It’s again that time of the season that sees its peak when it comes to MBA entrances in India, especially the much talked about and probably the toughest examination to crack – The Common Admission Test [CAT].

There have been quite notable changes in the format in the yester years but one aspect has always been the dreaded most – Vocabulary!

When it comes to vocabulary or preparing for Verbal Ability for CAT, the list is actually way too exhaustive. One cannot generalize as such. In addition, this section is one whose limits are pretty undefined/unclear. As such, preparing for this section requires a good amount of time and dedication. A sound vocabulary cannot be built just on the fly. It takes a lot of perseverance to get through especially when it comes to preparing for CAT and one has no previous adequate knowledge built up.

This implies an ease for aspirants who have indulged in a lot of reading/writing who can easily articulate the matter therein. However, a decent vocabulary can be developed by the other side of the crowd but with a little more of efforts and inputs.

Though vocabulary can be improved over time through absolute dedication and timing, it does take a good amount of time for one to become comfortable with. You see the area is vast. I am here to put through some learnings from my time during the preparation.

A very obvious method to conquer this area is taking up the flash cards and start learning them. One might probably be asked to keep them as one moves around so that their advantage of being handy can be taken up. For instance, I kick started with this method. I used to carry them almost everywhere with me. However, over time I realized they were not working for me. It was like rote learning. There was much more to do. I had to go over them all over again. Nevertheless, I should also say this might not be the case with everyone else.

I sincerely believe the best way to build a good vocabulary is through reading. Developing the habit of reading does a lot good than one can imagine. Start reading from what interests you and widen your areas. It helps in several ways. Each piece of reading has something or the other to offer. The knowledge bank builds up over the days/months/years unknowingly.

Meanwhile, I found another way out. I used to find TESTfunda [testfunda.com] quite interesting. I resorted to subscribing TESTfunda’s daily newsletters that list one question [on Verbal Ability or Quantitative Aptitude] along with a list of five words with their meanings, pronunciation, synonyms and usage. I used to go through them each day and note down the new words learnt and try imbibing their usage. The usage used to be in the form of some line(s) or poetry or a write up. Reading stuffs also used to help. I would add the new words to my book where I maintained all these words and used to go through every other day. You know what this helped me find so many synonyms and antonyms at one place. It became handy and I felt my vocabulary was getting built up. I even have Merriam-Webster’s newsletter delivered to my inbox each day. So, I get to learn one more word every day. These practices have just made me fall in love with words!

In addition, a particular trick to remember a difficult word also aids. As in associating the word with something in our minds. As they say pictures speak a thousand words. So, picturing a word with something serves as a memory aid. For example, the word ‘enervate’. I often used to visualize its meaning as something that’s opposite to the imminent conveyance [like something energizing/boosting] when actually it means to make things worse. It just sticks to your mind especially when you compare with rote learning [where the learning just fades away with time]. And, this habit just becomes a part of one’s life as the days pass by. I still love going through the newsletters. They have made my world even more familiar. And I have not left this practice, though I stopped noting down the words.

Then, I had the Barron’s GRE book with me. There is a wordlist of around 50 in count. The words are good enough and can be gone through once in a while. The book also talks a little about etymology that helps you break a word and derive its meaning even without any reference. This practice helps a lot while solving a RC passage, when you stumble across a non-familiar word. This again is a universal thing that can be applied to find a meaning to an unfamiliar word just by breaking the words into pieces and trying to derive its meaning.

I recall I used to read the book ‘Word Power Made Easy’ by Norman Lewis that again focuses a lot on etymology and the like. This is worth a try, especially for a beginner. The only thing is one has to be patient enough to complete this book. This must be taken up during the initial stages of vocabulary building.

Apart from the techniques I talked about, I would like to mention that everything is perspective driven and individualistic. In the end, it’s up to the aspirant to judge his/her standing(s), try out ways and find what suits the best. Keep trying and analyzing if things are working out with respect to CAT.

Good luck!

P S – I am an Ex-CAT aspirant. The above stated are just viewpoints which I got to form during my preparations for the examination.