Let us now ask some fundamental questions to ourselves:

u    Why do you think you have fewer strengths worth celebrating?

• Because everyone has always pointed out your shortcomings – as you do yourself.
• Because you rarely get any positive feedback for a job well done
• Because the things you do well are so familiar to you that you take them for granted.
• Because you have learned to focus only on your mistakes

All these things have definitely pulled down your confidence levels. You might have felt utterly depressed about these things. But let me tell you, you are not bad at all. It’s only that you never considered the strengths you own. But unfortunately all these strengths lie within you dormant because you never took an account of them. Never considered them seriously. You need to evaluate your strengths and perhaps seek some guidance too from a good friend of yours. In s

Audit of strengths:

When have you last done a full audit or stocktaking of your strengths? This is not as easy as it seems because you will have discounted your strengths. It is a task indeed. Because you have started underestimating your strengths, and have grown lazy with all the life processes. You have become a dormant survivor. Try doing these things.

• Find a good listener to help you review everything you have done.
• Others may be more objective about what you can do than you can be.
• Discuss work and non-work projects you have been involved in over the last 2 years.
• Strive to avoid discounting the other person’s attempts to name your strengths

You will now certainly feel your strengths. Once you know them try to focus on them more and more to improve the quality of your life. And to see your score catapult in any exam that you take.

How can you appropriately celebrate your strengths?

• Make a list of your strengths and read it to yourself regularly, adding to it often.
• Praise yourself for what you have achieved. ( Never mind if others do not praise you)
• Compare yourself favorably with peers who have not done what you have done.
• Review your strengths whenever you are feeling defeated.

How does this exercise help your self esteem or confidence? Have you uncovered some strengths you had overlooked? Are you getting better at stressing the positive? If so please do share your experience with us. And please do share the techniques you adopt to identify your strengths. We are waiting anxiously for your response.

Wishing you success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

Fallacy No 1: The purpose of Statement of Purpose is to list all your skills and abilities.

Fact No 1: The purpose of an SOP is to kindle interest in the University board and generate an admission

Fallacy No 2: Attractive Vocabulary improves the quality of an SOP

Fact No 2: This is utterly wrong. An attractive vocabulary doesn’t improve the quality of your SOP. Simple words that substantiate your genuine passion for specific courses reflect your sincerity. A pompous use of words will do nothing

Fallacy No 3: Your SOP will not be read carefully and thoroughly

Fact No 3: Your SOP will be read carefully and thoroughly by the admission board

Fallacy No 4: The more good information you present in the SOP the better

Fact No 4: By including too much information, an SOP may actually kill the appetite to learn more

Fallacy No 5: If you want a really good SOP, have it prepared by an SOP service

Fact No 5: Many Grad Schools look for a simple, honest SOP

I hope this blog clarifies many a doubt on writing SOPs. Do you still have queries/doubts in the same area? Ask us right away. You can in fact put your doubt underneath this blog. Our experts will come to your rescue instantly.

Wishing you Success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

A Statement of Purpose gets you place in the Grad School you dream for. This is no exaggeration. Almost all the application processes for securing a seat either in the graduate or the undergraduate program in the US ask for a well drafted Statement of Purpose which elaborates your purpose of studying in that particular grad school.

A Statement of Purpose is typically an essay ranging between 500 and 1500 words. Universities are specific about the length of the SOP. The length is clearly prescribed in the application form and the student needs to upload it while submitting it. You are not supposed to exceed the word limit stipulated by the University.

A Statement of purpose is a presentation of your candidature to the University. In simpler words it ascertains your suitability to pursue a course of your choice to the admission board. It is a passive presentation of your profile to the board since you cannot present yourself to the admission board to defend your case.  A passive presentation like that hence has to be even more compelling and attractive. You should show them that you would be an asset to the University if offered an admission.

Points you need to remember while drafting an SOP:

1. An SOP is a written summary of your academic journey. It has to be in an utmost sincere tone
2. While composing an SOP bear in mind that you just need to express your feelings not impress the admission board
3. Please avoid mentioning unnecessary things in the SOP. An SOP should be a valuable write-up showcasing your academic and co-academic competencies.
4. The content of the SOP should be arranged in logical sequence. First, the academic performance grades etc, followed by co-curricular indulgence like papers, presentations, projects and then extracurricular activities like sports, social service and other things. Please do not mention the extracurricular aspects first for this may put you in a very poor light in front of the admission board.
5. Show your deep desire to be an alumnus in the University. Speak about the University and its credentials.
6. Tell the admission board the reason you want to be there. Talk about the specialization you would like to undertake. Tell them you eventually want to end up researching on a particular field owing to your passion.
7. Tell the board how the University offers the right platform for the most coveted research programs of the world
8. In the SOP you have to show a link between your passion for specialization and current academic interests and projects. A project undertaken in the similar area of desired specialization will earn you more points.
9. Group activities like sports earn you credentials during admission process. State them confidently in your SOP.
10. Please do not beat about the bush. Redundant sentences and feelings will not win favor
11. Do not show your inclination to stay back in the US.
12. Last but not the least tell the board that you want to return to your country after completing education in the US.

