Product Description: -500 flashcards covering the most-tested GRE vocabulary words
-Sample sentences provide the words in context
-Also includes synonyms and a pronunciation key
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Great flash cards - save time
The cards are great and will save you a lot of time since you don't have to make any yourself. I have not taken the exam yet but my overall opinion of the product is positive. They are business card size and slightly thinner than a business card but this makes them very transportable.
Rating: - Great Idea Poorly Executed
Vocabulary flash cards for the GRE are a great idea. The 500 words given from Kaplan are fine. Unlike previous reviewers, I find the definitions to be sufficient. They're short and could definitely be more involved, but they're sufficient.
I was most disappointed with the presentation and actual execution of the idea. The flash cards themselves are very small, about the size of a "Chance" or "Community Chest" card in the classic monopoly game. The writing is even smaller, and after a little bit of time studying, it becomes a bit straining on the eyes. The poorest part, however, are the cards themselves. They're not glossy or laminated, such as a nice deck of playing cards. They're just paper, thinner than a notecard. They're easily ripped, would stain with any water or food, and bend and wear very easily. I'm disappointed. I've used Kaplan a lot, this is the most inferior product I've seen from them. I will most likely return the cards for a vocab building book and just make my own cards.
Rating: - Great idea but poor definitions
As others have written in, while the cards cover most of the frequently used GRE vocab words and are an extremely helpful way to study, be wary of the some of the definitions. Kaplan doesn't always provide the best definitions or example sentences. They often define the word as a verb and then use it as an adjective in a sentence, for example. In addition, they often don't provide all of the possible definitions, and it's the secondary definitions that get you on the GRE. The card design is extremely helpful, but I had to relearn many words from other vocab sources.
Rating: - Good words, but TERRIBLE definitions
Embarrassing quality from Kaplan. The words they have chosen may be appropriate and certainly seem like "GRE Words", however, the word choice, sentence examples, and even the definitions are terrible. Did they even have an English instructor take a look at them?
The example sentences often use an obscure or not-intuitive usage of the vocab word. For example, "inimical":
"Even though a cease-fire had been in place for months, the two sides were still inimical to each other."
The point being: You would NEVER see this sentence in a newspaper or book...why didn't they use a more common usage of the word as an example? Like "...inimical to good health...".
More examples abound. This terrible work and an embarrassment from Kaplan.
Rating: - If you use them your vocabulary will grow
This product has helped my vocabulary expand. You do need to use them to see the difference. I have not taken the GRE yet, but I do know I will be going into the test with a more developed vocabulary.
- Great flash cards - save time
- Great Idea Poorly Executed
- Good words, but TERRIBLE definitions
