Direct Hits Core Vocabulary

Great book, the way this book is written makes it very easy to use and interesting to read. All the other vocabulary books are really boring to read, however this book uses modern examples that grabs the attention of the reader. Although the new SAT does not need a strong vocabulary, this book helped me in many ways such as my college essays, school work, and daily uses (speaking, etc.)For anyone who is going to purchase this book I'd recommend using this method for memorising the words, as it worked perfectly with me. The method is to go through 5 words a day. However, each day you will go through the words that you went through in the past. For example, the first day you went through the first 5 words, the second day you will go through the first 10 words, on the third day you will go through the next 15 words, and so on. By time they might seem that there is a lot of words to go through, but trust me the words you already revised will be a piece of cake. Once the words are stuck in your head and you have started using them in your speaking or writing you can let go of the words and stop going over them when you want to review the next new 5 words.

I received a review copy of the 5th edition, both volumes. As a tutor who has been using Direct Hits since the 1st edition and has also used 300 Essential Words, I offer the following comments.First, there are a lot of lists out there (I'm sure I've seen almost all of them), but the Direct Hits Family is the best. The list is based upon the actual SAT Test. The list is manageable. 1000 words, 3500 words, 5000 words?! Really? If you know that many words you need to work for Merriam-Webster. Time would be better spent reading. It is so well organized. The 5th edition shows welcome changes from the earlier editions. The explanations require less reading, sentences rather than passages. The Latin/Greek roots are interspersed throughout the books and connected with the relevant words. Direct Hits does a fantastic job in bring up previous words in new lessons; this serves as functional review. There are less sentence completion review exercises than in the earlier versions, but if you know how to use the blog posts it more than makes up for it.Heck, if you're already in college but find the reading "soo hard" get both volumes and get educated son. It's not gonna get eazier.In conclusion, I recommend Direct Hits for tutors, self-studying SAT students or anyone who wants to get a vocabulary foundation for college level. Remember, it is a start not a panacea, but it's probably the best start out there

The book is extremely useful for those who are trying to ace the SAT. Not only the 19 sentence completion questions, but also the 48 passage-based reading questions and the 49 grammar questions. Building elegant and sophisticated vocabularies is vital for comprehending texts that are complicated, and that is the purpose of the SAT exam. The Directs Hits targets vocabularies that frequently appear on the tests and the multifarious university textbooks, and the book also highlights the importance of knowing the words. After studying the book, a lot of "esoteric" vocabularies become "quotidian" words, and by using the words, we turn into "sophisticated scholars"!Opinion: the book teaches vocabularies with a really appealing method, for example, it cites numerous examples of the pop culture to illustrate the vocabulary vividly! The practice questions are also helpful for building the tactics that allow you to crack the SAT code.

I read about the Direct Hits series on College Confidential where people gave them glowing reviews. Figuring the books weren't that expensive, I decided to see for myself. I have a number of PSAT/SAT vocab prep resources, but these are definitely my favorite. I like reading stories that reinforce word meanings instead of just rote memory / notecard / fill-in-the-blank style vocabulary books. In addition, I was pleased to see that a good number of these words consistently appear in the SAT Blue Book and in old PSAT's I found online. I expect that rigorous study of these words will really be a boon to anyone who puts the time in and studies them.The Core Vocab book has the words that seem to show up regularly on these tests, and it even has a section of exercises in the back of the book to reinforce word mastery. Definitely a "direct hit", if you ask me!

If English is not one of your stellar subjects then you will benefit from this book. Even if English is your favorite subject, the book would probably help at least as a refresher. Its hard for me to judge it because the SAT is far into my past (but you didn't hear that from me) and even then I was pretty good in vocabulary -- but it was because I was an avid reader and I actively worked on building my vocabulary skills by using books much like this one. I did enjoy going through the book and testing my vocabulary.

Super helpful and makes vocabulary learning a “game” kind of and not a chore to do. Enjoyed reading through all the examples, it wasn’t boring to get through as you read interesting stuff and learn at the same time which is a win win for me. I got through the book quick and learned a lot as well. Super helpful if English is a weaker section for you. Highly recommend

I almost hate to let the secret out of the bag, so please like my review! I am an SAT tutor and this is the absolute best list of words for the SAT. Every one of my students has to study the words on this list. It would be worth the money if all they did was give you a list of the words, but my students like the explanations and format of the book. They soon start seeing how often the words show up on the practice SATs. Anyone serious about achieving a high Critical Reading score must get this book, and the companion book for the next level. Again, the students enjoy it which is a bonus!

Although I didn't manage to memorize all the words in the book before my test, I must say it's a good book. Every word is explained in interesting stories, which helps you remember and understand better.

Great book, organised and written with a lot of care.

I was expecting for a second-hand product but the book was new or looked like new. The words are useful, especially for foreign students

This book contains all of the core vocabulary every SAT taker has to know. It's a good concise list with memorable examples. If you're stuck choosing which SAT vocabulary book to buy, get this one first.