English Books (1 Viewer)

[davidnguyen02]

I'm currently in year 10 and was wondering if anyone could recommend me novels that particularly improved their vocabulary or English in general. Also, if you guys had any other helpful tricks/ways/resources to improve vocabuary, I would greatly appreciate if you could comment/link them to me.

Thank You !

 

[boredofstudiesuser1]

I'm currently in year 10 and was wondering if anyone could recommend me novels that particularly improved their vocabulary or English in general. Also, if you guys had any other helpful tricks/ways/resources to improve vocabuary, I would greatly appreciate if you could comment/link them to me.

Thank You !

http://www.dictionary.com

You're welcome.

 

[Son of Thatcher]

If you're really looking for a challenge in vocabulary, try reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Almost made my brain melt when I first read it in year 9!

However, you should be aware that a good vocabulary certainly isn't the key to effective essay writing. Take me for example. I was reckoned to have one of the best vocabularies in my school, yards and miles ahead of pretty much everyone. I say this not in a braggadocios way, but as something completely matter-of-fact and honest. In any event, while I was #1 in vocabulary, I most certainly wasn't #1 in English, not even close. That's because the best essays are built upon layers of depth and sophistication. In other words, how you formulate and substantiate your thesis and how well you structure your sentences to be simultaneously simple, sharp and precise while also being intelligent, cogent and engaging.

Have fun!

 

[davidnguyen02]

If you're really looking for a challenge in vocabulary, try reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Almost made my brain melt when I first read it in year 9!

However, you should be aware that a good vocabulary certainly isn't the key to effective essay writing. Take me for example. I was reckoned to have one of the best vocabularies in my school, yards and miles ahead of pretty much everyone. I say this not in a braggadocios way, but as something completely matter-of-fact and honest. In any event, while I was #1 in vocabulary, I most certainly wasn't #1 in English, not even close. That's because the best essays are built upon layers of depth and sophistication. In other words, how you formulate and substantiate your thesis and how well you structure your sentences to be simultaneously simple, sharp and precise while also being intelligent, cogent and engaging.

Have fun!

Thanks for the advice!

 

[plane]

1. Read, read, and read.
The more you read especially novels and literary works, but also magazines and newspapers - the more words you'll be exposed to. As you read and uncover new words, use a combination of attempting to derive meaning from the context of the sentence as well as from looking up the definition in a dictionary.

2. Keep a dictionary and thesaurus handy.
Use whatever versions you prefer in print, software, or online. When you uncover a new word, look it up in the dictionary to get both its pronunciation and its meaning(s). Next, go to the thesaurus and find similar words and phrases and their opposites (synonyms and antonyms, respectively) and learn the nuances among the words.

3. Use a journal.
It's a good idea to keep a running list of the new words you discover so that you can refer back to the list and slowly build them into your everyday vocabulary. Plus, keeping a journal of all your new words can provide positive reinforcement for learning even more words - especially when you can see how many new words you've already learned.

4. Learn a word a day.
Using a word-a-day calendar or Website or developing your own list of words to learn is a great technique many people use to learn new words. This approach may be too rigid for some, so even if you do use this method, don't feel you must learn a new word every day.

5. Go back to your roots.
One of the most powerful tools for learning new words and for deciphering the meaning of other new words is studying Latin and Greek roots. Latin and Greek elements (prefixes, roots, and suffixes) are a significant part of the English language and a great tool for learning new words.

6. Play some games.
Word games that challenge you and help you discover new meanings and new words are a great and fun tool in your quest for expanding your vocabulary. Examples include crossword puzzles, anagrams, word jumble, Scrabble, and Boggle.

7. Engage in conversations.
Simply talking with other people can help you learn discover new words. As with reading, once you hear a new word, remember to jot it down so that you can study it later and then slowly add the new word to your vocabulary.

 

[sourmilk]

What I did was basically read any wikipedia article - and if I didn't understand a word I'll google it. Just read whatever you can, and when you stumble across a word you're not familiar with just note it down - and try to use it as much as possible.

 

[duck4]

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres has an extensive vocab and is a really good read