Vocabulary is one of the most important cogs in the large wheel of English language. Lexicon in this age plays an imperative role in competitive examinations like CAT, GMAT, etc. Although a myth in the minds of the students has embedded that learning new words for CAT is a waste of time. But, as a matter of fact, vocabulary is indubitably a must to crack the exam with ease and flying colors. The obstacles faced by the students in memorizing the word-lists have been an incessant issue from a long time. The explications are many but still the problem persists.
Undoubtedly, voracious reading and brushing up one’s grammar plays an indispensable role. To springboard your quest for grasping vocabulary, certain attributes such as dedication, sincere interest, and reading are the best tools. Learning new words with their usage and meaning can do wonders. Reading journals, newspaper, and novels is obviously pretty useful.
In addition to it, any new word learnt should be used regularly in the right context whilst conversing with one’s peer group in order to master it. Otherwise the learnt words will soon leave your memory. Furthermore, students should also write an essay or a diary entry regularly and try to use the learnt words extensively. This strategy will definitely reap rewards & help the students substantially.
The different types of questions in CAT’s verbal ability section such as reading comprehension, paragraph completion, sentence correction, etc are greatly connected with vocabulary.
For instance:-An extract from one of the reading comprehension passages:
A hundred quays lined the waterfront, and the harbor was crowded with ships. Deepwater fishing boats and river runners came and went, ferrymen poled back and forth across the Blackwater Rush, trading galleys unloaded goods from Braavos and Pentos and Lys. Catelyn spied the queen’s ornate barge, tied up beside a fat-bellied whaler from the Port of Ibben, its hull back with tar, while upriver a dozen lean golden warships rested in their cribs, sails furled and cruel iron rams lapping at the water.
Moving further to the sentence completion section, a strong vocabulary is essential here as well:
Our grandfather was an entertaining raconteur; he used to regale us with marvelous anecdotes that we, in our childlike simplicity, accepted unquestioningly.
The emboldened words are somewhat difficult and if not comprehended properly, can alter the gist of the passage. In such cases, a strong vocabulary is a must to sail the boat of CAT impeccably.
Moreover in the paragraph completion section, the emphasis is on two attributes:-
1. The strength of your vocabulary.
2. Your general verbal ability, especially your ability to understand the logic of sentences.
So analyzing CAT’s English section, it can be easily understood that vocabulary is one of the most necessary elements to crack CAT. To recapitulate, the myth about the non existence of vocabulary in CAT needs to be tweaked and sound vocabulary ought to be certainly emphasized upon.