6 easy ways to improve your vocabulary skills

An alumnus of St Xavier's College, Kolkata suggests 6 interesting ways to improve your vocabulary skills.

Very often CAT aspirants wonder how they will manage, what seems like a Herculean task of mastering English vocabulary in the limited amount of time available for CAT preparation.

They say that Verbal Ability (VA) should be spelled as a "Walk a Bull Awry" rather than Vocabulary!

One of the simplest methods of becoming familiar with a language is to read the language. To absorb it in your blood stream, so that it becomes second nature. The focus should be on an integrated approach.

The best way to get familiar with English Vocabulary is to read books. At this point alarm bells start ringing and even those who aspire high begin to perspire much saying that it is difficult to persevere!

Reading books is too time-consuming or too boring! This may be a valid point from an aspirant's point of view. How do we tackle this?

My solution is simple! Instead of reading one book of 500 pages (which may be boring and time consuming) why don't you do the following?

• Share your books with your friends (sort of a mini library +)
• Read the first 10 pages of 50 different books

What is the rationale behind this?

• I am absolutely sure that every serious aspirant can take time out each day to read 10 pages.
• This will introduce you to a depth and range of topics that may not be possible with one single book.
• I sincerely hope that while carrying out this process you will come across a book that will spark your interest and you will end up reading the whole book!

While reading a book we have to be on the lookout for every single bit of learning that we can garner from the book's 10 pages. It's like Shah Rukh Khan saying: "These are your 10 pages Do the best you can with them Change your life!"

Probably the most popular book right now for the current week is the The Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows series. Let's see what we can learn about Vocabulary from the first ten pages of the book.

1. Title

A CAT aspirant must be curious and on the lookout for words all the time.

I am sure that you have heard "Hallows" many many times but ask yourself how many of you know the meaning of Hallows (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hallows)? Or have looked up the meaning to see what could be the different meanings and usage of the word?

As soon as you see a new word all these questions should spring in your mind.

Ask yourself what does the title mean? Does it convey the right mood for the book? What kind of a title would you have given?

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2. Epigraph

Many books start off with an epigraph which is a motto or quotation, at the beginning of a literary composition, setting forth a theme.

For example, Deathly Hallows has two quotations from Aeschylus (The Libation Bearers) and William Penn (The Fruits of Solitude).

Many a times, the Epigraph itself can be a rich source of words. For example in the DH epigraph, I can see words like haemorrhage, staunch, libation, omnipresent, solitude. A pretty decent haul for reading a few lines; what do you say?

Plus the epigraph gives you sources for further reading. If you are serious about your preparations, you should look up these books and authors or writings. And thus a chain is formed.

3. Roots of words

While reading, it is important to keep a watch on words that have been derived from old roots.

For example the word illumination on the second page is derived from lumis i.e. lumen which means light.

You can see throughout the novel what fun Rowling has had in making up names with word roots.

Mort means death hence, Voldemort. Mal is a representative of bad (maladjustment, malpractice etc) hence, Malfoy.

4. Meaning Plus and Meaning Minus

Think in terms of synonyms and antonyms from now on.

Whenever you come across a difficult word ask yourself what could be the other words that could fall in the same range.

So for example the synonyms of demonstrate will be establish, evidence, evince, exhibit, expose, flaunt while the antonyms would be conceal and hide.

5. The birth of words

Be on the look out for new words created by authors.

A good link for words added recently to the dictionary is the OED site.http://www.oed.com/help/updates/pimesic-pleating.html.

Rowling herself has created quite a few words. For example her Avada Kedavra is based on the Aramaic avda kedavra, meaning "what was said has been done."

This phrase is also the origin of abracadabra, which, like hocus pocus, is used by magicians as a magic word when they perform tricks.

Why the snake has been named Nagini need not be explained to any Indian.

6. Watch out for Idioms and Metaphors

An idiom is a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not easily deduced from those individual words.

At one point Snape talks about "laying a false trail" which mean misleading somebody. A metaphor is an implied simile. For example, when Bellatrix says "many of our oldest family trees become a little diseased over time," she is comparing a family tree to a real tree made of wood and timber which can begin to rot.

This 'read 10-page-a-day plan' should work wonders for improving your vocabulary skills.

Once you begin to understand the value of vocabulary in your daily life you will automatically develop a passion for it.

I leave you with a final quote from the Book.

That which Voldemort does not value, he takes no trouble to understand. Of house-elves and children's tales, of love, loyalty, and innocence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing. Nothing. That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach  of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped Albus Dumbledore - JK Rowling

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Tanveer Ahmed is an alumnus of St Xavier's College, Kolkata and currently works with a people search firm as a recruiter. He is a visiting faculty with T.I.M.E. and also coaches and mentors CAT hopefuls online in the intricacies of the English language.