Read this blog more than once to know how to write an SOP. You can then try writing a sample SOP for yourself. Please do not imitate the SOPs available on internet. It shows that you are not a diligent, creative person and hence will not be an asset to the University. You will be considered a copycat. Try writing the SOP yourself. You can however get the language evaluated by an expert.

Get back to us with more on this.

Wishing you success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

• Read or listen to as much as you can
• Find lots of examples on how the words that you want to use are used in context. Learning common combination of words will help you in speaking and writing.
• Read or listen to lot of material on one topic. This helps you quickly become familiar with vocabulary on that topic. . Fr example for listening you can :

a) Interview a number of advanced/fluent speakers for one or two minutes each on the same topic and record each conversation

b) Follow a major story on the radio or the TV over a period of time.

c) Only listen to certain type of News story

d) Use diagrams to make connections between words that are associated together

e) Use diagrams to make connections between words that are associated together

f) Put the word you are learning into a sentence about you or what interests you at the moment

g) Ask an advance speaker of English to check that your sentences are appropriate

• Practice speaking or writing as much as possible
• Decide which words are worth learning
• Organize your vocabulary learning

Evaluating your Progress:

• Keep records of your writing and speaking
• Keep a diary as you learn. Write down your feelings and comments on your progress as you go
• Ask a fluent or advanced speaker or writer of English to check your speaking/writing

These are tested and proved methods of learning vocabulary. Unless and until you are passionate about it you will not see positive results. Try practicing them and you will see adding new words to your vocabulary at a very fast pace.

Please do share some more interesting techniques for learning vocabulary, if you have any. Also read this blog a couple of times at least to comprehend it thoroughly. And do not forget to leave your impressions underneath it.

Wishing you Success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Not all the most beautiful and most reputed Universities of the world are affordable though- Ahem! The price tag (that is inclusive of tuition fee and miscellaneous expenditure) that goes with the name is not affordable by scores of students. Although the Universities’ financial boards offer decent support, the price of the tuition offered leaves a student gaping.

Here is the list of the world’s richest and pricy Universities:

• Washington, D.C.’s George Washington University tops the list with the fee soaring to $40,437. The admission procedures vary per subject. For some courses the students need to take both the General and the Subject GRE.

• Sarah Lawrence College seconds GWU with a price tag of $40,350. SLC clearly mentions that GRE is not required.

• Kenyon College in the US stands third in the list. The fee amounts to $40,240. And aspiring students need to take a General GRE.

• Vassar College is one of the most prestigious educational edifices in the US. It has a heavy fee tag too, extracting a whopping $40,210. GRE is mandatory for aspiring students and this goes unsaid.

• Bucknell University comes next with an admission fee of $36,652. Besides other mandatory eligibility conditions, students need to show a decent score in GRE.

• Harvard University which inspires many a diligent student charges $36,173. You cannot think of being there without a decent score in GRE!

• Yale one of the best Universities of the world has a price tag of $35,300. GRE is an obvious requirement.

• Imperial College London charges a fee of $27,800 for non-British and European Union students).

• Canada’s Quest University is reputed both for quality education and expenditure. With a fee about $20,500 for tuition in U.S. dollars, students also need to take ACT test, a decent score in which becomes indispensable for admission.

• National University of Singapore joins the bandwagon of the richie rich Universities charging a huge $24,000. The University has stringent conditions for admission among them a good score in GRE is mandatory.

• The American University of Paris has a fee tag of $33,000 per year.

• University of Melbourne is one of the priciest in Australia and becomes unaffordable by many owing to a fee structure of $20,200 per year.

The admission procedures and requirements of all these opulent Universities are almost the same. Besides a compelling academic performance a student needs to show a decent score in GRE (most of these Universities). The non-native speakers of English also need to show a decent score either in TOEFLiBT or IELTS, as a proof to their English proficiency.  A score of 100 as in TOEFLiBT and a 7 or 6.5 band in IELTS is stipulated by the admission boards.

