How to increase vocabulary

Increasing your vocabulary is easier than you think.

Writing can be hard… it is difficult not to use the same words over and over again. But the repetition of the same words can make our work seem dull and uninteresting. Moreover, limited vocabulary can hurt the marks we receive for an essay.

Let’s discuss some ways you can improve your essay writing vocabulary.

Reading.

This one may sound obvious, but those who read more usually have a much larger vocabulary. Try finding some books that interest you, whether that be fiction or non-fiction. If you come across words in your books that you think are interesting and useful, then write them down. Keep an ‘interesting vocabulary list’ or a ‘word journal’ with the definitions of each word. Ideally, it would be good to start including these words in your spoken and written vocabulary. That way, when it comes to writing your essays, you will have a list of words you are comfortable using and the memory of how to use them correctly

Use a Thesauruses

You may be able to find synonyms for words that you find yourself repeating in your essays. If you find you have particular comfort words (words you find yourself falling back on time and time again), use the thesaurus to compile a list of words that mean the same as your comfort word. For example, if you find yourself using the word ‘however’ a lot in your essays, your list might look like this:

– However
– Nonetheless
– Notwithstanding
– Yet
– Despite

This gives you a list of words you can use interchangeably with the word ‘however’. It is important to remember when you increase your vocabulary, you do not need to hunt with the longest words in existence. Sometimes simple words like ‘yet’ are perfect for your sentence. When we improve our vocabulary, we don’t need to sound like we ate the dictionary. We just need to have options, so we aren’t saying the same words on repeat. So, in short, when you use the thesaurus to improve your vocabulary, consider the smaller words as well

Word journal.

I know I mentioned this earlier, but be sure to add any word you come across in day to day life that you think may come in useful. Maybe the teacher has said a word which you want to write down. Maybe a TV show character said a word that you thought is unique and may be useful for your essay writing. Keeping a journal with a variety of interesting words is a great way to have quick access to a variety of words when the time comes to write an essay.

Learn a new word each day.

This may sound silly, but these days there are plenty of ways to learn a new word each day. You can buy “word of the day calendars”, but there are also apps and websites which allow you to access a brand new word each day, with a definition. Over time this will help increase your vocabulary.

Play word games.

Games like scrabble, boggle, crosswords or word apps on your phone can help you increase your vocabulary. Continue challenging yourself with these games and try and learn as many new words as possible.

Overall, increasing your vocabulary does take work. But there are many ways to make it fun. Make a fun little challenge with yourself, and you will find your vocabulary increasing in no time.

Looking for more help increasing your vocabulary?

If you would like someone on one help with someone who can help you build your vocabulary while refining your skills in other subjects you are interested in reach out to us on 0409 083 909.
Or you can send us an enquiry and we will contact you!