There are a variety of methods to record words in a good vocabulary notebook. With these methods you will quickly be creating a beautiful vocabulary notebook that is guaranteed to help you remember those difficult words. I recommend using the ideas that appeal to you and make the most sense.
![](https://roncoroniwiki.wikispaces.com/file/view/Vocabulary.png/260466872/466x660/Vocabulary.png)
Method 1: Categories
When you come across a new category of vocabulary, create a page in your notebook dedicated to that category. These can come from the text book or you can create the categories yourself. For some categories it's a good idea to include similar words and example sentences. It's even better if you can relate the example to your personal life because this will help to create a mental connection. For example, if the category is jobs you might want to organize it like this:
teacher - to teach (verb)
Example: My favourite maths teacher in secondary school was Mr Kite.
accountant - accounting (noun)
Example: I hire an accountant every year to help me with my taxes.
Method 2: Word families
Word families are groups of words that share a common root. Recording words in their families can be very useful because it will help to give your vocabulary more range. The word transformations exercise in the Use of English paper of Cambridge exams also focuses on this area.
Root
|
Noun (thing)
|
Noun (person)
|
Verb
|
Adjective
|
photo
|
photograph
photo
|
photographer
|
to photograph
to take a photo
|
photographic
|
entertain
|
entertainment
|
entertainer
|
to entertain
|
entertaining
entertained
|
know
|
knowledge
|
--------
|
to know
|
knowledgeable
(-) unknowledgeable
|
Method 3: Language chunks
Words don't always come alone. Many times we use words together that if separated, would have a different meaning. When you encounter these chunks it's a good idea to record them in a separate area of your notebook. Examples of language chunks include; "would you like", "get to know", etc.
Method 4: Collocations
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkPqfsUXwumpBZSpo7OTtXeQQiI_0W8grBfn-i1jT2a-toChPX5NWL4oHoP3Kx9aVn8GvPh0ZNt1DF8Tb9v0Ee_GArg0fF0SDK9SGNjBzYrS6mO6qIG5G18NhnyGhaty8F8T47DTunbK-/s320/take+collocations.png)
Collocations with take:
- take a bath/shower
- take some time to do something
- take away food
- take an exam
- take turns
and many more...
Method 5: Mind maps
One of the most difficult things to do when writing down new vocabulary is to organize it in a way that is easily accessible later to study. A list of words can appear never-ending to our eyes. A popular way to organize words that helps with this is mind maps. Mind maps start with a central word, concept, or category. This can then be expanded in all directions as more related vocabulary appears. It is more flexible and adaptable than a list. Take a look at this mind map that a language learner has created:
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