Falling apart...

DesertRain · Jan 1, 2007

jamie-sue,

i'm taking the nln in february as well. i am literally brilliant in english. i have never gotten less than an a in any of my english classes since elementary school through college--but those words for the nln are ridiculous--i had to look up almost every single word on those practice exams. i have always taken pride in my vocabulary and and it is very demotivating and frustrating to hit a brick wall when you come across a word you don't know. don't give up though.

this is what i did:

i took a pocket-sized notebook and page tabs (the sticky tabs/flags you can buy at office depot--or even wal-mart) and tabbed 2-3 pages for each letter of the alphabet

i went through the nln book and went through every word (including the words in the multiple choice answers) that i did not know - at all or that well and i looked up the definition, memorized it and wrote it down in my own words in the notebook.

but- i also studied the word origins like "nascent" for example:

[origin: 1615–25; -ent]

by learning the origins, other words might be easier to figure out. if i know the origin of the word than i can make an "educated" guess.

then i just go over the words, try to use them in conversation, and even make up sentences in my head whenever i think of the word.

i also tote this notebook wherever i go lately because it's not always at home where i might come across a word i don't know, sometimes you hear something or read something when you are out and about and that way i can just jot that down in my book as well. even if it's not from the book i think that it's still beneficial.

i don't know what you're study method is and i can't say mine will work for you but i do understand your frustrations and maybe share something that you could try. i wish you the best of luck!

Jamie-Sue · Jan 1, 2007

Heres the problem with doing that.....I have heard that the stuff in the study guide isn't even ON the NLN. I am hoping I can make this part of it up by doing well on the reading comprehension? I am taking the exam on the 11th and I am trying to learn physics as well...what a pain huh? If I had known it was going to be this difficult I would have started studying MONTHS ago! At that time I was consumed with A&P 1&2 though.