Here's a brief description of each chapter, along with some suggestions for using your study time most effectively.

Chapter 2: Test Your Word Smarts. Start here to gauge your vocabulary in a testing format. This 44-word diagnostic quiz will help you become familiar with the kinds of words that appear throughout this book and on the GRE.

Chapter 3—Words to the Wise. Start here for the most insightful analysis of specific words and to impress others in conversation. These are high-frequency GRE words that are also useful in understanding and communicating with educated people. Illustrative sentences provide insight (and entertainment) as well as incorporating words that appear elsewhere in the book. Related words are also defined and distinguished. This is a good place to begin if you are not pressed for time.

Chapter 4—Confounding and Confusing Words. Start here to master many of the most confusing words the English language dishes up (words that look and/or sound "foreign" or similar to other words). This is a good place to start if you already have a powerful vocabulary but just need to fine-tune it or "brush up" for the GRE.

Chapter 5—Academic Challenge. Start here for a focused approach toward specific academic areas. Thirty-three different fields—from Anatomy to Zoology—are represented. This chapter includes only the most testworthy words from each discipline, avoiding highly technical terms that only specialists in their fields understand.

Chapter 6—Flexibility Training (Prefixes and Roots). Start here if your time is limited and you need to take a flexible approach to improving your vocabulary. The most common roots, stems, and prefixes (most from either Latin or Greek) are listed here, along with testworthy words (and brief definitions) for each one.

Chapter 7—The A-to-Z List of Testworthy Words. Start here to cover many words as quickly as possible, without bothering with sample sentences. For each entry (headword), words that are similar and contrary in meaning are provided. Most of these words also appear elsewhere in the book, so you can review them later in different contexts.

Chapter 8—Word Games for Smart Test-takers. Start here for a highly interactive approach to learning new words by association. Each game deals with closely related words. Your job is to distinguish among them in either a grouping game or a matching game. Most of the words in Chapter 8 also appear elsewhere in the book. Thus, these games can also serve as a final review or test.

The "Quiz Time" Quizzes. Start here for a test-centered approach to learning new words. Quizzes are interspersed throughout the book. To find them quickly, check the Table of Contents. After taking a quiz and checking the answers, use the index to look up the words that stumped you.