LibGuides: Vocabulary Basics: Books & eBooks

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1100 Words You Need to Know A Barron's bestseller for years, this book is better than ever in a brand new fourth edition. In addition to its standard vocabulary lists, this edition includes a new section called Panorama of Words. In this feature, each of the 1100 words appears in a sentence selected from among well known novels, plays, poems, and even newspaper editorials and TV broadcasts. The book is a vocabulary builder aimed directly at college-bound high school students, as well as college students who need extra vocabulary help. Students will find word lists with definitions, analogy exercises, entertaining word games, and fascinating words-in-context exercises.
Better Vocabulary in 30 Minutes a Day Would you like to find new, exciting words to use in your speech and writing? Would you like to be a fascinating conversationalist? Would you like to be a Scrabble expert? Better Vocabulary In 30 Minutes a Day offers a lively and entertaining method for adding a more impressive list of words to your everyday speech, and for learning how to use them effortlessly and accurately. Besides giving definitions, this invaluable guide also provides root meanings and elements of words so you can increase your vocabulary base by thousands of exciting new words and use them with aplomb in sentences. Sprinkled throughout the book are fascinating stories about words and their origins. Even if you can't spare 30 minutes a day to learn to speak and write eloquently, Better Vocabulary In 30 Minutes a Day allows you to customize your learning to take as little as five minutes a day. That's a small commitment for the lifelong benefit of speaking and writing better! Like its companion guides in the Better English Series, this book is just what you need for confident, clear writing and speaking!
Fiske 250 Words Every High School Graduate Needs to Know Learn the words you need to succeed in college and beyond! With a powerful vocabulary on your side, a world of possibilities opens up. It is a gift of confidence and knowledge for college, your career, and beyond. Knowing these 250 words will give you the edge you need to succeed in anything you set your mind to do. Every year, thousands of families trust Edward Fiske, author of the #1 bestselling Fiske Guide to Colleges and the former education editor of the New York Times, as their guide for honest advice on creating the best educational experience possible--because he knows and listens to students. Together with vocabulary experts Jane Mallison and David Hatcher, Fiske 250 Words Every High School Graduate Needs to Knowgives you the most important words you'll need to know to build your success across a wide range of subjects and skill levels. This short, powerful tool will expand your vocabulary, sharpen your writing skills, make you more persuasive, and prepare you for every success you want to achieve!
Good Word Guide: Answers Everyday Language Problems Our language is changing faster than ever before, thanks to the influence of the media, e-mail, the Internet and text messaging. Modern communications are breaking down distinctions between formal and informal English, raising ever more questions as to how to speak and write correctly. This fully updated edition of the bestselling Good Word Guideoffers information and advice on spelling, grammar, punctuation, pronunciation, confusables and the latest buzzwords, and provides clear, straightforward answers to everyday language problems.
Grammar and Vocabulary Routledge English Language Introductions cover core areas of language study and are one-stop resources for students. Assuming no prior knowledge, these books offer an accessible overview of the subject, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries and key readings - all in the same volume. The innovative and flexible 'two-dimensional' structure is built around four sections - introduction, development, exploration and extension - which offer self-contained stages for study. Each topic can also be read across these sections, enabling the reader to build gradually on the knowledge gained. Grammar and Vocabulary: covers the core areas of the subject: words and sentences, word classes, word structure, slots and fillers, sentence patterns, clause and phrase, grammar rules, and vocabularies draws on a wide range of real texts from newspaper articles, adverts, poems, and websites provides classic readings by key names in the discipline, such as Halliday, Quirk, Ayto, and Trudgill. This is an accessible and user-friendly textbook for all students of English language and linguistics. The accompanying website to this book can be found at http://www.routledge.com/textbooks/041523171X/
Vocabulary for Dummies Someone just called you captious. Should you be flattered? Considering your extreme lactose intolerance, is it a good idea to order veau au b#65533;chamel from a French menu? Calumny is to slander as obloquy is to a) flattery, b) sermon, or c) invective? You've just heard that your new boss is a real martinet, should you be worried or excited about an attractive new addition to your workplace? Your boyfriend says you have no #65533;lan, is he telling you you're all out of yogurt? Starting to wish you'd paid more attention in English class? Don't worry, it's never too late to develop a million dollar vocabulary--and Vocabulary For Dummies offers you a fast, fun and easy way to do it. Whether you're facing standardized tests, or you want to feel more knowledgeable at work or more comfortable in social situations, this book is for you. In no time you'll: Dramatically expand your vocabulary Speak with style Write with panache Make a better impression a work or school Dine out with confidence Have the right words for formal occasions and ethnic events Get more out of what you read Vocabulary For Dummies doesn't overwhelm you with endless word lists. Instead, it gives you a complete vocabulary-building program that familiarizes you with words from all areas of life as they're used in context--from bar mitzvahs to business meetings, PCs to politics--with a host of fun features, including: Word tables organized by common features, such as language of origin, professional or social contexts, similarities, and more Sample conversations incorporate new terms and define related ones Before-and-After examples show how to replace old, general terms with new specific vocabulary Pointers reinforce understanding with examples of correct and incorrect usage Chapters on terms from finance, law, medicine, eating and shopping, history and mythology, various languages, and more Vocabulary For Dummies makes it easier than ever for you to get a handle on difficult words and get ahead at school, at work, and in life.

