The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review

 (31 customer reviews)

There isn't much in this book to distinguish it from the verbal portion of The Official Guide for GMAT Review, but that's ok: if there's one thing GMAT students need, it's practice questions that look and feel just like the ones on the test. While the questions in the Quantitative Review book are somewhat easier than in the Official Guide, that isn't the case (to the same degree, anyway) with the verbal, so I can recommend this to just about anybody.

Further, the difference between authentic questions and inauthentic ones (i.e., those generated by writers at test-prep companies) is much greater in verbal material than in math. I should know: I've written hundreds of practice verbal questions, and matching the voice, structure, and objectives of the original is a daunting task. Some inauthentic practice materials are better than others, but you should take advantage of all the "real" questions that the testmaker has made available.

Contrary to the information at some MBA chat sites, the questions in the two supplements, The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review and The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review, and the main volume, The Official Guide for GMAT Review, are largely carried over from the 10th edition and the PDFs of retired exams sold by MBA.com. So if you have the 10th, you won't get as much as you might hope from spending for the new main volume, or $17 a pop for the supplements. You will get what GMAT calls "improved" explanations. Improved? Maybe. They're still pretty circular at times (eg, D is correct because it's uh....correct), but they do seem more detailed and better organized. These books are good study tools, just not as new as the GMAT folks would like us to believe.

The difficulty level of the questions in this book is about the same as that of the Official Guide for GMAT Review. I recommend this book to people who wish to have more practice. I think two of the questions in this book can be found in the official guide as well. But it's only 2 out of 300 questions. It shouldn't be a big deal.