When learning GRE vocabulary, we need to arm ourselves with as many approaches as possible to stand a chance against the verbal section:
1. READING FOR VOCABULARY
Why is reading for vocab, compared to the memorizing flashcards, so effective?
In the cozy flashcard milieu, words come to us a lot easier. But, the GRE is far from cozy. When we see a word we’ve seen before, the context — the GRE testing room — is very different. Likewise, when we are reading, we don’t expect to see a given word. It is this element of surprise, this jolt of recognition, that makes reading such an effective vocabulary-learning tool.
2. ACTIVE WORD USAGE
Once you’ve exposed yourself to many new words through reading, you don’t want to just look at them and put them in a notebook for safe-keeping. A technique you can rely on is active usage – a highly effective way of embedding words into long-term memory. If you don’t make active usage part of your arsenal, you are selling yourself short.
The key to active usage is to be creative. So, if vocabulary words start randomly popping into your head, think of where you can use them. Indeed, the zanier the connections you make with words, the more likely you are to remember them (this zanier-is-better approach applies to the next part of the vocabulary arsenal as well).
3. MNEMONICS
Suppose there is a really pesky word that you just can’t get into your long-term memory, no matter how many times you see that word. Okay, perhaps you don’t have to suppose, as there are many words that fall into this category. But let’s pluck a word at random from the GRE vocabulary tree: lambaste.
Let’s say whenever you encounter this word, the first four letters, l-a-m-b, throw you off. You picture a docile creature bah-ing contentedly in a pen. When you see the definition — to reprimand harshly — it always surprises you.
Instead of trying to snuff out the image of a lamb, however, you should try using it to your advantage.
Imagine a boss, or anybody who has exerted some power over you in the past (a middle school gym teacher works perfectly). He or she calls you into their office (or lair) and is now berating you for something you did incorrectly. Now, I want you to imagine a large lamb’s head in place of this person’s head.
Or, if that doesn’t quite do the trick, imagine you are cooking. You’re not very adept in the kitchen, but you want to surprise your significant other with his/her favorite dish. Well, in the end, you end up ruining the lamb. Your significant other arrives and, witnessing your culinary debacle, gives you a good going over, “you don’t baste a lamb, you roast one.”
The process of coming up with a creative—and often offbeat—way of remembering a word is called a mnemonic. Above are two mnemonics that I thought of on the spot. What I’ve learned from coming up with mnemonics in front of a class is that the best mnemonics are our own mnemonics. Sure, a few students like my mnemonics, but others devise their own wacky ones up (or lean back slightly, looking at me as though I’ve gone a little mental).
As silly as my mnemonics may sound, the main takeaway is that a good mnemonic is the one that works for you. And by good, I mean it is memorable. Case in point, you may have already forgotten my lambaste mnemonics, because you didn’t think of them yourself. But, if you are struggling with a vocab word, a clever mnemonic will not only make the word easier to learn but will also — hopefully — make the word more fun to learn.
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I like your mnemonic technique, but you can take it slightly further. If you have ever studied anatomy, you will remember the Gray’s Anatomy coloring book. You color a body part one color, and then you bubble in the name of that part with the same color. You are essentially creating a pictorial mnemonic. You can apply the same technique to learning vocab. One of my favorite examples is the word ubiquitous. I draw a stick figure who is looking at a ton of biscuits floating in the air all around him (10 in fact). In each biscuit, I write u, b, i, etc.
I like your lambasting, basting, roasting, picture. If one takes the 30 seconds to draw a stick figure cartoon of a guy getting yelled at, I would imagine most people will never forget it. I think many are better at remembering pictures over the format of “word, pronunciation, part of speech, definition, etc.”
Just make sure your mnemonic focuses on the definition. One of the worst examples I saw of a ‘fail’ was in a flascard collection (I don’t recall the publisher)…
They drew a picture of someone prodding a sea gull for the word prodigal; how they relate, I have no idea.
Hi Robert,
I agree – pictures can serve as a powerful mnemonic. The reason I am more biased towards imaginative mnemonics is because they are the ones that I have always used. Indeed, when I was younger my friends and I would try to come up with clever mnemonics. The sillier and more random the better. In fact, I could even make prodigal work – a gull can be a person who is easily deceived. And you could easily prod a gull to giving you lots of money so in essence they become prodigal. Totally silly – and obviously not what the flashcard publisher was thinking – but making these random connections has helped me learn lots of words.
But quirky mnemonics aren’t for everyone. I’ve shared some wacky ones with SAT students, some of who give me the same look I reserve for certain people on the subway (you know, the ones talking to their invisible friends). Many of these students prefer either drawing their pictures or using some pre-made pictorial representation. It really depends on how one learns, so I thank you for mentioning the pictorial method, one I’d given short shrift to on the blog.
