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Does the prospect of learning thousands of GRE vocabulary words seem like an overwhelming task? Try the following techniques and strategies; they'll help you manage the task and retain all those words in your memory in case you need them during the GRE Verbal section on test day.
- Use a book that targets testworthy GRE words. My book Words for Smart Test Takers is one good choice, but of course there are others as well. Using a general vocabulary builder book aimed at a broader demographic is not nearly as effective.
- Break up the task into bite-size pieces. Don't try to learn hundreds of words in one session. You'll overload your mental circuits. Try tackling perhaps 20-30 words at a time. The words in Words for Smart Test Takers are divided up this way to help you.
- Take meaningful breaks between sessions. Limit yourself to three or four sessions per day (20-30 words per session), depending on how much time you have to prepare for your exam. Take healthy breaks — at least a few hours — between study sessions.
- Sleep on it. Study a new batch of words just before bedtime. Your mind is more likely to retain information received just prior to sleep.
- Learn words in the context of a story. You remember new words more easily if you learn them in the context of a brief "story" — an interesting and instructive sentence or short paragraph. All of the words in Chapter 3 of Words for Smart Test Takers are presented this way; for other words make up your own stories. Try to include at least two or three testworthy words in each story.
- Vocalize as you learn. Saying words aloud or hearing somebody else say them helps you to recall them later. Try reading sample sentences and definitions aloud as well.
- Incorporate new words into everyday conversation. This may sound silly, but it's actually good advice. Use new words as you converse with friends. Pause to explain what the word means, and ask your friends if they know any similar or contrary words. You're bound to discover even more testworthy words this way.
- Review, review, review. It's not enough to learn a word once. Unless you review it, the word might soon vanish from your memory banks. (Words for Smart Test Takers is packed with reinforcement quizzes and word games to help fix the words you've learned in your memory.)
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