The other aspects of admission include a very persuasive Statement of Purpose written by the student supporting his/her decision to join that particular University. Highly supportive Recommendation Letters that vouch for a student’s academic and co-curricular performance also suggest a seat in these coveted Universities. Most of these Universities offer financial aid to the deserving students. Scholarships and grants are always there for the student who is considered an asset by the admission board.

So what are you waiting for? If you have in you some stamina to dream bigger and louder you can approach one of these Universities. I am sure joining one will be a dream come true. Your future becomes secure by all means. You will inevitably carve a niche for yourself in you choicest field/discipline. Then on life becomes a cakewalk for you. Sounds interesting, isn’t it?

For any query pertaining to admission procedures you can browse the official websites of these Universities which mention and clarify almost all the student queries. Your queries pertaining to financial aid and such are clarified thoroughly on the University website.  Just Google the University name and you unlock a treasury of useful information.

In any case we are there to assist you by all means. Please write to us on this blog. In fact you can put your word right underneath it.

Wishing you Success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

Unable to contain curiosity, are you? I will no longer hold you all in suspense. I am going to announce these words right away and I am sure you all will fall in love with them. As usual we will look at the word and its meaning. We will also use the word in context in order to retain it permanently in our memory.

• Minatory: The word minatory is an adjective. It means something that is baleful, threatening or ominous. Well in simpler words it is something that has bad consequences. The effect of the drug aspartame could be minatory. It means that consumption of this drug could have a very bad effect on the health in the long run.

• Sonorous: The root ‘sono’ has got to do with sound. That’s the clue!! It is a word that speaks of sound and sound only. Yes, you got it right! Sonorous is loud, booming, echoing and all the words that you can imagine thereafter.
• Frenetic: Frenetic is a frantic (anxious, worried), frenzied state of mind. In other words it is ‘mad’ state of mind.
• Heinous: Heinous is once again an adjective, it means something that is monstrously bad. An extremely bad thing is termed heinous. ‘A heinous crime’ is the contextual usage of the word. Scandalous, atrocious and odious are the other GRE high frequency synonyms of the same word. Do note them down.
• Cogent: the root ‘cog’ suggests drawing together; it also reflects a mental activity that is focused. Well, you got it right. Cogent is being sound, logical, rational, coherent and convincing. Mind you, all the synonyms mentioned here for this word are equally important for your GRE.
• Condign: Condign is an adjective which suggests suitability. Condign is well-deserving, fitting and adequate. ‘A condign punishment’ is the contextual usage of the word.
• Recreant: Recreant has a negative meaning. A recreant soldier is someone who is craven, cowardly, pusillanimous and spineless.
• Macabre: Macabre is a horrible thing to have happened. It is an adjective that is close in its meaning and negativity to the word heinous. Macabre tales of war and plague in the Middle Ages, is the word used in context. The other important synonyms of the word are gruesome, morbid, grisly and ghoulish.
• Redoubtable: Redoubtable is being formidable. It is an adjective that means commanding reverence, respect or the like. The redoubtable presence of the lecturer in the class, this sentence helps you to remember the word better.
• Temerarious: Temerarious is being rash or reckless. It is being presumptuously daring. It is close to another adjective ‘audacious’ (a high frequency GRE word) which also means being insensitively bold. “I would never have been temerarious enough to make use of such a title on my own” (dictionary.com). A sentence like this helps you remember the word better.

These words are indispensable to your GRE preparation. You will anyways find some of these words in the exam. I tell you time and again that your GRE preparation is incomplete without these words. So do spend some time trying to know their meanings thoroughly. Please do not be content with the explanation given here. Try to research on the words mentioned here and come up with more number of synonyms of the words. And please use them in context to remember them better and forever.

If you want to remember meanings of words forever, then:

1. Work with the word.

2. Expand its meaning into a suitable context.

3. Relate it to the person or situation you know.

4. Share the word with your friends, colleagues

5. Try to pronounce the word aloud at least five times

Read this blog more than once to understand what’s said and suggested. Do get back to us with some more synonyms of the words given. Do not harbor doubts if you have any. Do get them clarified right away.

Wishing you all, success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

• Acrimonious: The word ‘acrimonious’ suggests something that is acrid in taste. Acrid is being bitter and caustic. Acrimonious is usually used to suggest the way in which a speech is made. An acrimonious speech is a bitter, harsh and sarcastic speech. The word is even applicable to written form of communication.
• Scurrilous: A ‘scurrilous’ comment is a deeply vituperative/abusive/biting comment on someone. The word again is used mostly in spoken and written communication.

