Rating: 
Summary: We Use for TEST PREP at our School
Review: As an ex-college Professor who has opened up a thriving test-prep business in New York City, I decided to use this for GRE test preparation. It has worked tremendously well. I have had 8 of 9 students recently score 5 or 6 on the writing section of the GRE. We could NOT be any happier.
The text is forthright, and Dr. Avants, the author, has helped us with further work and reviews.
I think the problem is that some of these poorer students have failed and blamed it on the text. Hey, pick up your books, kids. Stop trying to impress the world with your big words. That is why you are broke and can't follow along. One word: Study! Stop blaming others.
Mice work, Dr. Avants
Rating:
Summary: HELPED TREMENDOUSLY
Review: I didn't do so well BEFORE I got this book, but afterward, I knew exactly what to expect on the writing section. I scored a 5 and I am able to pick between two top schools. This was easy to follow and the author talks just like you are his personal student. He also answered my email when I asked for help-that's worth the price alone.
Rating:
Summary: EXTREMELY GOOD DEAL
Review: I MADE A GOOD INVESTMENT BECAUSE THE BOOK OFFERS METHODS OF WRITING IN ADDITION TO BASIC THINGS LIKE WHERE TO PUT EXAMPLES, PUNCTUATING COMPLICATED SENTENCES, AND HOW TO HANDLE BOTH TYPES OF ESSAY QUESTIONS. I HAVE BOUGHT ABOUT FOUR COURSES (SELF-STUDY) COURSES AND NONE HAS THE METHODS. BECAUSE THE BOOK IS ABOUT WRITING ESSAYS, IT INCLUDES THE DETAILS A WRITING CLASS MIGHT GO INTO BUT WITH A LOGICAL REACTION TO ESSAY QUESTIONS. THAT WAY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WADE THRU HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF UNNECESSARY MATERIAL LIKE SOME BOOKS THAT TRY TO MAKE MONEY BY CHURNING OUT CRAP.FOR THE PRICE, IT'S WORTH IT.
I GOT MY BOOK IN DAYS BECAUSE AMAZON SHIPS WITHIN THREE DAYS. I DON'T BELIEVE THE WRITER FROM HONG KONG.
TONI
Rating: 
Summary: One of the worst I've read
Review: If you want to see what confusing and lousy essays look like, buy this book. Otherwise, I highly recommend the readers to seek other GRE reference materials, such as books and related websites, for the real and successful ways the issue and argument essays are constructed. I don't consider my time and money spend reading this book a complete waste, since now I can confidently discern the difference between 'good' and 'bad' essays.
Rating:
Summary: An extremely poor book
Review: The first third or this tiny book provides a very small amount of very obvious advice delivered very poorly. The rest of the book is even worse, comprising a number of example essays which are uniformly terrible.
A much better choice is "Practicing to Take the GRE General Test," published by ETS, which provides 20 pages of real essays of all score levels along with commentary. (Note: Most of this book consists of past GRE paper tests. IMHO, everyone wanting to prepare well should buy both this and a private review book.)
Rating:
Summary: Best, Most Concise Review
Review: The outstanding feature of the book is its conciseness-it is straight to the point, no waste of time and space. It gives sample patterns of different types of essays-unrelated to the questions at the very beginning of the text(as an introduction). They serve as an overview for, say, cause-effect etc. Then, it has sample answers to real writing test questions. Nothing negative here, only positive things to say about the book. Only a developmentally disabled person would get confused.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Review for Essay and Punctuation
Review: This book was excellent for recognizing HOW to answer and HOW to write the patterns inside your answer. I had NO idea there were so many types of ways to develop papers. It is well worth the money-not flashy, not difficult or pedantic, just good sound advice that works-it surely helped me and two of my friends.That's why it's so cheap.
Rating:
Summary: Money Spent well in this.
Review: This helped a lot because it prepared me for the types of writing questions and how to answer them. It's concise so everything in it gets to the point...no time wasted. I am glad I bought it now because I was totally prepared going in.
Rating:
Summary: Demonstrates Patterns of Development for Issue and Argument
Review: This is a super good book in showing how to answer different types of Issue and Argument writing prompts. Even if you have a degree that requires a lot of writing like mine (History/Minor-Journalism), this will help even more. Why? It gives actual examples of patterns ie cause-effect and ties those in to actual essay prompts, thereby providing a cause-effect answer to an Issue writing prompt.
I read that many essays fail (ETS) because the writers miss the point or try too hard to sound intelligent. I was doing that. I saw in this book how to avoid that and write in a pattern that addresses the argument problem/issue in the writing prompt. I had my Professor (also Graduate Chairperson) look it over before I bought it and got full approval of the book. I'm in an Ivy League school now.I in turn recommend it to you.
Thanks Dr. Avants.
Rating:
Summary: Very Easy for Foreigners to Follow
Review: This is easy to follow, especially if English is not your first language. It's the first book that gives outlines on patterns in an essay and that really helped me. It also shows the types of problems in essay questions. That is half the writing problem for nonnative speakers like me because we don't have any training in that. I liked the book very much.
| 
