TNPSC, RRB & SSC Competitive Exam
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Vocabulary Materials
Vocabulary
“Can I improve my Vocabulary for SSC Exams?” or
“Can anyone help me learn more and more words to expand my vocabulary skills?” To help you score better in your upcoming exams, we are uploading a few tips on accepted methods and practices used to improve one’s vocabulary.
Vocabulary is the aggregate of words in the use or comprehension of a specified person, profession etc. or in simple words, all the words contained in a language is called vocabulary.
It is something which can’t be mastered in one day, it requires daily practice. The more words you know, the more you will be able to understand what you hear and read and the better you will be able to make use of it.
Major problems faced by the Candidates
Problem 1: One of the biggest problems with vocabulary learning is that what’s ‘learned’ today is often forgotten tomorrow. Retaining the learned words becomes a
major issue with the candidates.
Problem 2: Complexity of vocabulary learning is to know and understand what a word means. Specialized terms in the content areas often have specific meanings in one content area that do not generalize to other subjects. Plus, the meanings often differ from the general meanings of the same terms. Meanings of various words might vary from subject to subject where the word is used.
For example
** Desert: Abandon; Desert: Area of Land
** Close: Nearby; Close: To shut
So it is important to understand the meaning of words rather than just cramming a set of words without having a core understanding of them.
Problem 3: Learning vocabulary takes time and it can be a mistake to force the process. If you try to learn too many words too quickly, you can end up only confusing yourself.
Problem 4: Another problem faced by candidates is to decide which words are worth learning.
To overcome this problem of finding new words daily which are important for the upcoming competitive exams, you can follow the Word-list provided by us on the daily Basis.
Topics of vocabulary in SSC Exam 2018
Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonyms are the familiar words to each other and antonyms are the opposite words.
** Find the non-similar word and try to learn new words daily.
** Make some new short tricks to learn new words and try to use them in your daily life.
The more you enhance your vocabulary skills the more you will be able to score in this topic.
Idioms and phrases
An idiom is a phrase or fixed expression that sometimes has meanings. A figurative meaning can be different from logical meaning.
** If you see idioms in context, try to understand the context as it all depends upon vocabulary.
** Try to remember idioms through images; this will help you remember them by seeing the pictures in your mind.
One Word Substitution
Good knowledge of one-word substitutes is necessary for enhancing your vocabulary skills. A proper knowledge of vocabulary helps you to get a good substitute for replacing. In SSC exam you can expect 2-3 questions of one-word substitution of one mark each.
Cloze Test
Cloze procedure is a technique in which words are missing from a passage and the participants are asked to fulfill the missing place. Cloze test requires an ability to understand context and vocabulary in order to identify correct words. Cloze test carry minimum 10 marks question as seen in last year’s papers. A stronghold on vocabulary can enhance you to score more in exams.
** Before you start filling the missing place, it is important to sense the meaning of the paragraph.
** Vocabulary command will help you to find the logical relationship between the sentences and in the given options.
** As you will get the command on the vocabulary, you will be able to eliminate the unnecessary options and you will automatically reach the correct option.
Fill in the blanks
It is the one single blank in every sentence.
** Read the statement carefully and choose the word wisely according to the demand of the sentence which will happen only if your Vocabulary is strong enough.
** The method of elimination should be used wisely by inserting the best selective option.
** Questions on fill in the blanks are frequently repeated as we have seen in previous year paper. To be able to solve such questions correctly; you must have a very good vocabulary.
** Vocabulary helps in knowing tenses, noun, pronoun, conjunction, adjective, adverb etc. which will help us in filling the blanks with correct options.
** After selecting a suitable option, try to recognise a logical structure and the requirements of the sentence, it will help you to check if the selected option will run smoothly and correctly or not.
Fun Tips for Improving Vocabulary
Reading: This is an essential activity because reading is the best way to be exposed to a rich and wide vocabulary. Daily reading of newspaper and picking up new words from it, try to put them in your day to day conversations, it will increase your contextual vocabulary.
Note: you can read whatever you want! You can read literature books if that is what you enjoy, but if you don’t, try reading a comic book or a magazine
Note: Listening English news, it will help you in improving your general awareness along with improving the level of general English.
Make sentences:
Making sentences helps us put everything we have learned into action. Suppose, you have learned a new word and you understand when to use it but for the brain to remember this word in the future, the best way to memorize is by using it. Make ten sentences that use different meanings of the word you want to learn.
For example
if you want to remember the phrasal verb “to tidy up”,
Write a story: “Nisha, you must tidy your room up”, “I have to tidy up before my friends come”, “Rohan will watch TV after he finishes tidying up the kitchen”.
Play with words: Try some crossword-puzzle words for obscure or seldom used, it will upgrade your vocabulary power.
Relate the word to other words: Suppose you want to learn the word “care”, you need to think about other words which can be started from Care.
For example: careful, carefree and careless! See? You started with one word but quickly learned three more, and because their meaning is related, it is easier to understand and remember what each one means.
Record yourself: By hearing your own voice say the words out loud and feel your mouth moving, this way you are making even more connections in your brain. So, use your phone or your webcam to record yourself practicing the new vocabulary words and using them in the sentences you made.
Use mnemonics (memory tricks): Mnemonics are ways to help us remember things better.
For example: Consider the word EGREGIOUS (extremely bad). Think EGG REACH
US - imagine we've made a mistake so bad that they are throwing eggs at us and a rotten EGG REACHes US. Such funny little word pictures will help you remember what words means. Also, find out which learning style suits you best. Everyone learns differently!
Note: Makeup as many associations and connections as possible. Say the word aloud to activate your auditory memory. Relate the word to the words you already know.
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