The need for synonyms

In my last post, I said that I would talk in more detail about how to expand your vocabulary. As I said in that post, one of the most effective ways to increase your vocabulary is to acquire synonyms for the words you already know. Without a doubt, synonyms are oneof the real keys to gaining a high TOEIC score, since much of Part 3, Part 4, and Part 7 are synonym-based. For example, one thing that savvy test takers do is to focus on the key word in the question and to look for (Pt 7) or listen for (Pts 3&4) the same word in the passage, conversation, or talk. If you read or listen to the information around that KEY word, the right answer is almost always contained in that context. However, TOEIC is not always so kind as to place exactly the same word in the question and in the passage, conversation, or talk. It most likely will be the same IDEA or THING, but it very often is a synonym of the KEY inside the question. Thus, if you don't know both words, you won't be able to find the KEY easily. On the other hand, if you DO know both words, then it is a kind of Christmas present for you from TOEIC , because you'll know where to look or listen for the information you need to answer the question.

Robert