How to improve my vocabulary

[donut202]

How can I effectively improve my vocab? I'm trying to learn new words but I don't know which resources are good, are there any good wordlists, websites or books to boost my vocab? 

 

thanks!

[moderatedbliss]

Whenever you're reading, make a habit of looking up words you're not familiar with.. even if you have seen it before, it doesn't hurt. I hear doing this while reading academic work is really beneficial, but that's your call.

[tarrman]

If you have a smartphone, there are some great apps for training.  I used Painless GRE.

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

If you're interested, we created two GRE word lists at Quizlet (free service).

We really like Quizlet because it has all sort of activities, games and quizzes to help you build your vocabulary. 

 

- 500 common GRE words (basic): http://quizlet.com/18795939/gre-basic-flash-cards/ 

- 500 common GRE words (advanced): http://quizlet.com/18809160/gre-advanced-flash-cards/

 

Cheers,

Brent

[FestivusMiracle]

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Words-GRE-Barrons/dp/0764144782/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362969248&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=barron%27s+gre+voacab

 

This is the book that I used, and I made a 170 on verbal (although I was making around 162-165 on all of my practice tests).  I studied about 3 months for the GRE (verbal and quant), and I believe that this book is the most surefire way to increase your score.  Make sure you take your time with the words, because IMO it's a lot better to know a few hard words really well than to just kinda sorta know a lot of words.  Each lesson contains 10 words, and I usually worked 3 or 4 lessons each day, 5 days a week.  I also made spreadsheets with the words and definitions and forced myself to actively recall either the vocab word or the definition of the vocab word.  It takes a lot of time, but it really paid off in the end.  Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

[IO guy-o]

Brent, thanks for sharing those resources! Very user-friendly.

[donut202]

thanks for the comments guys! What are your opinions on learning latin roots? is it useful?

 

thanks!

[Guest |||]

If you're interested, we created two GRE word lists at Quizlet (free service).

We really like Quizlet because it has all sort of activities, games and quizzes to help you build your vocabulary. 

 

- 500 common GRE words (basic): http://quizlet.com/18795939/gre-basic-flash-cards/ 

- 500 common GRE words (advanced): http://quizlet.com/18809160/gre-advanced-flash-cards/

 

Cheers,

Brent

 

Very nice of you.

 

thanks for the comments guys! What are your opinions on learning latin roots? is it useful?

 

thanks!

 

I've heard that its not very helpful and you'd be better off going else where with your time.

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

thanks for the comments guys! What are your opinions on learning latin roots? is it useful?

 

thanks!

I think it can help at times, but knowing the roots can often lead you in the wrong direction. 

I'd learn a few roots, but only the common ones. 

I happen to like this resource for roots: http://www.virtualsalt.com/roots.htm

 

Cheers,

Brent

[Sorawit]

Whenever you're reading, make a habit of looking up words you're not familiar with.. even if you have seen it before, it doesn't hurt. I hear doing this while reading academic work is really beneficial, but that's your call.

^

This. You should also try to use the words you just learned or you'll forget them. 

[iojove]

I like www.vocabulary.com a lot - it has a word challenge where it will randomly select words for you to learn.  It tests your knowledge of each word in a couple different ways.  You can also choose lists (like GRE words) to learn and/or create your own vocab list.  I now write down all the words I don't know or don't know very well when reading a new book, then put them all into their own list so I can learn them.  It's a great site!

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

To improve your vocabulary, it's important that you engage fully with every word you're trying to learn. This will greatly increase your retention. 

We have a free video that offers a wide range of vocabulary-building strategies: http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/module/gre-sentence-equivalence?id=1155

 

Cheers,

Brent - Greenlight GRE

[chrismagoosh]

As others have pointed out, reading is a great way to boost your vocab--as long as you assiduously look up words you don't know while reading. Of course what you read is important too! The New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, and the Economist are all great sources, especially the longer articles (don't just read from cover to cover). 

 

One thing you don't want to forget is to use words. Whether you are walking down the street and you see a 'saturnine' looking fellow, or you write a quick short story using words you've learnt over the past week, using words is an excellent way to make the words stick in long term memory. As they say, "Use it or lose it!". 

 

For a great resource that covers many of these principles--but in much great depth--check out the following free ebook, which is not only full of effective techniques to improve your vocabulary but also high-frequency GRE words:

 

http://magoosh.resources.s3.amazonaws.com/Magoosh-GRE-Vocab-eBook.pdf

 

Hope that helps 

[msb2012]

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Words-GRE-Barrons/dp/0764144782/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362969248&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=barron%27s+gre+voacab

 

This is the book that I used, and I made a 170 on verbal (although I was making around 162-165 on all of my practice tests).  I studied about 3 months for the GRE (verbal and quant), and I believe that this book is the most surefire way to increase your score.  Make sure you take your time with the words, because IMO it's a lot better to know a few hard words really well than to just kinda sorta know a lot of words.  Each lesson contains 10 words, and I usually worked 3 or 4 lessons each day, 5 days a week.  I also made spreadsheets with the words and definitions and forced myself to actively recall either the vocab word or the definition of the vocab word.  It takes a lot of time, but it really paid off in the end.  Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

 

It seems a good book but it's from 2010. So, I think it's for the old exam, I don't know if it's still useful or not

[Quigley]

The Kaplan flash cards were helpful for me.  Of the 500, there were probably 380 or so that I didn't know.  I carried a small stack in my pocket wherever learned 10 per day.  If there were 1 or 2 that I had difficulty remembering, I added them to my stack for the following day. 

 

I scored a 165 on verbal.  Both times I took the test, there were definitely several words from the cards, but I would recommend using other sources as well.