Last week, I briefly touched the subject of proper word usage in the post Vocabulary Notebook: Be on the Lookout for Useful Words. Today I’d like to share three simple tips on how to maintain correct word usage.
While good writing is commonly attributed to good content, it’s equally important to understand that proper word usage is what makes the content lucid. Without clarity, good ideas easily lose their meaning when written down.
Here are three easy steps that enable you to be clear about new words. The key is to follow these steps every time you encounter an unclear word. Make it a habit.
Whether you’re a writer or a telemarketer, it’s good to improve your vocabulary. Having a command of effective words is not only important in writing, it is also essential in everyday speech. But how do you collect new words? Well, you can get yourself a thesaurus or a vocabulary textbook and to pick up new words from it. But as we know, that method is awfully repetitive and, simply, boring.
You can gather a tremendous amount of knowledge from the Internet. When I first got interested in kung fu, the first thing I did was get online and research the tens of different styles taught in the West. I learned a lot by perusing numerous websites dedicated to Chinese martial arts. But what really made the difference and taught me the most were online forums. (If you want to know which one, it was Kung Fu Magazine’s Online Forum.)
I just recently started learning how to use Adobe Illustrator. I didn’t know what an awesome program it was until I watched a tutorial on it. Adobe Illustrator allows us to produce great-looking art, such as icons and logos, and then resize what we’ve created without losing quality. I’m actually doing a little experiment of my own to see how well I’ll be able to teach myself to use Adobe Illustrator, because I want to produce images for professional purposes. But I digress. My point was to talk about tutorials, and how they’re a great tool for learning skills.
Self-Learner is a blog about self-education and self-improvement based lifestyle design. Goal? To become the best "version" of yourself, and feel excited to jump out of your bed every morning.