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Dept. of Word Lists
Want to Ace AP English Lit? Get a Handle on Similes Now
See what happens when writers bend and stretch the meaning of words
Learn "Similes from Top AP English Exam Novels" to get a handle on how authors bend and stretch the meanings of words.
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Topics:
Vocabulary
Under the HoodThe science of vocabulary building
If Great Writers Keep Words as Pets, You Can Too
You don't have to be Shakespeare to analyze a concordance of your words.
In a post on The New Yorker's Page Turner blog last week, poet Brad Leithauser meditated on what you can learn by examining a concordance (or list) of words used in an individual author's work. The piece on the relationship of writers and words suggests two activities word learners might want to try:
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Topics:
Vocabulary
Dept. of Word Lists
Gut-Wrenching Vocab From "Ender's Game"
Psyched for the movie? Learn this list while you wait!
You've read the book. You can't wait for the movie. In the meantime, learn the vocab from Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game in our list of the week.
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Under the HoodThe science of vocabulary building
Want to Learn Vocab? Try Two Methods That Actually Work
Psychologists call it "distributed practice "and "practice testing." We call it a game.
When you're learning new words on Vocabulary.com, you're engaging in what psychologists call "distributed learning" and "practice testing," and a new study shows they're the best way to learn.
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When you hear the words academic vocabulary, you might think of words that live only in academic journals — awkward words such as insomuch, heretofore, or conversely. These words would never roll off your tongue and you would never expect to encounter them on prime time television or on the magazine rack as you wait in line at the supermarket.
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Word CountWriters Talk About Writing
Lyrical Accidents: When Pop Music Vocab Goes Wrong
Sometimes lyrics are "bad to the bone". . .others are just wrong
"In the mood for dance"? "My heart bleeded"? While creating vocabulary lists of unusual words found in pop music, writer and linguist Adam Cooper ran across some words that go beyond peculiarity and into the realm of error.
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Tasty MorselsGood stuff from Vocabulary.com
List of the Week: J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter"
Learn magical vocabulary from this classic
As you read J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, learn words like apothecary, cauldron, and warlock with three new lists from this timeless children's classic.
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Topics:
Vocabulary
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