If you aim to strengthen your word game, you will have to truly understand the value of word choices when drafting your literary pieces. Every word you write packs a punch, which is why it is essential to use the right words at the right time. That is only possible by enhancing your word choices. Having a solid vocabulary up your sleeves means you can convey your emotions without jumbling up the words. That can help you create a more responsive environment for your reader, ultimately helping them find a point of connection with your story.
In its true essence, enhancing your word choices go far beyond choosing the right words to use. However, today, we will focus on balancing a great vocabulary with a great understanding of nuances in your writing. Let’s go over some of the most effective ways to upgrade your word game to another level.
Read, Read, and Read!
Good writers are also avid readers, and reading is an easy way to develop your writing skills. We can not stress this enough. The crucial element in writing clear, concise, and engaging content is to have a strong vocabulary, and one of the top ways to boost your word power is by developing a strong reading habit.
Whether it is novels, newspapers, articles, or blogs, reading regularly from various sources will expand your creativity and put a plethora of new words into your repertoire that you can use in your writing.
Take Help from Flashcards
One of the easiest and probably the quickest ways of bolstering your existing writing skills is to add new words to your vocabulary. You can do this by picking up some flashcards and understanding the meaning behind a new word every day. If you can not squeeze flashcards in your schedule, subscribe to a “word of the day” feed or application on your phone, which works just like flashcards do, except are more effective when on the run.
After all, the English language is one of the most voluminous languages; hence, knowing too many words is never enough in drafting good pieces of writing.
Play Word Games
Are you a fan of the classic board game Scrabble? Or perhaps occasionally indulge in the crossword puzzles present in your daily newspaper? If not, it is time to find some interest in them. Such games and activities are a fun way of expanding your English vocabulary. While you are playing these games, keep a list of the different words you find during the game so you may look their definitions up for better understanding.
Just a tip. If you are ever left stumped and can not create a word out of your available letter combinations, do not feel frustrated or give up. Just head over to the anagram solver, an excellent tool that can help you unscramble the letters and generate all the possible words from them. You would be stunned to see how many words it can create from the trickiest letter combinations.
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead, be resourceful, and use this powerful free tool today to become more competitive than ever while playing Scrabble, Words With Friends, or any other word game, all while boosting your vocabulary skills.
Invest In a Mnemonic
A mnemonic device is a form of word association that assists you in remembering words, their definitions, and their proper use in different sentences. The device helps you break down words into various components, allowing you to think of big words to add to your vocabulary, all while guessing their right application.
For instance, think of the word “obsequious”, which means: “an attempt to win favor from powerful people by flattering them.” The mnemonic device will break it down into components like “obse”, “qui”, and “us”, all of which will help you associate the word with different, smaller words for easier understanding and retention.
Join Classes and Workshops
What can be a better way of upgrading your word game than by getting mentored by professionals? Opt for joining an English language or vocabulary building class, whichever one fits your needs best, to get a hold of proper word usage. Most of the time, such classes have interactive sessions that allow you to learn a lot more from strangers with the same goals as you do.
Just one quick Google search will find you thousands of options to choose from – at least this way, you are not going to have to sit under the burden of unfinished classical novels hidden away in your desk drawer.
Clarify Your Pronouns and Sentence Voice
Often, it can be difficult for writers to clarify their pronouns, resulting in a terrible sentence structure, tone, and voice. When using pronouns, ask yourself whether the reader will be able to understand what you’re delivering without them reading the whole paragraph. If your sentence is difficult to decipher, the chances are that you need to work on your pronouns.
Similarly, it is best to always opt for an active voice over a passive voice when writing. Part of choosing the right words comes solely down to the sentence structure and tone of writing. If you are not able to tell the difference between active and passive voice, ask yourself whether the subject of your sentence is doing an action or is being acted upon.
Distinguishing between the two is a great skill to take up, especially when aiming to use strong words the right way. Here is an example to get you kick-started:
Passive Voice: The Amazon forest is where the wild birds live.
Active Voice: Wild birds live in the Amazon forest.
For many, writing may come easy, hence, making some writers a natural at expressing their emotions in the form of words better than others. However, there is no shame in improving and enhancing how you write by upgrading your word game to another level. After all, a powerful vocabulary is an indispensable aspect of writing as it allows you to convey your thoughts, ideas, and concepts more effectively, while enabling the audience to form a deeper connection with your writing.