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Fiske Word Power : The Exclusive System to Learn, Not Just Memorize, Essential Words The Exclusive System to Learn-Not Just Memorize-Essential Words A powerful vocabulary opens a world of opportunity. Building your word power will help you write more effectively, communicate clearly, score higher on standardized tests like the SAT, ACT, or GRE, and be more confident and persuasive in everything you do. But in order to truly increase your vocabulary, you need a system that works. With most guides, you end up only memorizing thenew words for a short time, often not even long enough to use them in tests. Fiske WordPower is different. Using the exclusive Fiske system, you will not just memorize words, but truly learn their meanings and how to use them correctly. This knowledge will stay with you longer and be easier to recall-and it doesn't take any longer than less-effective memorization. How does it work? This book uses a simple three-part system: 1. Patterns: Words aren't arranged randomly or alphabetically, but in similar groups that make words easier to remember over time. 2. Deeper Meanings, More Examples: Full explanations-not just brief definitions-of what the words mean, plus multiple examples of the words in sentences. 3. Quick Quizzes: Frequent short quizzes help you test how much you've learned, while helping your brain internalize their meanings. Fiske WordPower is the most effective system for building a vocabulary thatgets you clear and successful results.
How Not to Say What You Mean : A Dictionary of Euphemisms Renamed How Not To Say What You Mean, this brand new edition of A Dictionary of Euphemisms is packed full of the old favourites, such as 'early bath' or 'push up the daisies', as well as euphemisms from modern times, like 'human sacrifice', 'coffee-housing', and 'tuft-hunter'. Definitionsinclude examples from real authors, along with historical explanations of origins, and now obsolete euphemisms like 'leaping house', 'nightingale' are signposted as such. And to prove that the use of euphemisms is not just a British speciality, there is widespread coverage of American euphemismstoo: 'English' (pertaining to sexual deviance), 'watermelon' (an indication of pregnancy). Reviews for previous editions:'This ingenious collection is not only very funny but extremely instructive too' Iris Murdoch 'Many printable gems' Daily Telegraph 'An informative, amusing collection' Observer'Hugely enjoyable and cherishable' Times Educational Supplement 'This (excellent) book is your complete guide to every euphemism you could ever want to know and many you would rather not' Daily Mail
New Oxford American Dictionary As Oxford's flagship American dictionary, the New Oxford American Dictionary sets the standard of excellence for lexicography in this country. With more than 350,000 words, phrases, and senses, hundreds of explanatory notes, and more than a thousand illustrations, this book is unparalleled forhaving the most comprehensive and accurate coverage of American English available. The dictionary draws on the two-billion-word Oxford English Corpus and the unrivaled citation files of the world-renowned Oxford English Dictionary to provide the most accurate and richly descriptive picture of American English ever offered in any dictionary. The Third Edition offers a thoroughlyupdated text, with revisions throughout and approximately 2,000 new words, phrases, and meanings. Many new words relate to fast-moving areas such as computing, technology, current affairs, and ecology, while others (frenemy, generation Y, hashtag, hockey mom, microblogging, and robocall) haverecently entered the popular lexicon. Usage notes have been updated in light of the most recent Corpus evidence, and a completely new in-text feature on Word Trends charts usage for rapidly changing words and phrases such as carbon, mobile, or tweet. In addition, the volume has an attractive, modernnew text design that makes entries easier to read and find. One of the hallmarks of the New Oxford American Dictionary is the way it reflects the living language. Unlike in more traditional dictionaries, where meanings are ordered chronologically according to the history of the language, each entry plainly shows the principal meaning or meanings of the word,organized by importance in today's English. Readers can be confident that the first definition they see is the one most likely to be used by people today, and is not a sense that has not been common in two centuries.Offering clear, authoritative, and precise information, with the in-depth and up-to-date coverage that users need and expect, the New Oxford American Dictionary is the benchmark by which all other American dictionaries are measured.
Painless Vocabulary This addition to Barron's Painless series is focused to meet the needs of middle school and high school students. The author's friendly, informal narrative style takes the drudgery out of students' vocabulary building, which is a prerequisite for their academic achievement and future success in college and beyond. Each of 24 chapters introduces 15 new words, first placing the words in a brief essay that allows students to comprehend them in a given context. "Brain Tickler" questions that follow challenge students and help them determine whether they have gained some mastery of word usage. Sidebars appear on many pages with titles such as "Major Mistake Territory," alerting students to possible pitfalls and problems involving correct understanding of word meanings and normal usage. Each chapter concludes with an "On Your Own" section, which invites students to use the target vocabulary list within the context of their own everyday speech. Morbid. . . furtively . . . predecessor . . . infer . . . are typical examples of words students will learn to use with ease. The book's vocabulary is neither too easy nor too arcane--focusing instead on words that students should have at their command in high-school and by the time they enter college.
Word Source : The Smarter Way to Learn Vocabulary Words A powerful tool designed to help readers conquer common ideas in the areas of grammar, vocabulary, math, and writing utilizes a practice-based learning approach that uses various forms of integrated learning to master and retain each concept, with diagnostic quizzes to identify problem areas, coverage of material commonly found on standardized test