<p>How do you improve vocab and writing in general? I know that for SAT, you can use Direct Hits, but I want to have a good vocabulary outside of standardized testing. I hear reading is helpful. Is this true? If so, which books should I read?</p>
<p>Books above your typical reading level; when you find words you don’t know, look them up. Reading is a surefire way to learn new words.</p>
<p>Awesome. And what are some good books for general vocab building?</p>
<p>Nothing too boring, please.</p>
<p>What some people find boring, others find fascinating. What genres do you enjoy?</p>
<p>You should read books in a typical college english class, or in an Ap lit class.</p>
<p>All books are good for “vocab building”. I read informative non-fiction based books that commonly refer to business terms.</p>
<p>lol so you’re gonna prepare for the sat by reading a bunch of books. that’s quite inefficent</p>
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<p>Reread the first post…apparently it’s not about standardized testing. </p>
<p>I think I learn the most vocabulary from textbooks. Also freerice.com.
Reading can help with writing, too. It helps you see how things should be phrased.</p>
<p>If you want to learn to write better, study English grammar. Honestly, taking a foreign Romance language (or Latin) would help tremendously. You have to know English grammar to put words in the other language in the right forms. And many of the vocab you’ll learn is going to look similar to English words, which you will then be able to figure out the meaning of. I took Latin, and it saved me on the SAT. Also, my writing became so much better because I actually fully understood direct objects, indirect objects, passive voice, imperative and subjunctive mood, etc. and why you use them when you do. It’s weird but when you take another language, English makes so much sense!</p>
<p>Even Spanish or something can help. I didn’t realize how many tenses English really has until I took Spanish.</p>
<p>ohhhhh sry</p>
<p>I wish my school had Latin, haha.</p>
<p>I’m taking French at school and self-studying Latin. Bad idea, I know, but my school doesn’t offer Latin, so it was the best I could do.</p>
<p>As for genres, I really enjoyed “Brave New World” and like “1984.” I haven’t finished the latter yet, but from what I’ve actually read, it’s really cool.</p>
<p>After reading the AP World History textbook, my vocabulary increased dramatically. Though my writing doesn’t usually reflect it, I can at least recognize and understand more words.</p>
<p>So read textbooks (for all your classes). Not only is it good for studying, you can learn some great words as college professors tend to have a strong vocabulary.</p>
<p>1) Latin class ftw.</p>
<p>2) Charles Dickens.</p>
<p>1) Latin class ftw.</p>
<p>2) Charles Dickens.</p>
<p>Reading higher level books would help, but doing that took me longer than just learning a dictionary app’s word of the day.</p>
<p>Eh, I guess I could do that too. I’m just interested in becoming a better writer while improving my vocab, so I think reading would be the best option.</p>
<p>I’m thinking of reading “The Prince,” “A Clockwork Orange,” and “The War of the Worlds.”</p>
<p>Would those count as “higher level” texts?</p>