Kaplan Word Power : Vocabulary Building for Success

Rating:
Summary: Average, go the extra mile next time!
Review: The format of the book is divided into three sections starting with words we should know, followed by moderately difficult words, and finally difficult, obscure, pointless words you'll probably never use but might get tested on. The sections are then broken down into lessons that include 15 new words each. Each word is presented with its definition and then used in a sentence, which combined with the rest of the examples, makes a highly cheesy story. At the end of the lesson, there's brief quiz. Now that I've described the book, here's what I think. The book is average. It does a good job of presenting the words, but is severely lacking in repetition exercises. The book seems to claim such exercises are ineffective and that each person should do what they need to to memorize them. That seems like a cop out. It would have been nice to get some more practice exercises. Also, the sentences used to give the words context are often poor examples due to the cheesy story line. I would give the book a look, it's certainly not the worst thing you can buy, but I'd do some comparison shopping.

Rating:
Summary: You'll never be at a loss for words again!
Review: The words you use say a lot about who you are and where you're headed. Whether you want to express yourself clearly to your professors, impress a prospective employer during a job interview, or just brush up on those pesky words you encounter every so often when reading the newspaper, Kaplan Word Power is the essential tool to help you expand your daily vocabulary. Kaplan Word Power includes three broad categories of vocabulary words: SECTION ONE: Words you really ought to know already -- to build your confidence and to straighten out any incorrect impressions you might have about actual meanings. SECTION TWO and SECTION THREE cover words with increasing difficulty. You'll wind up training your brain and increasing your word power with each new level you decide to tackle. Kaplan Word Power offers engaging lessons to help you utilize words in context, tips to help you figure out new words, roots, and more.

Rating:
Summary: BEST BOOK FOR LEARNING NEW WORDS
Review: This book is so much better than Princeton's Review Word Smart in that this book is more creative! Word Power is a progressive book in which you learn more words according to difficulty as opposed to an exhaustive list of words I never saw on the ACT. Word Power is the vocabulary book to buy!