I got one more good vocab resource that is Word Dynamo on http://thesaurus.com.
Its amazing and easy to play with words.
Hi Rajiv,
I’m just trying this out. Depending on how it goes, I may include on my next vocabulary write up.
Thanks for the link!
Hi Chris,
I came across an iphone app which adopts the method of learning you have suggested in this post. I apparently found the developer’s site and found it to be quite useful.
http://www.vocabahead.com
This helps memorize words a lot easier! I hope you check it out.
Cheers
Hmm…the vocabahead.com site seems to be down. I’ll definitely try to check it out later.
Hey Chris,
I just started preparing for my GRE’s and was absolutely terrified of memorizing definitions. Then, I came across your article where you compare two students (one with flash cards and the one who actively reads examples). I am finding it much easier to remember meanings using the latter technique. Do you think it is also useful to memorize a group of word which have the same meaning? For example: Courageous, Dauntless, Audacious could be linked to bold every time? I read this strategy in Kaplan Verbal Workbook, could you let me know what you think about it?
Thanks
Hi Pri,
I am happy the example method is working well. Word groupings can also be a great way to go. However, you have to tread carefully.
How similar must words be? Courageous, etc. are definitely synonyms.
Kaplan is notorious for lumping “similar” words under some general tag. Often times the words are related only in a vague sense and differ significantly. Basically both could pop up as answer choices in a sentence correction, and one of the words can be the answer.
My advice: do the grouping on your own and make sure the words are similar. For example impudent, insolent, and impertinent would be a good group. Keep the group exclusive because as soon as you start grouping words that sort of fit, you run into trouble.
Hope that helps!
Hi Chris
I am planning to take GRE April end 2012, to this end – I have been trying to work on my vocab learning words from Kaplan/Princeton. However, they provide a limited list of words. Could you suggest any other source/method/book for me to improve vocab. I would prefer a source which is handy all the time – something like an online source, where in I could download the list and take a print out, to keep with me and learn even when I am travelling (I am working with a MNC). I found few links on Barron’s – not sure how useful they are.
http://gretips4you.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/gre-big-book.pdf (see Barron’s sorted word list, pg 1086 onwards)
http://binodpandey.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/barrons-gre-word-list.pdf
Does it make sense to download them?
Also, not sure flash cards work for me, but would be great if you could suggest an alternative source/technique to work on the word lists.
Thanks a lot for your suggestions!
Niti
Hi Niti,
Let’s see if I can help
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For methods, what did you think of the strategies in the post above? I stress the importance of not solely relying on lists. Cramming words this way isn’t terribly effective.
Of course at the end of the day it is nice to have words in one convenient place. For a reference book I recommend Princeton Review Word Smart – though it would be crazy as well as inefficacious to work through the book alphabetically.
Flash cards are much better. Quizlet.com is an amazing web site that allows you to make on-line flashcards. So read a lot and make note of words you see by putting them in flashcard form (the level of reading has to at least by at the nytimes level). And whenever you encounter a word you don’t know in a practice question, you can also make an on-line flashcard of it.
Hope that helps!
Hi Chris
Thanks for your suggestions, quite helpful!:)
I do not have a specific strategy for vocab per say. I just keep picking up words from Kaplan and Princeton, and then look up meaning of unknown words that I find, while reading books/online news. I have also checked out Quizlet. Indeed it is quite helpful but I don’t get much time to study online as I am working late hours almost everyday, just enough time to study quant and verbal. But let me again go back and try using the flash cards strategy, perhaps would help!
Thanks again, for your advice.
Niti
Sounds good! Also, don’t forget the ‘use it or lose it’ strategy. Try using GRE words throughout the day (to yourself, of course
). Describe yourself as feeling phlegmatic in the morning, co-workers wrangling in the cube near you, a martinet of a boss making you stay late at work :0.
I just posted a comment on my boyfriends facebook using 3 of your “top 20 GRE words.” Active word usage is the strategy that works best for my learning style!
Great! I say keep using them, sprinkling them out across multiple FB friends
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hi chris,
How would you rate software like “ultimate Vocabulary software” to start working on vocabulary? Would this be useful at all and sheer waste of money? It seems to have rave reviews everywhere in the net.
Vivek,
Ultimate Vocabulary looks great! I like the flashcards with pictures. The thing is I’ve never used it, but from the research I’ve done it may be a helpful system. I will have to buy a copy and spend some time researching it more. But for now, I say it looks like a good way to learn vocab.
thanks Chris
You’re welcome
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