How important is it to have a wide vocabulary?

[josswm17]

I do Literature and English, and I have a crap range of vocab, and was wondering how crucial/nessesary it is to maintain complex language and words within an essay?

HELP.

[#1procrastinator]

It would definitely help but I think it's better to know how to write sophisticatedly. If you have a large vocabulary but suck structuring your sentences then it'll suck. Also very important is to know when and when not to use a certain word...bigger isn't always better heh

 

[observer7]

Yeah firstly it's about your ideas and structure. A fantastic vocab I'd say separates the 8's from the 10's on the exam.

[binders]

uh, big vocab good.

notwithstanding, supernumerary manifestations of sesquipedalianism are wont to remit the tenor of your disquisition.

[charmanderp]

It won't have much of an effect, unless you want to go from a 45 to a 50. Personally I think it's more important to build a lexicon that pertains to your specific texts, so that you can discussion these texts as fluently and coherently as possible.

In many cases (as I've definitely learnt in the last few years) being too articulate and/or verbose can prove to be a detriment in your writing, as often the assessor won't be able to understand the point you're trying to get across. Literature should, first and foremost, be about expressing yourself as simply as possible. Use the language that is most natural to you. If it really concerns you try writing sample essays or even sample paragraphs and then go through them with a teacher/tutor/peer and try and introduce more complex language.

[VivaTequila]

Simply read EvangelionZeta's posts on the forum. Learn how to write from him. He's like a prodigy among lit-forumites and a stellar model for how you should aim to write.

[charmanderp]

What VT said. EZ's work is the paradigm of Year 12 (and probably first year uni) standard written work in English and Literature.

[#1procrastinator]

^ lol I still write like I did back in year 8

crappy english teachers in high school

[brightsky]

It won't have much of an effect, unless you want to go from a 45 to a 50. Personally I think it's more important to build a lexicon that pertains to your specific texts, so that you can discussion these texts as fluently and coherently as possible.

In many cases (as I've definitely learnt in the last few years) being too articulate and/or verbose can prove to be a detriment in your writing, as often the assessor won't be able to understand the point you're trying to get across. Literature should, first and foremost, be about expressing yourself as simply as possible. Use the language that is most natural to you. If it really concerns you try writing sample essays or even sample paragraphs and then go through them with a teacher/tutor/peer and try and introduce more complex language.

This. While the concession must be made that hoarding a large vocabulary does have some benefits, more often than not these benefits come at a much greater cost. By being overly verbose, you run the risk of obfuscating the idea which are you trying to convey, thereby undermining the purpose of writing the essay in the first place. Examiners who know what they're doing won't be impressed by your supplanting 'underestimate' with 'floccinaucinihilipilificate'; you just sound like a try hard. They will, however, be impressed by complexity of ideas, and perspicuity of expression, which should be the principal focus of any seasoned writer. Do not use 'converse' when you mean 'talk'; do not write 'fabulist' when 'liar' does the job. By no means am I suggesting that you should reduce your writing down to baby-talk, however. Good writing is precise writing. Hence, when describing an sportsperson, 'nimble'/'adroit' is invariably better (more precise) than 'good', a notoriously nebulous term. A mark of a good writer is knowing the difference between 'prolixity' and 'conciseness', and it is towards this that you should work, and not stuffing your head full of arcane terminology suited only to medical books.

[charmanderp]

It won't have much of an effect, unless you want to go from a 45 to a 50. Personally I think it's more important to build a lexicon that pertains to your specific texts, so that you can discussion these texts as fluently and coherently as possible.

In many cases (as I've definitely learnt in the last few years) being too articulate and/or verbose can prove to be a detriment in your writing, as often the assessor won't be able to understand the point you're trying to get across. Literature should, first and foremost, be about expressing yourself as simply as possible. Use the language that is most natural to you. If it really concerns you try writing sample essays or even sample paragraphs and then go through them with a teacher/tutor/peer and try and introduce more complex language.

This. While the concession must be made that hoarding a large vocabulary does have some benefits, more often than not these benefits come at a much greater cost. By being overly verbose, you run the risk of obfuscating the idea which are you trying to convey, thereby undermining the purpose of writing the essay in the first place. Examiners who know what they're doing won't be impressed by your supplanting 'underestimate' with 'floccinaucinihilipilificate'; you just sound like a try hard. They will, however, be impressed by complexity of ideas, and perspicuity of expression, which should be the principal focus of any seasoned writer. Do not use 'converse' when you mean 'talk'; do not write 'fabulist' when 'liar' does the job. By no means am I suggesting that you should reduce your writing down to baby-talk, however. Good writing is precise writing. Hence, when describing an sportsperson, 'nimble'/'adroit' is invariably better (more precise) than 'good', a notoriously nebulous term. A mark of a good writer is knowing the difference between 'prolixity' and 'conciseness', and it is towards this that you should work, and not stuffing your head full of arcane terminology suited only to medical books.

Pretty much! It's all about using relevant terminology. As brightsky said, an efficient writer will be able to associate certain words with certain ideas, rather than searching blindly to find big words that they can jam into a sentence. Literature, and indeed any English-related task that you'll do in high school and university, is about developing a concise, thorough reading of a text of the entirety of your essay, rather than inserting two bombastic statements into each of your paragraphs to knock the assessor out of the park.

[josswm17]

thanks everyone for your responses!
i'll focus on my idea's and complexity of my style.
thanks again.