• Esoteric: Have you read the poems of Metaphysical poets? If you have read then you understand that their poems are full of esoteric allusions. The word ‘esoteric’ means something that is comprehensible only by a select few. A few high frequency synonyms of the word are impenetrable, recondite, mysterious, cryptic and arcane.
• Decadent: Decadent is anything that is immoral in quality. ‘He led a decadent life’…means his life had no morals or he was an immoral person.
• Lugubrious: Lugubrious is a word that suggests sadness and melancholia. A narrative style could be lugubrious. It is something that generates a gloomy and lachrymose environment around.
• Iconoclastic: Icon is a symbol. The root ‘clast’ means to break something. Hence iconoclastic is suggestive of breaking established norms and conventions. I hope the word now settles indelibly in your memory.
• Magniloquent: The root ‘loq’ has got to do with expression. Look at the words eloquent, grandiloquent. They all relate to speech style. ‘Magnum’ again in Greek means great, grand and big. Hence magniloquent is a bombastic, pompous and boastful expression.
• Terse: Terse is an expression that is precise. It is something that is abrupt and accurate
• Fatuous: Fatuous means idiotic, stupid and silly. A fatuous comment is a comment that is ridiculous and dim-witted.
• Incisive: Incisive is sharp. A sharp and that too a razor sharp comment is an incisive comment. An incisive comment can cause an incision on the mind and the soul. An incision is a cut a laceration.

Things that I suggest time and again!!

Act on these words. Passive reading doesn’t help whatsoever!! You have to work on them effectively. Jot them down in a note book, pull out your dictionary from the shelf, look for the meaning, understand the words and use them in sentences. Date all these words rather. Spend some substantial time with them. They are really extraordinary and interesting. Try to recollect many visuals that relate to a specific word from the above list. Believe me, these are the words that keep appearing in GRE’s (Graduate Record Examination) Verbal Ability Section. (Antonyms, Analogies and Sentence Completion).

Some essential GRE Aerobics:

Do not just read but work on these words. Use a notebook to jot them down and a dictionary to understand the meaning and the context better. As I always tell: Utter the words aloud- each word five times!!

Obligatory things to do:

1. Work with the word.

2. Expand its meaning into a suitable context.

3. Relate it to the person or situation you know.

4. Share the word with your friends, colleagues

5. Try to pronounce the word aloud at least five times

These high energy and high frequency words will keep you motivated for a lifetime. What you just need to do is to trust their beauty and keep remembering them every now and then. Do get back to us with queries in case you have any.

Wishing you all, success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

This is an opportunity indeed to research on a few very important words pertaining to GRE Vocabulary and committing them permanently to your memory. I would mention once again that the words we are practicing in these blogs are high frequency words and you will certainly find them in the GRE.

• Didactic: The word didactic is an adjective. Didactic is something that is educational, instructive in purpose. For example: Her poems are didactic. It means that her poems have instructional value. I hope the meaning is now clear.

• Surreptitious: The word surreptitious is an adjective. It means acting in a sly, stealthy, cunning way.

• Banal: Banal means boring. Something that doesn’t trigger interest because we have been exposed to it so many times. A film’s plot could be banal. A story could be banal. Just think of some situations/contexts where this word could rightly fit in.

• Berserk: Berserk is going mad, crazy. The crowd goes berserk seeing a film personality or a pop star.

• Bombastic: Being bombastic is being pompous, showy or grandiloquent. The word also means a speech that is long-winded and verbose. Politicians usually make ‘bombastic’ claims during their election campaigning.

• Culpable: Culpable is being blameworthy. It means an act that deserves to be blamed.

• Denunciatory: The word ‘denunciatory’ is an adjective. It means given to denunciation. Denunciation is admonition, scolding, criticism or accusation.

• Heretical: Heretical is being unorthodox. It is being unconventional or radical. A person who transgresses the rules is a heretic. Can you think of any such person? If you can then form a sentence using the word and share it with us here.

There’s no escape from these words if you want a grand score in GRE. You need to work with these words for a substantial time frame. I strongly recommend you all to read the other blogs on Vocabulary learning in order to memorize all these words even more effectively.

Some pertinent advice:

These words are not for mere reading, they are to be worked on. Use a notebook to jot them down and a dictionary to delve deeper into the meaning. As I always tell: Utter the words aloud- each word five times!!

Techniques that work:

1. Work with the word.

2. Expand its meaning into a suitable context.

3. Relate it to the person or situation you know.

4. Share the word with your friends, colleagues

5. Try to pronounce the word aloud at least five times

These words are for practice. Please do share with us some more high frequency words. In fact you can put the words that you know or don’t know on our forum and invite diligent students like you for discussion. These interactive forums would further elaborate the meanings of words and commit them to your memory indelibly.

