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Check Out Word Smart, 4th Edition (Smart Guides) for $7.00

Posted by admin on 16th June 2010

Word Smart, 4th Edition (Smart Guides) Review

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I really thought that the authors of this book compiled a list of 1,505 formidable looking words which I would certainly never see again in my life. I was very wrong.

All (yes, all, not almost all) of these words appear in our daily lives, even if it’s rare to hear the words used casually. As an AP English student in high school, I noticed that the words in this book frequently appear in the writings of Mark Twain, Emily Dickinson, William Faulkner, and Charles Dickens – and even in contemporary writings, such as those of J.K Rowling. These words commonly appear in major newspapers and magazines such as Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and these words are bound to appear in any professional writing or documents. The authors did their research when they compiled these precise 1,505 words! Anyone who thoroughly reads this book will have a vocabulary to dazzle an interviewer, impress an English teacher, and of course, show off to friends. I believe that after going through these words, you would very seldom find the need to refer to your dictionary to look up an unfamiliar word.

While these words prove beneficial to our daily lives, Word Smart is an ideal choice for those who are still attending high school or college. If your mind is set on memorizing these words (especially helpful for those preparing to take the SAT or other standardized tests), I strongly recommend that you read Harry Lorayne’s Page-a-Minute Memory Book, which is actually recommended by the authors of this book in Chapter 1 (using the book, I memorized all of Word Smart in less than two weeks!). Not only will it help you memorize the 1,505 words in this book, but it will also prove exceptionally helpful, inside and outside of your academic career.

I hope my review of this book was helpful. You will not regret this purchase; by the end, you’ll want to begin reading Word Smart II!

UPDATE 4/11/2010 — KINDLE VERSION REVIEW –
I would give the Kindle version of Word Smart two out of five stars. This is not a tirade against the authors of this fantastic resource, but the fact that you have to hit “Next Page” button incessantly to get to the next alphabetical group of words is extremely frustrating!! I recommend to Amazon to add an option inside the Table of Contents that allows the reader to quickly access any alaphabetical group of words (“A”, “B”, “C”, etc.). For the meantime, I’ll stick to my hard copy.

Word Smart, 4th Edition (Smart Guides) Feature

ISBN13: 9780375765759
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Word Smart, 4th Edition (Smart Guides) Overview

Knowing which words to use and how to use them is key to communicating accurately and effectively. That’s why more than one million people have used this book to improve their vocabularies.

To find out which words you absolutely need to know, The Princeton Review researched the vocabularies of educated adults by analyzing major newspapers and books and focusing on the words that people misunderstand or misuse. We also examined the SAT and other standardized tests to determine which words are tested most frequently.

All of the entries in Word Smart, 4th Edition are necessary for an impressive vocabulary, and learning and using these words effectively can help you to get better grades, score higher on tests, and communicate more confidently at work.