How to Organize Your Vocabulary Notebook

We all know that one person who is very messy (or you might be that person, no judgment). You walk into their house and see piles of things everywhere. There is no sense of organization. I know for a fact that any OCD brain goes wild at the sight of this. Being clean and organized is a necessary trait to have. It makes you look like you have your life together.

Being in school taught us how to be organized. Such as having a different colored binder or folder for every class, using sticky notes when we study, and a pencil case with all the basic writing tools for the class. The point is that being organized makes your life easier.

Having a broad vocabulary is one of the most important aspects of learning a language. The more words you know the better you can express yourself. What is the best way to keep a log of your vocabulary words? Flashcards are great, but they might get lost easily. The best way to go about this is a vocabulary notebook that you can take anywhere with you. In this post, I'll show you how to organize your vocabulary notebook.

Topics

This should be a no-brainer, but you need to create sections in your notebook. Having a random list of vocabulary words isn't productive. Make every minute of your language study count. You can organize into topics such as:

• Food
• Clothing
• Health
• Shopping
• Finances

That way all of your vocabulary is organized based on what you are studying.

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Relevant Keywords, Phrases, and Examples

To piggyback off of the previous heading, you can also create subcategories under specific topics. Most notebooks provide enough space for your to write notes here and there. So use that extra space to write any words, phrases, example sentences that are relevant to that topic. Doing this creates an organized and easy-to-follow format when learning new words. It will also help you retain the words faster because you know which context to use them in.

Pronunciation

It's a good idea to leave a space between every word you write down. This way you can leave room for the phonetic pronunciation of the word. Every time you go back to study that word you'll be able to memorize effectively with the correct pronunciation.

Pictures

Bring out your inner Van Gogh and personalize your notebook. If you are a visual person, you can choose to draw the vocabulary words. But don't worry if you're not good at drawing. You can always use clip art from the internet. Using images is actually a great way to learn new vocabulary because your brain is processing the information in a visual, written, and verbal form.

Color Code

Looking at black ink on white paper for hours can be boring. If you have enough space, spice up the visual appearance of your notebook. Use bright, vivid colors, highlighters, or gel pens. Go crazy. This is also a great base to organize your vocabulary notebook because each section will be color-coded for easy access.

Remember, having organized study materials is the key to success. Your brain won't feel fried after seeing all the information. I hope these tips helped, but also keep your own preferences in mind when organizing your vocabulary notebook. You have to set it up in a way that you learn best.