is an investment in itself.

Cons-

• Candidates who are new to the test and wish to review content will need a more basic book.
• The book also does not deal with a lot of tips and strategies that one can use. It focuses mainly on practice and hence students will have to rely on other books to learn and pace themselves for the examination.
• Reviewers have claimed that the verbal questions in the book are mediocre when compared to the official test.

5

Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions 2nd Edition - ETS

Cost: $12.95
The book is a general study guide featuring test questions that are arranged according to their difficulty levels. They also include mixed practice sets to ensure that the candidate can perform equally better once questions of different difficulties are offered one after the other. The questions contain answers and explanations catering to all the confusion the student might have while attempting the practice tests.

Reviewers claim that the second edition of the book is similar to the first one so buying either of the editions won’t make a difference. The books are equally good and worth investing in.

Pros-

• Since the book has been created by ETS, it contains valuable hints and other preparative strategies that are exclusive to them.
• Along with question-related information, they provide information regarding test content, structure, and scoring.
• They provide an extensive review of the writing section with writing samples from experts and other sample-scored essays.

Cons-

• Readers have noted that the book is identical to the first edition.
• Readers assert that the material in the book is insufficient for comprehensive GRE preparation, serving primarily as a preliminary introduction for students.

6

Manhattan Prep's GRE All the Verbal- 6th Edition

Cost: $31.49
Manhattan Prep's GRE All the Verbal offers comprehensive lessons that delve into the facts, rules, and strategies pertinent to each question type found in the Verbal section. Upon registering for an account on Manhattan's platform, students will obtain access to digital resources corresponding to the recently updated sections of the exam.

Pros-

• The book is structured to begin with fundamental elements, specifically words, and progressively advance to more intricate sentences, paragraphs, and passages.
• Students will acquire the ability to analyze complex sentences, a vital skill not only for Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence (commonly referred to as vocabulary) tasks but also for understanding Reading Comprehension passages through the book.

7

Test Prep Books' GRE Verbal Reasoning Workbook

Cost: $72.84
The GRE Verbal Reasoning Workbook published by Test Prep Books includes strategies for effective test-taking, three full-length practice examinations, and comprehensive explanations for each answer.

Pros-

• The GRE Verbal Reasoning Workbook is comprehensive and presented in a clear, easy-to-understand format.
• The workbook includes not only test-taking strategies but also introductory information about the types of questions included in the verbal reasoning section of the GRE.
• The workbook encompasses both strategies for effective test-taking and foundational information regarding the various question types found in the verbal reasoning segment of the GRE.

8

Princeton Review’s Verbal Workout for the GRE �" 6th Edition

Cost: $7.99
The book is suitable mainly for beginners who require clear explanations of answers rather than just the answers themselves. The guidelines provided for maneuvering through the test also contain strategic methods that can be used by the students for the test.

Pros-

• The book contains 250+ practice questions with answers and other detailed explanations.
• It contains information on topics like sentence completion, reading comprehension, and others.
• The book also focuses on the Analytical Writing section of the GRE and contains prompts for the Argument Task and Issue Task.

Cons-

• The book has mainly been made for beginners who are taking the test and hence can seem to have redundant information for those who have been actively preparing for the same.
• The book is too bulky to carry around while preparing.

9

Barron’s Essential Words for the GRE- 5th Edition

Cost: $72.84
The book can also be used along with Barron's Verbal Workbook to prepare for the Test. It concentrates on the questions and words that are frequently observed in the GRE Verbal Section. It is recommended for people who have to crack the GRE within a short period of time.

Pros-

• This book offers over 800 graduate-level words with their definitions which are said to be the words that are frequently asked in the GRE.
• The words provided are also used in different contexts to show how they can be taken out of the dictionary and placed in real-life contexts.
• There are tests available at the end of the book which help the student assess their progress.

Cons-

• Readers assert that the definitions of numerous words are inadequately composed and frequently do not effectively convey their correct usage or meaning.
• Though the book claims to have all the necessary words for the examination, candidates claim that this is not always the case.
• Reviewers claim that the usefulness of the book is dependent on the level of knowledge the candidate has in the language. Since the book deals with tough vocabulary, those who are very new to the language might find it difficult to use.

10

Norman Lewis Word Power Made Easy

Cost: $9.99
The Norman Lewis book focuses on enhancing the vocabulary skills of the student which helps the student not just in cracking the GRE Verbal Reasoning section but also improves their overall communication skills both inside the classroom and in life.

This book is based on the etymology of the words. Every word comes from a parent word and having this etymological knowledge will help one make intelligent guesses regarding words that appear unfamiliar on the test. It is a shortcut to perfecting one’s vocabulary.

Pros-

• The book contains everything from grammatical rules to methods of checking progress and even quizzes which help the candidate master the language with detailed study.
• The book teaches candidates how they can communicate both formally and informally and even deals with the minor mistakes people can make in writing spellings.

Cons-

• Reviewers claim that the font used in the print is too small and can be difficult to learn from.
• A few candidates claim that the content in the book is outdated with respect to the definitions provided for terms.

Additional Prep Materials

• Along with books, flashcards are also available such as Manhattan Prep's Vocabulary Flashcards ($19.94), Kaplan's GRE Flashcards ($20.98), or Barron's GRE Vocabulary Flashcards ($16.96) which can be used to improve the vocabulary.
• There are many online websites and forums that offer a variety of practice questions and also publish the recent questions that appeared in the test.
• There is an option to take a variety of online classes that are both affordable and provide a lot of practice, based upon the latest test format. For example, Manhattan or Magoosh.