18.8: Building Your Vocabulary

This section on vocabulary is included in this chapter because of the connections between vocabulary building and reading and using more precise, effective word choice in your writing. Building your vocabulary will make your reading easier, and reading is the best way to build your vocabulary, and vocabulary that you commit to memory will make writing easier and more effective. Learning new words can be fun and does not need to involve tedious rote memorization of word lists. The first step, as in any other aspect of the learning cycle, is to prepare yourself to learn. Consciously decide that you want to improve your vocabulary; decide you want to be a student of words. Work to become more aware of the words around you: the words you hear, the words you read, the words you say, and those you write.

One you are aware of your "go to” word choices, what strategies can you use to control or substitute more articulate and expressive words for them? Consider these ideas:

•                Be on the lookout for new words. Most will come to you as you read, but they may also appear in a professor’s lecture, a class discussion, or a casual conversation with a friend. They may pop up in random places like billboards, menus, or even online ads! (Check out the list below of some fun ways to learn new words.)

•                Write down the new words you encounter, along with the sentences in which they were used. Do this in your notes with new words from a class or reading assignment. If a new word does not come from a class, you can write it on just about anything, but

make sure you write it. Many word lovers carry a small notepad or a stack of index cards specifically for this purpose.

•                Infer the meaning of the word. The context in which the word is used may give you a good clue about its meaning. Do you recognize a common word root in the word? (Check the table below “Common Latin and Greek Word Roots” for common roots.) What do you think it means?

•                Look up the word in a dictionary. Do this as soon as possible (but only after inferring the meaning). When you are reading, you should have a dictionary at hand for this purpose. In other situations, do this within a couple hours, definitely during the same day. How does the dictionary definition compare with what you inferred?

•                Write the word in a sentence, ideally one that is relevant to you. If the word has more than one definition, write a sentence for each.

•                Say the word out loud and then say the definition and the sentence you wrote.

•                Use the word. Find occasion to use the word in speech or writing over the next two days.

•                Schedule a weekly review with yourself (or with a friend) to go over new words and their meanings.

Common Latin and Greek Word Roots

A very successful way to understand unfamiliar terms is to know what clues to look for. Since many of our words have Latin or Greek roots, familiarize yourself with (or better yet, memorize) this short list of some more common root words:

 

Root	Meaning	Examples
auto	self	automatic, automobile
bi	two	bicycle, biplane
bio	life	biography, biology
chrono	time	synchronize, chronicle
dict	say	predict, dictate
gen	give birth	generate, genetic
geo	earth	geology, geography, geometry
log	thought	biology, logic, pathology
manu	hand	manufacture, manual
phil	love	philosophy, anglophile
port	carry	transport, portable
sub	under	submarine, subtract
vac	empty	vacuum, evacuate

Finally, fun ways to find new words:

1.              Read (especially, books!)

2.              When you look up a word in the dictionary, look at other interesting words on the same page (word histories, antonyms, synonyms, etc.)

3.              Solve crossword puzzles.

4.              Play word games like Scrabble, Boggle, or Pictionary.

5.              Listen to speeches and attend lectures.

6.              Have discussions (not just casual conversations) with friends.

7.              Read some more!