If you read this week\u2019s posts, you know how to be a full-fledged word detective. You also have the vocabulary books that provide you with the best prep. Now, we need to talk about the process of getting words to stick in your head.<\/p>\n
Below is the magical formula for helping words stick.<\/p>\n
Another way of saying this: use mnemonics. A mnemonic is a creative way of remembering a word.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take the words gregarious<\/em> and amiable<\/em>. Gregarious means sociable. Say I have a friend named Greg, and, indeed, he is outgoing. Now, I have a way of remembering this word. As luck would have it, I also have a friend named Amy who, believe it or not, is friendly. So now, when I see amiable I think Amy-able and for gregarious I think Greg-arious.<\/p>\n Wait a second, you may be thinking. I don\u2019t know anybody who has those names. That\u2019s the whole point of a mnemonic \u2014 it needs to make sense only to you.<\/p>\n Granted, the words above didn\u2019t have very interesting mnemonics. And, if you notice in the caption, I mentioned the word wacky. The wackier and sillier a mnemonic, the more likely you are to remember it. And the mnemonics that make the most sense to you are usually the ones that you come up with your own.<\/p>\n So give it a try with the following words:<\/p>\n Esoteric \u2013 known only to those with specialized knowledge<\/p>\n Dilatory \u2013 slow; delaying<\/p>\n Polemic \u2013 a written or verbal attack against someone<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you don\u2019t know the definitions of any of the words above. So you look them up in a dictionary. Being the good word detectives you are, you write down the definitions, as well as an example sentence on a flashcard.<\/p>\n However, tomorrow your friend asks you what you learned on Magoosh. You tell them that you learned how to use mnemonics for three words. You remember the words, but you can\u2019t remember the definitions. Now, say that you decided after reading my posts to read an article from The New Yorker<\/em>. While reading the article you think to yourself, “Hey this is some pretty\u2026.oh, oh\u2026what\u2019s that word\u2026esoteric stuff”.<\/p>\n Now, what\u2019s happened? Well, you\u2019ve recalled a word and used it in a relevant context. Calling forth a word in this fashion will embed it\u00a0deeper into your memory. That way, when it comes time for the test, you will spend very little brainpower processing the word.<\/p>\n So, whether you are walking down the street, or even watching a television show, see if you can\u2019t apply the words you learnt that day (or even the previous days). If you think that GRE prep ends as soon as you put down your vocabulary books, then you will have a tougher time learning words. Use words (even if discreetly to yourself) whenever you can. Your verbal score will thank you.<\/p>\n Learning hundreds of words while only having a tenuous grasp of them is not efficacious. There is a word for this method: cramming.<\/p>\n Instead, learn words, but at a rate where they are not falling out of your head. For some, this rate is five words a day. For others, it\u2019s twenty-five. My experience is that students fare best when they start with a few words per day, but then increase the number. Oftentimes, your brain simply needs to adapt to something it is not used to doing, e.g. learning vocabulary.<\/p>\nUse It or Lose It<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew<\/strong> <\/h3>\n
Read to be Surprised <\/strong><\/h3>\n