Study Prof

Cast an eye upon these nifty (short) videos. See a short video defining and illustrating words such as fulminate, histrionic, caterwaul, etc. What a great addition to your current vocabulary learning methods!

Those perpetually industrious folks over at makeuseof.com have put together a great resource for those of you wishing to wax prolix. Check out …

30+ Online Resources to Expand your English Vocabulary

FreeRice is a site that will help you practice your vocabulary while you help feed the hungry.  For every vocabulary word you correctly identify, FreeRice claims to donate 10 grains of rice through the UN to feed the hungry.  Every little bit helps…

Ever had a car wreck? Any big, emotional, unusual event such as a car wreck, our high school graduation, or our first kiss, is easily memorable. No notes. No flash cards. It just sticks!

“Car wreck” memories stick because they are emotional and unusual.  They are also multi-sensory.  So how do we take something as boring as vocabulary (or anatomy, or chemistry, or [fill in your own memory bugaboo here] and make it multi-sensory, unusual, and emotional?

It’s actually very easy!  (more…)

Double-click any word for the dictionary reference. Check back every day for more words.

abdicate
acetic
affable
ambidextrous
annihilate
apparition
artifice
august
bantering
bequeath (more…)

Double-click any word for the dictionary reference. Check back every day for more words.

abbreviate
acerbity
aesthetic
ambiance
annex
apparent
artifacts
augury
bank
bent (more…)

First–full-disclosure–I teach a GRE prep course and an SAT prep course for Texas A&M University.

Expensive courses can be worth it if you actually get the increases they claim. They could easily make you ten times as much as they cost, in the form of scholarships, fellowships, or better jobs!

What little independent research there is on the effectiveness of such courses shows little or no increase in score for those who buy the prep books (although buying the books is not the same as reading the books). Those who take prep classes show some improvement, and the greatest increases are among those who get personal tutoring. This research was specifically on the SAT, but the two tests are very similar. On the other hand, GRE students tend to be more self-motivated students than SAT students, so they might get better results from the books.

Pricier doesn’t mean better. Most courses teach pretty much the same stuff, because they all read each others books and integrate any new techniques they find. For the price of a classroom course from Kaplan or Princeton you can get live, one-on-one, GRE tutoring via the internet. That link is for my tutoring, but I’m sure there are lots more tutors out there. (more…)

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Cody Blair has spent over a decade helping students and teachers discover the secrets that make learning simple! His ebook, Secrets Smart Students Know, reveals how the best students use powerful study skills, maximize their memory, avoid procrastination, and maximize their focus to achieve fantastic grades with much less work! Click now to find out more about simple methods to maximize your study skills.

© Cody Blair, All Rights Reserved. You may reprint the above article as long as you include the above bio/resource information in full, including the functioning links. Do not make any changes to the article or bio. If you can't include clickable links, please ask permission to reprint.

Double-click any word for the dictionary reference. Check back every day for more words.

abate
accrue
aerie
amazon
anneal
appall
articulate
augment
bane
benison (more…)

Double-click any word for the dictionary reference. Check back every day for more words.

abash
accretion
aegis
amass
annals
apotheosis
artful
audit
bandy
benign (more…)

Double-click any word for the dictionary reference. Check back every day for more words.

abase
accoutrement
advocate
amalgamate
animus
apothegm
artery
audacious
banal
benevolent (more…)