I bought this book about a month before my test. I only used it like 4 days before my test. The night before I knew there wasn't much I could do so I just read as many of the essays as I could so I could get in my head how to "run" with issues and make some arguments. So the next morning I'm taking my test and one of the argument essays was MY argument essay word for word. I was so excited! Of course I didn't remember the essay word for word but I remembered the arguments and had ample time to add my own. The book was definitely worth the money :)

While it provides some useful tips for better essays for GRE, some sample essays are logically flawed. (yes, I was surprised to find that out while the author claimed he wrote the essays "not" within time frame). For example. Page 68. Sample Response for issue 1. Moreover, ETS has edited their pools of topic and the topic won't allign with the sample responses in the book. The book's claimed up to date web-page is not up to date either. May be because it has been 6 years from the date of publication.

So I would suggest you to study official PowerPrep from ETS first. It really helps. After all, they are the one who's gonna test you. So you gotta play their game to score.

Then, if you still have time and some bucks (around $ 15.00) buy this book and read. Good luck with your GRE or GMAT. Cheers :)

I thought this author did a very nice job in his endeavor of preparing one for the writing assessment of the GRE/GMAT. His examples were very good in leading my quest toward graduate exam success.

This book helped me score a 5.5 out of 6 on the writing portion. When I first began studying fot the GRE, I was intimidated by all the elements of the writing section: a vast pool of vague topics, impossible time limits, and my own cluttered opinions. I found Peterson's guide to be a practical refresher on rhetoric, fine tuned for maximum performance on the 45 minute and 30 minute essays.

My first few practice essays were rushed and unclear. On the day of the exam, I found myself with EXTRA time to edit and even add an extra paragraph. This could not have happened without Peterson.

I located this book at the public library a few days before the GRE- one of the best preparation decisions I made. It prompted me how to use supporting examples without letting them become cumbersome, develop a nuanced but clear line of reasoning, and skillfully deconstruct the arguments given in the argument-analysis portion.

This book might be a few years old, but its contents far outperform Barron's 2006/7 section on the GRE writing portion. I recommend using Barron's for everything else (verbal, quantitative tips and review, and the practice tests)- but complement your study with Peterson's book.

Also, I would recommend checking out the A&E video series "Biography of the Millennium: 100 People, 1000 Years" for an overview of western culture and history. It supplies some great examples to use in your essay.

This book is outdated; published in 2002. You must go to the ets website and get all the information of the exam you can. "Ace the GMAT" is found to have too many errors; don't get it. Get instead the Princton Review GMAT books.

This book is outdated; published in 2002. You must go to the ets website and get all the information of the exam you can. "Ace the GMAT" is found to have too many errors; don't get it. Get instead the Princton Review GMAT books.