Students often struggle with language because it is a crucial component in General Paper (GP). For Essays, good language helps in articulation and persuasion. Using the right words could also bring ideas across in a much more nuanced manner.
For Compre, language is integral in understanding the author’s ideas. You would know that difficult words are usually the annoying impediment that prevents us from fully understanding the passage. Language for Compre also matters for paraphrasing, both in trying to decipher the word and finding another suitable word/phrase to replace what is in the passage.
The good news is language can definitely be improved. Contrary to popular belief, language isn’t something that can only be acquired through years of reading and using. There are steps that we can actively take to improve our vocab.
Think of vocab as the tools you have at your disposal — the more you know, the more ways you can express yourself and even develop personal voice; the more you know, the easier it is to understand others no matter what expressions they employ.
Here are 3 Simple Steps:
1. Leverage on the Power of Synonyms
A lot of us dread building vocab because it seems like such a tedious process. For each new word, it seems I have to slowly read through the meaning. This process can however be efficiently streamlined when we focus on synonyms. This is a fast method that is extremely simple but rewarding 😍
What do i mean? Almost every word has a identical synonym (another similar word) that captures its exact meaning. Instead of reading long definitions of new vocab words, we can instead use synonyms.
The catch is also to use synonyms that are existing words that you already know so that we can create an easy bridge to connect new knowledge (new words) with our existing knowledge (words we know and use). With this bridge, remembering these new words become an easy feat!
Here’s an example of what I mean. Let’s say the new word that i am learning is ‘Indispensable’. A good synonym for ‘Indispensable’ is ‘Necessary’, a word that we commonly use. In my notes, i will record it as such: Indispensable – Necessary.
From here, there are three important applications that follow:
1. The next time I am writing and I want to describe something as ‘Necessary’, i could instead consider using ‘Indispensable’
2. When I am paraphrasing ‘Necessary’ in the Compre, i could use ‘Indispensable’
3. When I am reading and i come across this word ‘Indispensable’ i know what it means and helps me to understand what the author’s point is. For e.g. ‘Technology is omnipresent in our modern lives and is in fact indispensable, but does that mean that we should have boundless faith in it?’
Pro Tip: When finding synonyms, pick those that have the same word form. If i find a synonym for ‘Jeopardise’, i will use ‘Endanger’ instead of something like ‘Threatening’ because ‘Jeopardise’ is an verb while ‘Threatening’ is an adjective
You can imagine that if you adopt this method of learning vocab, it will be very fast and you will remember these new words with ease! The most important thing is you have a direct application for these new words, so you will see a tangible improvement in the language aspect!
Remember that language also affects your content grade because it can mean that your points sound more nuanced and precise, rather than vague and generalised.
2. Minimal but consistent effort is the way to go
There is a huge psychological inertia to starting vocab acquisition because it feels like an extremely tedious process and we don’t know where to start. It can actually be really simple, as long as you do it every day! Consistency is key.
This is exactly why i decided to offer daily free Tips for GP on my Telegram Channel because giving some attention to GP everyday is much more effective than a last-minute intense push/mugging!
Let me share with you my very own Vocab Study Plan that i used as a student! No kidding… this was really what i used which is why i know it would work 😃 Many friends and students that i have shared this with also feedback that they found this extremely helpful.
What if i told you that you just need to spend 10 minutes a day on Vocab and you can see some significant results for your language proficiency? Yes, 10 minutes is really all it takes (you can even do this on the MRT using your phone)!
These are the steps for the Vocab Study Plan
Day 1
- Find 5 NEW words that I want to learn
- Find the Synonyms for them using EXISTING words
Day 2
- Find another 5 NEW Words and their synonyms
- Recap the words that i learned in Day 1
Day 3
- Find another 5 NEW words (Day 3)
- Recap words from Day 1 and Day 2
Days 4 to 7
Repeat this process for the remaining days (Day 4 recapping words from Days 1-3, and so on)
Day 8 (Start of a new week)
Restart the process from Day 1!
It really just needs 10 minutes from you, because finding a suitable synonym is very fast and there are only 5 new words we look at each day, while recapping should be easy since it’s just recalling.
Pro Tip: Pick words that you foresee yourself using in your writing, or words that are common in opinionated pieces (the type of passage in Compre)
If you do forget, then of course you may refer. It’s a win-win situation — if you remember, it means you have added this word to your Vocab pool; if you forget, you are just going through the learning process again to solidify your learning.
For reference, this is an example of the study plan:
3. Read Essays/Compre Passages to acquire new vocabulary
When it comes to vocab, context also matters! The plan above is an effective, quick way to learn vocab, but it will definitely help you tremendously if you get used to looking at these words in their natural habitat — in sentences!
It is true the more you read the better you will get at the language because it isn’t just about new words, it is also about sentence structure, phrases, punctuation and even personal style. You can glean all those from reading. The good news is we can kill two birds with one stone.
You don’t have to spend extra time reading random articles. Read Essays and Compre Passages! Essays would give you useful content that directly relates to GP since you can see how they are applied to questions. Compre passages helps you get used to this style of writing and over time you will find Compre passages much easier to understand; you may even be able to speed read them and save tons of time in the exams!
From these Essays or Compre Passages, pick out vocab you find useful to add to your daily study plan 🙂 One Essay/Passage can give you at least 30 words, so you don’t even have to go hunting for words!
Pro Tip: If you really do wish to find more words, you can always search for SAT words. Just Google it! Many of these words are commonly used in academic writing and it is really helpful to know them. P.S. Don’t pick all the words starting with the same alphabet for the same day because it could get confusing
The beautiful thing about learning Vocab is that it is useful for a LIFETIME. Yes, you read that right, a lifetime! These words would stay with you if you internalise them and use them in your writing. Once you start using them, they become second nature and a part of your core memory.
Even beyond A Levels and GP, you may find them to be helpful when you move on to Uni, or even when you need to do some writing in your future workplace. Once you embark on this journey, you will also realise how these words are actually everywhere and it gives immense gratification when you recognise and know what they mean! 😊
PLEASE REMEMBER TO LEAVE AN UPVOTE ON THE REDDIT POST IF YOU FOUND THIS USEFUL 😀
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My closing words are: don’t feel discouraged. I know that it can be somewhat depressing to get bad grades despite having put in effort, or feeling lost for GP and not knowing how to proceed. There are about 3 months left before the end-of-year exams and I have seen students who make tremendous progress in even 1 month because they changed their approach to GP.
Don’t be afraid to seek help and ask questions, never stop trying 😄
We are happy you stopped by ZAscension! If you need extra help that is more comprehensive and more personalised, don’t be afraid to seek it, we are more than happy to guide you in this journey.
Find out more about the writer, Mr Zach!
WhatsApp 9722 3187 to sign up for lessons 😃
