Vocabulary for Writing

[AnnaRydell]

Hi to all,

I'm taking an important exam about 2 months from now, and I feel that my writing skills aren't up to standard, as I often am graded 20+/40 marks for my composition. My grammar, on one point, is all right but on the other hand, my vocabulary needs much improvement. I'm not used to including a wide range of vocab in my writing as I don't attend any writing courses nor English tuition. I would appreciate if you could give me some tips for vocabulary as well as provide me some good phrases/vocabulary to use in my compositions.

Even my friend, who has never outdone me in composition before, has begun to catch up. I see a lot of improvement in her and she is beginning to use a lot of good phrases in her compositions without any reference books.

I would appreciate if you could give me some tips for vocabulary as well as provide me some good phrases/vocabulary to use in my compositions.

[hermit]

hi annarydell - one very useful tool in vocabulary development is a thesaurus, which as you may already know, provides synonyms to enable you to enrich your composition with more precise wording.

You can find a good thesaurus among the many choices online, or get a copy of Roget's Thesaurus to keep handy in book form.

Best of luck with your writing skills,
hermit

[IvyEyesEditing]

Hi Anna!

I agree with Hermit that a thesaurus is an excellent resource to consider!

I would also add that it is important to consider what academic discipline your writing falls into--this can really impact the type of language that you use. There is specific jargon used for all types of writing, across all fields--art history vs sociology vs literature vs psychology vs film studies (and the list goes on). Additionally, there is a large body of criticism within all of these subjects which you could check into to help inform your work.

From my perspective, vocabulary in academic writing often naturally evolves with the complexity of your analysis. In fact, in most cases I would push someone's analysis before I pushed their vocabulary. Ultimately, you want to avoid the pitfall of many young writers: empty, elevated language that does not deliver adequate, reflective analysis.

If you would like to submit an excerpt to this thread, I would be happy to give you feedback!

All best,

Paul
Ivy Eyes Editing
http://www.ivyeyesediting.com

[Vega]

I would appreciate if you could give me some tips for vocabulary as well as provide me some good phrases/vocabulary to use in my compositions.

Hello there,

Here are I uploaded "601 Words you need to know to pass your exam". (zipped, aprox. 1 Mb Word doc.)

http://rapidshare.com/files/262932723/601_Words_You_Need_to_Know_to_Pass_Your_Exam.rar.html

[AnnaRydell]

I would appreciate if you could give me some tips for vocabulary as well as provide me some good phrases/vocabulary to use in my compositions.

Hello there,

Here are I uploaded "601 Words you need to know to pass your exam". (zipped, aprox. 1 Mb Word doc.)

http://rapidshare.com/files/262932723/601_Words_You_Need_to_Know_to_Pass_Your_Exam.rar.html

Thanks for the replies.

I have tried to open the file, but it says it can't be opened... It might be because my computer is different from yours- It doesn't have powerpoint, and the Word Document isn't the same either.

Maybe you could PM me the contents? Like, copy and paste it. Or you could try sending me in another file type, but I'm not very sure if it would work.

Anna

[Vega]

Sorry for problems.

There are 40 lessons in total. If you don't have Microsoft Word, I can convert them to PDF (all you need is AdobeReader or FoxitReader, you can dnload on the net for free) and send to your email.

Copy and paste is little overwhelming, 40 lessons...and each lessons consist of 2-3 pages.

PM me your email.