Quick Help: Building your vocabulary

• Keep a list of new words. Each time you come across a new word in a text, try to come up with a definition, and then check the dictionary to see how close you came. Copy the word’s definition next to the word on your list.
• Practice naming the opposites of words. If you see abbreviation, for example, can you think of enlargement or elaboration?
• As you read, try to come up with better words than the authors have.
• While reading a work by a writer you admire, identify several words you like but do not yet use. Check the meanings of these words, and then try using them in your speech or writing.