Schedule


1st Koaching Schedule


*Day 1: 6 New Words will be updated + Daily quiz on Day 1
*Day 2: 6 New Words will be updated + Daily quiz on Day 2 + Review quiz on Day 1+Day 2
*Day 3: 6 New Words will be updated + Daily quiz on Day 3 + Review quiz on Day 1+Day 2+Day 3
*Day 4: 6 New Words will be updated + Daily quiz on Day 4
*Day 5: 6 New Words will be updated + Daily quiz on Day 5 + Review quiz on Day 4+Day 5
*Day 6: Normal Test on Day 1+Day 2+Day 3+Day 4+Day 5
*Day 7: Challenging Test on the PAST weeks' words.

*Answers for quizzes will be posted right away!
*Answers for tests will be posted exactly after 12 hours (If the test is updated on March 12th 10:49 P.M., its answers will be posted on March 13th 10:49 A.M.).

Strategy 1_4

Strategy 1_4: Chain Reaction?! – Synonyms

"...many students typically underestimate synonyms... (synonyms) will ultimately save you time, memorizing words faster and more effectively"


Last time, we talked about the importance of getting familiarized with prefix and suffix before actually memorizing SAT/GRE vocabulary. In this article, I would like to introduce another important weapon to effectively memorize the words: synonyms.

Well, I bet everyone here knows what synonyms are, and maybe some of you are snorting at our introduced new friend. However, many students typically underestimate synonyms, and what I am going to tell you about synonyms will ultimately save you time, memorizing words faster and more effectively.

Synonyms are strong “evokers,” I call them, because our brains can easily remember them. For example, when you see the word, “appreciative,” what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it the long definition, which is “recognizing the full worth of (oxford dictionary),” or just simple synonyms like “grateful” or “thankful”? The latter, right?

This apparently trivial phenomenon tells us one important thing about our brains: they tend to prefer synonyms over the definition whenever they are confronted with a new word. Consequently, our brains take less time memorizing three synonyms than a single definition, and, while definitions are easy to forget, synonyms are not easily forgettable.

Knowing synonyms

"This apparently trivial phenomenon tells us one important thing about our brains: they tend to prefer synonyms over the definition..."

"...calling synonyms up to your mind is like a chain reaction... that, if a single word is triggered, all of its synonyms just blow into your mind in an instant."

In addition, synonyms entangle words to words like chains, and, unlike prefix and suffix, calling synonyms up to your mind is like a chain reaction (those of you who are familiar with nuclear chemistry know how awesome this process is)  that, if a single word is triggered, all of its synonyms just blow into your mind in an instant.

This unconscious explosion of words is another reason why synonyms can become handy during SAT/GRE exams. When we are confronted with the word that we cannot remember its exact definition (we all know how miserable that can be), your brains sometimes automatically and unconsciously draw the general picture of the word (ex. The tone of the word, good or bad…etc) and, hopefully, that would help you to pick the correct answer!

However, I have to also remind you that synonyms, by definition, are "words or phrases that mean exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrases." Although some words can be used interchangeably with their synonyms, if we only look at synonyms of a word and not its definition, our ignorance can again result in a devastating consequence, in which you will become the pity rabbits that fall under the traps of malevolent test makers. So, we have to stay alert when memorizing SAT/GRE words!

In the next article, I will introduce the technique that can be used when you are confronted with new words that may not appear on our frequent words list (Oh no!).  Don't worry, that's why I am here :). Just relax and sit tight until tomorrow!

Does this information help you? Please leave comments and tell me what you think!

Image source:
1)http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQONLxgM4mnLU6CRxPkSqDNaAduXM4ueNvs2SFNL9qc3U43Mss8