Good command of the English vocabulary is essential to scoring 160+ on the GRE verbal section. You will most certainly need to learn an array of new words. 

This is where The Vocabulary Builder Workbook by Magoosh comes in. Magoosh is well-reputed in the world of GRE prep. They offer several free apps and tools to build vocabulary. 

Vocabulary Builder Workbook comprises a total of 1400 must-know GRE words. Magoosh has thoughtfully chosen these words using decades of experience in GRE prep. 

The book starts with a brief introduction to GRE vocabulary. In the intro, the author includes his personal experience with learning new words. 

The layout of the Book

The main body of the book is divided into 200 lessons. Each lesson features 6 to 8 words. Each lesson ends with a little exercise where you will either fill-in-the-blanks, match words to their meanings, or unscramble a word and then write its definition. 

Every lesson begins with three words that are ordered in varying difficulty from easiest to the hardest. You will find that each word is followed by its part of speech, pronunciation, definition, an example sentence, etymology, and lastly, an interesting tidbit. 

For example, in the first lesson on the theme “pre,” the first word is “Preamble,” which is easy. The second word, “Presage,” is of medium difficulty, and the third word, “Prescient,” is of hard difficulty.

Thematic Structure

Moreover, to make things interesting, many lessons have been created according to a specific theme, i.e., Lesson 17’s theme is “Only fools rush in.” This theme includes words that mean “careful” and “thoughtful.”

An example of the layout of a word is as follows:

Theme: Words from French

French has given us a surprising array of English words, everything from restaurant to denim. Please pay careful attention to these words’ pronunciation as they may differ significantly from what you expect. 

Nonchalant (adj.) nänSH??länt Giving off a sense of calmness and coolness. 

Katy lulled opponents by nonchalantly walking onto the court; only when the whistle blew did she explode with ferocity. 

Nonchalant is derived from a French word meaning “indifferent,” or “not caring.” Nonchalant is synonymous with insouciant (see sidebar) and is much more commonly used.

Not just another word list

I personally really like how this book is not another “vocabulary list.” Instead, the book’s layout gives you additional cues to help you retain the meaning of a word. 

I have noticed that if I try to memorize a list of words one after another, I tend to forget most if not all of them a few minutes after closing the book. In this regard, the thematic assortment of words and the tidbits, etc., really help commit a newly learned word to memory. 

However, please don’t go into this book thinking you will magically learn hundreds of new words by merely reading them like you would a novel. In my opinion, the best way to make sure you remember words and their meanings is by randomly going back and revising them.

It is also a good idea to do the exercises on a separate piece of paper so you can redo them multiple times, which is the best way to reinforce meanings.

Moreover, I cannot stress enough how essential reading is in everyday life. Reading newspapers and professional journals in addition to this book will give you the best chance to learn words and remember them.

An abundance of well-curated words

The 1400 words included in the book are picked carefully. The words cover the entire range of obscure GRE words. You are sure to find nearly all of these on the GRE. However, learning 1400 words is not an easy task. You can learn all of them only if you have 3-4 months dedicated to GRE prep. If not, then I would suggest that you turn to other word lists and ignore this book altogether. 

Easy to understand definitions

The definitions are not too technical and can easily be understood by beginners. A lot of GRE words have multiple meanings, and GRE tends to focus on their secondary meanings. Magoosh ensures that they teach you only those meanings that are important from the GRE standpoint. 

Moreover, Magoosh has done a commendable job at organizing and grouping words to make learning them a lot easier. 

Additional cues

Magoosh has not just shared the words, their meanings, and example sentences in this book. They have also included roots, tidbits, themes, pronunciations, and etymology. All of these, especially the roots, make memorizing, and retention easier.

Excellent example sentences

Learning only the definitions won’t do much if you don’t know how to use them in a sentence. Especially on the GRE, the usage is more important than just knowing the literal meaning of the word. And to that effect, Magoosh has included easy to understand sentences that give you a clear idea of using words.

Words ordered by difficulty

It is always good to know where you stand when learning anything new. Knowing the difficulty levels of words lets you know which sort of words you need to spend more time on. Magoosh has arranged these words in their order of difficulty, starting from easiest and going to hardest.

Learning activities

At the end of each chapter, Magoosh has shared a wide variety of activities where you can test yourself. I encourage you to try the activities. By doing so, you will be able to reinforce what you’ve learned. You should not just revise the words but also redo the activities once every few days. Just knowing a definition and thinking that you know it isn’t the same as actually testing yourself.

Few practice exercises

The practice exercises included at the end of each lesson are too short and few. It would have been nice if Magoosh included multiple practice exercises since these are the most helpful tools for memorizing new words.

Few inaccuracies

There are just a few inaccuracies and typos here and there. For example, the word centripetal is defined as “moving away from a center point”; however, the correct definition is “moving towards a center.” Nevertheless, the book has been thoroughly scanned to remove any mistakes.

Bottom Line

Vocabulary builder workbook by Magoosh is an excellent overall resource to add to your arsenal. There are plenty of useful words if you are preparing for a standardized test like GRE. The definitions are easy to understand, and the additional information regarding words is also helpful. However, this book is not for everyone since learning 1400 words is impossible for every GRE aspirant. If you are someone who is aiming for a 162+ on the GRE verbal section, then you should consider using this book.