Wishing you all, success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

Mimic the words: I always wonder how I learned my mother’s language. It was never a conscious effort. So it is for all of us. Then why is that we have trouble learning a new language? It’s because we never implement the methods that we adopted as children for learning a language. As children we imitated all the words spoken by our parents and relatives. That’s how we learned.

The same method can be implemented for learning a new language. Just copy/imitate the new words spoken by your seniors, friends, celebrities, sports personalities, teachers, lecturers etc. Imitation makes learning easier. Note all the interesting and new words they use, as well as their methods of delivery.

Play with words: Nothing can be learned under stress. Enjoy the process of accumulating new words to your language. Say them aloud. Share them with your friends and relatives. Use them in context whenever, wherever possible. Organize small vocabulary learning groups with your friends and have weekly meets. All these things will make learning vocabulary extremely enjoyable.

Look out for unknown words: Don’t be content with known words. Try to look out for new words, words that you never heard. If you get intimidated seeing a new word you will never learn it. Instead consider it an opportunity and learn the word, the meaning and pronunciation.

Give your brain a healthy diet: It means keep your brain active and agile by feeding it with information, nutrition, oxygen and love. And one of the brain’s major sources of information is vocabulary and words. So feed your brain with adequate number of words in order to keep it healthy. Feed some ‘fresh’ words to your brain every now and then and do not starve your brain too long. (Smiles)

Learn from your mistakes: Please do not feel embarrassed if you do not know the meaning/pronunciation of any word. Do not worry if you have given a wrong meaning to a particular word. To err is human. Remember mistakes alone expedite/catalyze learning.

Become friends with words: One best way to remember words and that too forever is becoming friends with them. By using them in novel contexts every now and then and getting back to them time and again to refresh your relation with them.

Stay committed: Commitment is an essential ingredient of a successful life. You need to stay committed to the pursuit of adding to your vocabulary. Only then will you master it one day.

I am sure you all enjoyed reading these 7 methods. Understanding them is more important. And practicing them will put you on the path to success inevitably. You can share some interesting methods like the ones mentioned above if you have any. We shall be eagerly waiting for your responses on this blog.

Wishing you Success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

You can now master GRE Vocabulary in no time!! Learning Vocabulary for GRE is no longer an arduous task. We can now learn new words daily and commit them to our memory forever by using these simple yet very effective techniques. These Vocabulary Learning Strategies stated underneath will help you remember the high frequency words of GRE.

Predicting Meanings

<!–[if !supportLists]–>• <!–[endif]–>When you read the title of a passage try to predict at least 10 words that you might find in it. These exercises focus your attention on either new or known vocabulary and at the same time stimulate your desire to find out what is actually in the text.

Where else do they fit?

Choose a passage and list 10 words from it which can be contextualized in other fields. Some words as examples:

• Suit

• ball Hitch

• rough space

• gear reckon

• automatically

• Then prepare three-word sets of other words to indicate particular field

Give the opposites

• Whenever you read a passage underline all the words you find tough to comprehend. Try to know the meanings of those words and then provide a set of antonyms for each word underlined in the passage.

A Memory game

• Read a passage casually for a few minutes. Then recollect the number of adjectives and verbs they came across in the passage.

Once the recollected words are ready, then more synonyms and antonyms can be discussed.

Patchwork Text

• Select a passage from newspapers or magazines and delete some important verbs and then substitute the blanks.

• For example : Much awaited monsoons —- disappointed —— farmers —– water scarcity —– government —- alternatives —–

Brain storming around a given word

• Select a word and then choose as many words as possible that complement the given word

For example take the word ‘Shopping’

selection special occasions discounts branded things local made sales friends choice fashions expensive budget

selected outlets in thing outdated readymade tailored

colors etc

Word Picture:

• Make a list of words from this picture which talks about science and progress and man’s role in it.

.

<!–[endif]–>

Word Sets

Try to group words that belong to a particular set.

For example words related to Feelings: elated, sulk, determined etc

. Role assignments

• Qualities of a good politician

• Journalist

• film maker etc

• Adjectives describing their roles can be listed down.

Sentence Completion

Try completing a few incomplete sentences using appropriate words

• English is ——-

• English as an International Language ——–

• It is difficult ————–

At least seven different completions are required.

From word to word

One base word is taken and you can add on words which may continue the paragraph in a logical sense.

Country - government – party - elections – manifesto – promises – welfare schemes – vote – term – etc

These methods suggested by experts will make vocabulary learning a fun filled process. If you know any interesting technique please share it here or post it on the forum.

Do read these techniques more than once and jot them down in your note book. Practice them and I am sure you will benefit immensely.

We are awaiting your responses/queries/comments on this blog.

Wishing you Success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

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