Welcome to Michael Buckhoff’s TOEFL iBT Vocabulary List. After many years of teaching
students how to prepare for the TOEFL iBT Exam, Michael noticed he was seeing the same
words over and over again. He began to make a list of these words and did not find a
repetition until he reached 1,700 to...
Welcome to Michael Buckhoff’s TOEFL iBT Vocabulary List. After many years of teaching
students how to prepare for the TOEFL iBT Exam, Michael noticed he was seeing the same
words over and over again. He began to make a list of these words and did not find a
repetition until he reached 1,700 total words. There are 1,700 words in this list divided
into two categories. The first category is 200 words of intermediate level reading. The
second is 1,500 words of advanced level reading.
Instructions for Mastering Vocabulary Words
When you come across a word you do not know on the “TOEFL iBT Exam Vocabulary” list,
quickly write it down onto a 3 x 5 inch note card (use one word on each note card). On the
back of the note card, write down the meaning of the word and any other information (i.e.,
pronunciation, part of speech, sample sentence, origin of word) that might help you to
remember that word.
You can build your vocabulary by studying your note cards regularly. Write sentences
using the new words. Add synonyms and antonyms to your note cards everyday. Little by
little you will begin to increase your knowledge of informal, formal, and academic
vocabulary. Now let’s get started.
When reading passages for pleasure, for work, or for university coursework, you will
encounter unfamiliar vocabulary. In these situations, you should try to understand the new
word by looking at the context in which it is used. Examples, appositives, punctuation, the
conjunction “or,” clauses, referents, “be” verb, contrasts, and other words in the sentence
are contextual clues which may help you to understand a new word.
,EXAMPLE
Examples in the form of a word or phrase may help to explain the meaning of a word: as,
case in point, for instance, for example, in fact, like, specifically, such as, and to illustrate.
This outcome is a reflection of strong sense of solidarity within the corporate
peasant community; for instance, this solidarity is apparent in the tendency for
almost every man to remain within his village over his lifetime.
The meaning of solidarity is identified by the example that most men remain within their
village during their lifetime; therefore, you can guess that solidarity means having an
identity or coincidence of interests, purposes, or sympathies among members of a certain
group.
APPOSITIVES
In some cases, an appositive [a noun or noun phrase which is set off by commas and which
modifies another noun] can help you to identify the meaning of an unknown word.
Whether psychology should be classified as a biological or social science was a
contentious issue among scholars until 1960, after which time it was increasingly
described as a behavioral science; the science of the behavior of
organisms.
The meaning of “behavioral science” is identified by its appositive, “the science of the
behavioral science.”
PUNCTUATION
Punctuation marks can be used to set off a word which is used to identify another word.
Some useful punctuation marks that might help you to understand the meaning of an
unknown word are the following:
brackets [ ]
,commas ,
dashes –
double quotation marks “ ”
parentheses ( )
single quotation marks ‘ ’
If the wire is bent into a coil, called a solenoid, the magnetic fields of the
individual loops combine to produce a strong field through the core of the coil.
The meaning of “solenoid” which is set off by commas is identified by the definition which
precedes it: “wire is bent into a coil.”
THE CONJUNCTION “OR”
Sometimes “or” and a synonym immediately comes after an unknown word or phrase.
Haliaeetus leucocephalus, or the Bald Eagle, is one of two eagles in North
America and the only exclusively North American eagle.
The meaning of the words “Haliaeetus leucocephalus” are identified by the words “the Bald
Eagle” following the word “or.”
CLAUSES
Adjective clauses and their connectors (i.e., that, when, where, which, who, and whom)
may be used to identify words.
Both the electric generator, which makes electricity widely available,
and the electric motor, which converts electricity to useful mechanical
work, are based on these effects.
, The meaning of “electric generator” is identified by the adjective clause: “which makes
electricity widely available.” Similarly, the meaning of electric motor is identified by its
adjective clause: “which converts electricity to useful mechanical work.”
REFERENTS
Referents are words to refer to other words in a sentence or paragraph. The referent may
refer to a previous word or one which follows it.
It is one of the more remarkable feats of American literature, how a young man who
never graduated from high school, never received a college degree, living in a small
town in the poorest state in the nation, all the while balancing a growing family of
dependents and impending financial ruin, could during the Great Depression write
a series of novels all set in the same small Southern county — As I Lay Dying,
Light in August, and above all, Absalom, Absalom! — that would one day be
recognized as among the greatest novels ever written by an American.
“As I Lay Dying, Light in August” and “Absalom, Absalom” can be identified by their
referent “ a series of novels.”
“BE” VERB
The object, which is referred to as the subject complement and which comes after
the verb “be,” may be used to identify the subject.
The Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus is one of Canada's commonest
large birds of prey.
The meaning of “The Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus” is identified by “large birds of
prey,” which comes after “is.”
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