English Vocabulary (SparkNotes Study Cards)

Ignore the kids...

Just look at all the kids (or otherwise the really immature parents) posting bullsh_t reviews. Some say the vocabulary in the set are "for 5 year olds". I own a set myself, and I will gladly provide a sample of words in the set.
1) Impinge
2) Contrite
3) Didactic
4) Beguile
5) Oscillate
With all respect, I HIGHLY doubt any 5 year old would know the definition or even the spelling of these words.
Others argue that some students learn better by writing the words/definitions down themselves. Not only is the act of writing down 1000+ SAT words ridiculously time-consuming, but also, it does not apply for everyone. Individuals have different learning styles, whether it be writing down words or looking at pre-written words. So, to say that ALL students NEED to write down their words themselves is completely ignorant and narrow-minded.
Yet, if you feel that you would be better off writing the words down yourself, then feel free to. However, that does not give you the right to rate this product 1 star, just because it doesn't match YOUR learning style.
That pretty much sums up my comments against the preposterous claims found in these reviews. Now I will provide my own thoughts about this product.
First off, the words are highly challenging and are words that have been used in the SAT's, including words like "compunction" and "largess".
The set is also highly portable, meaning you could conveniently bring these with you anywhere you go and effectively study no matter where you are.
Last but not least, these cards are very user-friendly. On the front, you see the name of the word. On the back, you see the name repeated, the part of speech, the definition, and a sentence using the word. These aspects will greatly help your studying and are simplistic yet effective.
Overall, I would rate this product 4.5/5 stars. The only reason it did not get a perfect score is because of the same reason it should have gotten a perfect score: it's remarkable abundance of words. With 1000 (One Thousand) SAT words all crammed in to a single box, you are guaranteed to become a SAT vocab expert by the end, but at the same time, you will have some trouble fumbling through the plethora of vocab cards. However, this "trouble" is very minor, and can be bypassed by several, simple means, such as placing an index card to mark where you took the cards out, or placing them in alphabetical zip-lock bags.
Other than that, this product is truly amazing. Even if you are not preparing for the SAT's, being informed of these words will undoubtedly make you an eloquent writer (which would greatly help in the academic or the business field), or at least an intellectual individual respected by your peers.
This concludes my review. Again, I strongly recommend this product and will be forever grateful for the benefit these cards have given me.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Quick and Easy vocabulary

Hi, I just purchased these cards for my son to use in 8th grade. Im glad some will be familiar, that will make him get through them all the faster. The format is easy enough to use and Im glad there are no hot pink or other bright colors. The blue is nice. Ive read the other reviews and am glad that so many here have such a great vocabulary even though they are not using it when typing thier reviews. These are for kids, not college students. If you do your research before buying them then you would have noticed that there is a complete list of words including definitions/sentences available for free on the sparknotes website. You can print it out or save it to your pc. 70 pages. 'free' then 10.00 for flash cards. If your so inclined...make your own flashcards from that. This is a nice set to build upon. Great for Homeschool! I'd say best for Middle schoolers or higher with limited vocabulary. If your child is gifted in this area, these may be already familiar and you would want to look at something else.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Meant more for ESL students.

I see a lot of negative reviews here saying how elementary these vocabulary words are and such. Maybe you were misled into thinking these were meant to be used as a study aid for the SATs, GREs or other standardized tests. But, even without buying them it should be pretty obvious that these are indeed meant for non-native English speakers. You can find them right next to the other sets for "French Vocabulary," "Italian Vocabulary," "German Vocabulary," etc. It's meant for people who have English as a second language and perhaps those in middle school. Some of the vocabulary will be useful for those standardized tests, but not the majority.

This is a helpful tool

The cards are the right size and they provide a wide variety of vocabulary words. Many of the words given enable the user to express concepts more succinctly. The box provides a nice quality storage for the cards.

An ideal means to improve your vocabulary.

I keep a small stack of these cards in my car, home, and office and refer to them when time allows. I have already begun to pepper my conversations and writings with my enhanced vocabulary - a lasting impression is often left with the recipient(s). These are ideal for the high school student looking to improve SAT scores, avid readers who want to improve comprehension, EOL students who desire a more rounded grasp of the English language and business professionals who want to impress listeners.

