<p>I just finished studying the Barron's book (yes, all 3500 words) and am wondering if I should get direct hits (both volumes) too. I looked on Amazon and it shows all the words contained and from a cursory lookit seems that pretty much every word is covered (except maybe 50 or so that are not in the book, I discounted some words from AP Lang though). I think it would more sensible although perhaps not as prudent of me to just study these words by my self and would like some input as to whether or not that's an astute choice please.</p>
<p>On a side note, for the future after the test, I can recognize these words in a text but can't use them in everyday speech. Will this be a problem? I havent heard the words outside of the book (for many) and am wondering if I should try and put them in use after the test or just wait to naturally pick them up from outside stimuli when I do begin to hear them?</p>
<p>if you’ve read through the entire 3.5k word list and you can use them in sentences there is no point in getting direct hits unless you want to pay money. The cost-efficiency of learning stuff from direct hits after you know all 3.5k barron’s is so low you might as well go outside and play basketball for the exercise.</p>
<p>I see you used “astute”, though that was very eye-catching. the trick is learning to use these words fluently in sentences without raising any eyebrows. i recommend reading a ton of lit (like me) right after you learn words since lots of those pop up (A Tale of Two Cities).</p>
<p>At this point, learning the uses of vocab through reading literature is a lot more important than memorizing another list of words (since you’ve already done so with 3500). This will also help you to sound natural in your use of big words in conversations, if that, indeed, is your goal. Don’t put them in where they sound unnatural; instead, read books where they are used, talk to intelligent people, etc and they will become part of your natural vocabulary (that said, I don’t think this is a very important goal; clarity>verbosity and using an excess of large words)</p>
<p>dON’T GET!!! GO TO quizlet flashcards and look for “Direct hits” The anecdote in direct hits is kinda useless in my opinion. Though the stories they give you are interesting, it’s hard to grasp the word usage with such long paragraphs. The vocab words, however, are invaluable.</p>
<p>If you’ve heard of Anki, essentially a database of online flashcards that you can contribute to or form your own decks for personal use, the list of DH words is in the database, just look up direct hits. It has all of the words from both volumes in online flashcard form already.</p>