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Rating: 
Summary: a handy tool for students
Review: I am a student in high school, and I have found this book to be quite handy in increasing one's vocabulary, especially for standardized tests such as the SAT. The words, in alphabetical order, are typed in big font with the prounciation key, part of speech, definition, and sample sentence below the word. There are quite a few words in this book (1,200) from a-z, so this should satiate the vocab-hungry.
What I like in this book are the simple, concise definitions of the words and following it, a slight elaboration on the definition. However, I must note that some the definitions are a little too concise (too brief), so I often have to rely on the example/elaboration and/or consult a real dictionary source for clarification.
The word difficulty range is nice, from somewhat simple words like "affect" and "effect" (do you know the difference?) from words that seem, to me, even archaic at times and not exactly words one would use in a conversation: "My boss is such a troglodyte!"
Anyway, I recommend this book for students who want to build their vocabulary or other vocab-hungry people. However, if one wants extreme detail, one might have to consult an additional source. I "prognosticate" that, if put to good use, this book can make one use complex words with great "aplomb!"
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book for those interested in the use of words.
Review: The best use for "Words You Should Know" is to study for the GREs, or other tests of a similar nature. 1200 infrequently used words are defined and example sentences are listed. The reader's time efficiency is optimized because only the most common definition (sometimes definitions) is given. I liked the book for the 20 or 30 times that I experienced "Oh, that's what that meant!"; where I had contextually defined a word one way but the meaning was actually quite different.The problem is that the editing is unacceptable, inasmuch as there are 10 to 15 obvious editing errors in this title. I lost confidence in the very source that I was using as a reference. Beyond that, subtle errors in both editing or defining would be difficult to catch and have substantially decreased the title's value. If the competition is better, I would recommend it - otherwise, this book meets its major objective of defining 1200 infrequently used words.
Rating: 
Summary: Good vocubulary list, poor editing
Review: This book contains, as the title suggests, a good list of vocabulary words that you should know. However, the editing in the book is atrocious. There are many typographical errors and probably a dozen words that omit a second definition that is widely used. The book will help you to recognize words that you should know, just be careful before you use these new words yourself since you may be using a definition that is not widely accepted. To its credit, this book does present the words in a manner that will help you to learn them quickly. It is also easy to read and if you can dedicate as little as 30 minutes at a time studying from it, it should expand your mind and ossify your loins ;^)
Rating:
Summary: Good vocubulary list, poor editing
Review: This book contains, as the title suggests, a good list of vocabulary words that you should know. However, the editing in the book is atrocious. There are many typographical errors and probably a dozen words that omit a second definition that is widely used. The book will help you to recognize words that you should know, just be careful before you use these new words yourself since you may be using a definition that is not widely accepted. To its credit, this book does present the words in a manner that will help you to learn them quickly. It is also easy to read and if you can dedicate as little as 30 minutes at a time studying from it, it should expand your mind and ossify your loins ;^)
Rating:
Summary: Aptly Named
Review: This book is an excellent reference for me. The words in the book are words I would not think twice about if I heard them in conversation or read them in a novel. I know what they mean...kind of. By reading this book, however, I am able to learn a precise definition of the words so I may feel comfortable integrating them into my own vocabulary. This is exactly what I was looking for. The definitions are not your typical dictionary definitions that leave you more confused after you've read it. They are simple and concise. Each word has a clear example that shows the word in context. I also enjoyed that pronunciation was shown phonetically. I appreciated not having to flip back to a key somewhere in the book to figure out how to pronounce each syllable. Overall, this book is excellent for anyone wishing to expand their vocabulary.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Useful Book
Review: This book is excellent in providing the meaning and use of words that most people may not use in their everyday conversations. However, for those who wish to improve in their understanding of such words and who want to have greater understanding of the words used by educated persons, this is a useful book.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Useful Book
Review: This book is excellent in providing the meaning and use of words that most people may not use in their everyday conversations. However, for those who wish to improve in their understanding of such words and who want to have greater understanding of the words used by educated persons, this is a useful book.
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