If any of these describe you, you've found the right book. This isn't just
another vocabulary study guide that you'll read two pages of, and then
give up on in favor of an expensive course in test prep or workplace
communication.
No. This guide is based on the idea that the English language isn't
boring word lists, but a living, breathing, organism. To expand your
vocabulary, you've got to interact with it. You've got to live with it. You've
got to own the words, savor all their subtle nuances and shades, and
then use them to express your world.
That's not going to happen in a joyless room with a stack of index cards.
Nor will it happen by buying stacks of those popular vocabulary
textbooks that promise that you'll learn 1500 words "in just minutes a
day," and then have you cram as many words as possible with a few
cheap and mindless questions.
That's why I'm introducing the EPP method.
As an English professor for more than fifteen years, I have always
wanted to share my love of language with my students. But instead, I
watched them approach vocabulary lessons with all the fervor of waiting
in traffic (and secretly wishing to die in said traffic). I realized then that
we needed to rethink our approach to vocabulary building.
The EPP method is a three-part system consisting of three core parts:
Exposure, Practice, Perfect. Guess what? It works. In this guide, I
present a carefully curated vocabulary list taken from the study lists for
tests such as the GRE and TOEFL as well as major newspapers and
articles that discuss current issues.
The book will..
• EXPOSE you to new words through fun and engaging readings,
each designed to bring the words to life ... without making you
want to end yours.
• Give you a chance to PRACTICE these words through a variety of
challenging exercises that focus on recalling meaning, appropriate
usage, and proper pronunciation, among other aspects of
acquiring new words.
• help you PERFECT your knowledge of the new vocabulary by
promoting critical thinking and conclusion-making.
• Guide you through the use of roots, prefixes, and suffixes how w
decode words in tests. By supplying students with a robust
number of affixes and prefixes, the book allows the reader to
become familiar with the way words are built in English. This
results in the potential of learning up to 10,000 new words just by
studying the ones presented in the book.
It's just that easy... and before you know it, you'll be tossing words
around like an erudite scholar, not a hebetudinous dimwit
regurgitating flash cards.