Tips for a Sound GRE Vocabulary

The Graduate Records Examination or GRE, as it is popularly known, is an examination that opens vast opportunities for many a graduate who intends to pursue higher education in the US. But in order to crack the GRE, there are certain prerequisites that an aspirant needs to have. Of them, one very important factor that stands as an impediment for many GRE aspirants is the vocabulary required to crack GRE. Thousands of students appear for this examination and many falter only because of the fact that their vocabulary is not up to the mark – or at least not of the level that is required to crack GRE.

But there are various methods that may help an individual in pulling up their socks as far as vocabulary is concerned. Of course, one cannot expect to memorize the entire dictionary; still, a decent vocabulary is necessary for GRE. One is expected to know some three thousand words to do well in GRE. This may sound frightening but then as they say, if there’s a will, there’s a way.

Of the many techniques available to students to pick up new words and remember them, obviously some are interesting. One may take the help of mnemonics to serve the purpose. Visual aids also help. Word Association is another very useful technique. One may also resort to Flashcards and make an effort to list words and their meanings in them. One of the very effective techniques available is going by the methods of “Roots”. This has an added advantage. A student can learn many words by learning the meaning of one root. Allied to this are prefixes and suffixes that also help students learn words. Obviously comprehensive Word Lists are abundantly available in the market. But these techniques make the process interesting and reduce the tedium associated with having to learn new words by rote. Lastly, one thing must be mentioned that whatever way one may adopt for learning new words, practice is the buzz word for remembering the words that a student picks up.