Thread: how do you expand your vocabulary for your work?

because in my class, we are given a bunch of SAT words and im sure i wont really be able to remember them when it comes to anything, including literature or writing any essay.
so how exactly can my brain be able to recall these when writing? I have the definitions for them in my notebook.

Writing out the words by hand, reciting them to yourself, engage different parts of the brain, and there is a better chance you will retain the words as a result.

But if you are just seeking to expand your vocabulary, just read. A huge vocab isn't really necessary for effective prose.

Any deliberate effort to expand the vocabulary in something you are writing will, without fail, lead to misusing words. The right word, one that is already in your working vocabulary, should fall naturally onto the page. As JohnMG says, reading is the best way to expand your working vocabulary, the group of words with which you are most familiar and whose use you understand.

As well as that I also find that using them while in conversation also helps. The more you make use of the vocabulary the more fluid it'll sound when you use it in your writing.

I've never had good luck learning the definition of words without actively using them in my writing. Memorizing words and their definitions out of a book or a study guide might allow you to do well on a test, but you probably won't retain the information after the test is over. Is your goal to broaden your vocabulary, or to do well on the SAT? (Hopefully it's both!)

One of the things I love about the Kindle app on the iPhone is that you can get a definition immediately, by tapping on a word. When I encounter a word I don't know, I try to use that word in a couple of different sentences immediately, even if I just compose the sentences in my head, rather than on paper. I find that this helps me remember an unfamiliar word much better than if I just read it a few times.

Good luck!

-j.

Read books which you enjoy but that are challenging. Also, word games help (online stuff like lumosity.com or just crossword puzzles). In each case, though, it's a long, slow process.

I think it is like learning a foreign language. If you don't use it you don't retain it very long.

Read more.

About twelve months ago, I began noting down words which I'd come across in novels, and then define them, before saving them into a text document on my computer. I read classical works almost exclusively, so the amount of exposition one finds can be immense. I think I have nearly ten documents with about 25 - 30 words each now. Entries which have entered my schema, so to speak, are deleted, and new ones put in their place.

It's definitely working. I always had a large vocabulary, though I find even the most uncommon words now are not a problem at all. I'd definitely recommend trying it.

Modesty Blaise and Willy Garvin had a game wherein each would find a word and use it in conversation and the other woud have to say something the following day which demonstrated that they understood the word and at the same time come up with a fresh word, and so the cycle would be repeated. It is how I learned the word palimpsest. You can use a variation of this in every day conversation, emailing, even in this forum; the best way to learn a word is to use it correctly, the concomitant is, that once you know what it means, you will be able to use it correctly and once you know how to use it correctly you will use it... Poetry is a continual search for le mot juste as each word carries an inordinate amout of weight in relation to their number; I often spent hours racking my brains for the exact word, the one I know is there but which eludes me - but then, I am positively antideluvian, so that should not surprise...

I flip through a dictionary and read the definitions of any word that captures my interest. All the reading i do helps too.

I used to read the dictionary when I was bored in school - I didn't, of course, remember every word but the unusual (or ones I'd already been using incorrectly) stood out. I also read voraciously - and typically books beyond my age group. Picking a new word daily and using it several times during the day also helps.

But bear in mind - having a huge vocabulary doesn't mean you should use every oddball word in your writing. Keep the vocab consistent with your characters and type of story. Don't throw in 'big words' just because you know them. Use them because they're the most effective.

Got The Lexical Eclecsis for Christmas...

Originally Posted by shadowwalker

But bear in mind - having a huge vocabulary doesn't mean you should use every oddball word in your writing. Keep the vocab consistent with your characters and type of story. Don't throw in 'big words' just because you know them. Use them because they're the most effective.

Exactly right.

Words have domains. Guts has an entirely different tone and connotation than intestines. These are the subtleties that make writing a blast. But you have to be careful, you with the fancy vocabulary, not to destroy the tone of your story by using an obscure word 'just for the fun of it.'

I agree with those who advocate reading. Also, your vocabulary should be used to connect with your readers.. not to impress or intimidate them.

When I write a first draft, I write everything out in my normal, everyday speaking voice. Then, I go through it line by line and look to improve the quality of my sentences. More often than not, this involves trimming away the superfluous, and replacing complex words with simpler, more accurate ones.

Very rarely do I find myself looking for ways to squeeze in an SAT word. Usually I'm looking for ways to get rid of them. In this case, if I were to re-write this post, I'd probably look for a simpler word than "superfluous". : D