Great cards but lacking in some aspects

I bought these study cards because I was impressed with their volume and breadth, and wished to supplement my vocabulary, which I am also bolstering through reading. The words themselves are quite well-chosen and useful, but their presentation leaves something to be desired. My main gripe with the cards is that they are designed in a way that helps SAT and ACT test takers, in that the word side is blank save for the word, and on the reverse side is printed the word again with a sentence. This format effectively makes studying definitions and naming their words very difficult. In addition, there are no pronunciations for each word, which can cause embarrassing mispronunciations. So, for those who seek to prepare for tests or to be able to understand words in literature, I wholeheartedly recommend these cards. But for those like myself, who wish to be able to recall words while writing more easily, be fully aware of this shortcoming. If you don't mind it, this product will be of the greatest use to you. The cards are conveniently small and the box houses them all nicely.

They use them to cheat on tests!!

Why make such useless things when most of the think outside the box kids cheat. I even cheat on a lot of those test and quizzes i receive in class. It is sort of rediculous the amount of words we have to overall know in the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. Some of the words are cool but if you keep it real, we are never going to use these words. The only people who might use these words ar politicians, lawyers, or judges and only these kids are the ones that truely try to learn. I think someone could be truely a smart but just because the grades don't show it on a piece of paper, he is not smart. I think that person is smarter than the people who get straight A's. I Personally know staight 'A' student and the only reason they strive for an 'A' is because they have too. Either because of their parents or some other factor. Then the person who doesn't recieve straight A's is smart because a lot of us knows how life around us work and how the high school is. We can think on our toes and quick and still be able talk nice and dilegently. So I think we should stop with all this hype of just the 'Straight A student' but start doing some phycological test in high schools and see who truely is a smart person.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Better idea...

Write them out yourself. It's a well known fact that writing things down helps you memorize them. Flash cards are kind of pointless... You have to do the work to get the results. Unless, of course, you're some kind of genius previously unknown to mankind...

Why waste the $

Having them write the flash cards helps them just as much a reviewing them. So write & review!

A reviewer

This cards are making me talk more goodly as we speak even now! At first I don't know english good but now I know it MORE good. High Five!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very Disappointing

I mean it was a step in the right direction, but chances are if your to lazy to right note cards, your to lazy to study.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sucks

If you're a freakin' idiot and don't know what 'structure' or 'excellent' is, then these cards are for you! Otherwise don't waste time or money. Are these people that are rating these cards with outstanding or recommended native speakers? They seem like immigrants that don't know how to speak english or spell at all even after the 'cards made them gooder!'

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

wow

wow, I'm trying to figure out which is worse, the people's reviews about the product (Me english were bad, but now good now, etc) or the actual cards (which would be great if you were taking the SAT in 2nd grade) . . .

Absolutely Ridiculous!

My niece knew more than half the words, and she's six! I'm a seventeen year-old looking for some great SAT tricks, not an illiterate child desiring basics. Definitely a waste of money... unless you're four, don't buy them. I'd recommend buying the 'Cracking the SAT' from the Princeton Review. It's the best I've found so far.

For 'Very Disappointing'

I am going to purchase these Cards for two reasons. First, I'd like to see for myself exactly how they are designed to help one with the learning process that corresponds to the Subject Matter and to which level of degree they are applied and designed for. Second - Who knows! I just may need a refresher Course, or two, and the Study Cards that are offered for sale could be quite helpful as well as the Courses themselves. A suggestion to you, if I may, is this - Maybe you should think about making a purchase as I did notice that you seem to have a bit of difficulty in comprehending what the difference is between the words 'right' vs. 'write'. I suggest that you read your Review, once more, to see exactly what I am speaking of. Why not give them a go! They actually could make learning fun and the price is certainly reasonable for 1000 Cards, don't you think? Well, I'm not put off by the cost for these.

SUPPER ASWEOMe

it was a graat idea for me to buy these cards

pathetic

waste of time and money

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

UM..OK

ok, the publishers review is giving obviously different questions to what is on the cards, unless of course you are hoping to improve your English by calculating mathematical equations....

Wow!

The card helped me a lot! I don't know english before this year and know I now how to spel words! I learns english in very shorts times with card. Thanks your lot!

Good

I study card and know me english is good now. Thank you sparkplug. Me english were bad, but now good now.