If you do not see the podcast player, click here to listen.

It was just a terrible day for Jin-Jin McHuang. First, one of her prized tropical fish had died, then she burned her breakfast eggs while texting with a friend, her car was almost empty so a stop on a cold January day at a gas station was necessary, and now this comment from Jin-Jin’s Global Economics professor on her first essay:  “Jin-Jin,  you need to dress up and expand your vocabulary.  You continually use the same words, and for the reader this lends a boring same-old-same-old feel.  Let’s talk about this.”  Strangely enough, this brought a smile to Jin-Jin: she wanted her writing to be good, and it was emphasized that in her profession much writing would be required. To receive assistance from a person who knew well the subject could be helpful, she thought. This would prove to be a valuable lesson for Jin-Jin and, indeed, for anyone who writes: a solid, varied vocabulary can go a long way in enhancing any essay, report, cover letter, etc. for it will keep the reader more involved and add a notch to that positive response on the writing quality a reader appreciates.

The average U.S. native-speaking person has a vocabulary of 20,000 – 30,000 words. While that may at first seem like quite a bit, it pales to the 100,000 plus well-educated and well-read folks own. There are two simple reasons for this disparity: (1)  It is easy to use the same words again and again. For example, when something happens to be really good the ‘word “great” will always suffice; using synonyms such as “excellent,” “superb,” “outstanding,” “significant,” “extraordinary,” or “impressive” might seem like too much trouble to find – and why not use “great” because it says it all? (2) Reading can present two barriers to improving one’s vocabulary.  First, if not much reading is done, the opportunity to discover new words won’t be available; and, secondly, whether reading much or little, when an unknown word pops up it’s crucial to look up its meaning, and then try it out in a sentence or two so it can become a permanent resident in the mind’s vocabulary library. As Jin-Jin learned in her Zoom meeting with her professor, the latter was a problem: although she enjoyed reading, Jin-Jin tended to skip over the “big” words she did not understand.

Jin-Jin’s professor shared a “secret” with her: many years earlier, as a freshman in college, her professor gave the class a guide he had developed to assist in expanding one’s vocabulary.  He stressed its importance and remarked that people with a large vocabulary often are regarded as nicely educated and professional. Offering it to Jin-Jin would result in a definite vocabulary upgrade, as long as it was followed.  

The guide was called “A Simple Approach to Owning a Superb Vocabulary,” and this is what it contained:

• Become aware of words constantly used; jot them down, then find synonyms.  

• A great website is wordcounter.net – copying and pasting any writing into the box, then hitting submit will immediately indicate which word or words are being used too much.

• For words that tend to be used quite a bit – in the sense they are the same words – create a list of these, then when finished with writing an essay, report, email, etc. check to see if these words are again used.  (The rules on this:  [1]  Depending on the length of the writing the same word can be used two – four times; [2]  Be sure the same words are not used too close to each other;  [3] There can be words that are integral to an essay, and thus must be repeated (for example, the name of an author in an in-text citation; a specific substance, strategy, person, etc. that is needed throughout the essay/is the focus of the essay.)

• Read a variety of texts and genres for exposure to new words and expressions.

• Create a word journal in which new words, their meanings, and examples of how to use them are included.  A bonus to doing this: the act of jotting down these words imprints them more permanently in the mind than only reading them.

• Play various word games like Scrabble, crossword puzzles, and flashcards. These expose one to new words and re-enforces new words.

• Always have another pair of eyes read the writing, asking for specific help in identifying any over-repetition of words. Writing tutors are excellent at doing this.

Jin-Jin knew this would take both time and constant effort. Being reminded that her writing would always be judged by others, she decided to print out the professor’s guide, keep it on her desk as a constant reminder, and start following it. Jin-Jin knew not every point could be accomplished each day, but felt if she picked only one or two on a regular basis this could improve her vocabulary. At first it was somewhat of a chore, as it was a new approach, and her mind was simply used to tossing out the same words Jin-Jin had stored on her vocabulary shelf over the years. But gradually she fell into a comfortable pattern with the guide, and the big surprise was that it became fun!  When reading over her writing, it read as if a much more educated Jin-Jin had penned it, and then she realized: she was more educated now that her vocabulary had expanded. A quantitative thumbs up to this came with her next essay: not only a grade of A- but a comment from her professor:  “Nice change-up and growth in the vocabulary – it makes the essay more engaging to read.”  Jin-Jin smiled: this was one more success in her growth as a writer, and going forward all academic, professional, and personal readers would benefit from her expanded library of words.