How do I improve my vocabulary and sophistication in my writing?

[xXPersonXx]

Hi everyone,
I am doing english 3&4 next year and I was wandering what people have done to improve their vocabulary and sophistication during year 12?
From looking at some essays selected by vcaa, the writing is obviously brilliant, and lot of these essays contain witty puns which improve their understanding of the topic.
If you do use puns, sayings or famous quotes in your essays, are they usually from what you have picked up in the past or are they through studying the topic thoroughly?
I am very curious as to how the top scorers in english did so well in the subject!
Hope you can help!

[Truck]

I think one of the best things you can do is read. I don't mean reading a dictionary, but obviously some complex literature, i.e. something like Crime and Punishment - yes it may be a pain in the ass to read, but one of the best ways to develop your vocabulary is to expose yourself to writers who actually use sophisticated language.

Otherwise, I'm not entirely sure. I know I developed my vocabulary over the years simply by reading a lot and just absorbing the information, but a lot of teachers sometimes hand out lists of somewhat complicated words to memorize.... With that said using a complicated word in the wrong context makes you look 10x worse then just using the simpler version of the word correctly.

Anyway, I think the only real way to properly improve your vocabulary is through the reading of a lot of texts which is obviously a more long-term solution, but if anyone knows of an actual short-term fix (so to speak) then I'd be happily proven wrong.

[LOLs99]

most important thing :when going through with any unfamiliar words, write it down and check it in the dictionary.
Plus read more newspaper as it's the best way to learn english...

[werdna]

Complex ideas will be favoured over complex language that is used in the wrong context. Focus on generating and building strong ideas about your text and context, and then worry about using sophisticated words to express this knowledge. And even then, in many cases simple language works perfectly well, as you are presenting your ideas in a clear and concise way. But there's nothing stopping you from using all the 'big' words, just don't let yourself loose with it such that the way you express your ideas suffers as a result.

[binders]

I agree with werdna. clarity of expression of ideas is a better thing to work on than sophisticated writing, if by sophistication you mean showing off vocab and style.  I always think of Peter Singer when i think of sophisticated language. If you compare his writing in say Practical Ethics with many older philosophical texts, the clarity and simplicity of the text stands out.

[funkyducky]

One word: READ.

On second thought, two words: Read. Write.

The only way you can learn to write well is to read lots of well-written books/etc. and practice writing essays, paying close attention to your word choice. Your aim should be to maximise clarity and precision. Good expression is not necessarily flowery, decadent writing, it's using the most apt, crisp vocabulary to express yourself as clearly and concisely as possible.
Expression is about EXPRESSING yourself. It's about getting the point across without the meaning getting lost or skewed in the jumble of words you use to convey it. If you have good expression, it means other people read what you wrote and understand exactly what you meant by it, find it easy to follow; effortless and fluent.

[EvangelionZeta]

Following on from what everybody's saying about being clear and easily understood, always remember to read your work out loud to yourself after it's been written down.  If it sounds all right, then it's fine - if not, change, change, change!

[weasleyisourking]

I did both English and Lit 3/4 this year and I think its great that you are asking this because a refined vocabulary will set you apart from the rest of your cohort.

The best thing you can do is READ. I know everyone's already said it, but I'm going to say it anyway My lit teacher said this to me at the beginning of Year 11: "The mind is like a sponge. Exposing yourself and immersing yourself in the works of more superior writers will, by default, challenge you and force your own writing to improve". I found this the best piece of advice I received from my teachers. Reading, avidly reading, other author's works will result in you absorbing parts of their own style and vocabulary.

So READING is essential. However, personally I think its a bit late in the process to spend your time reading through greats like Tolstoy - instead of reading unrelated (yet brilliant!) novels by such authors, I'd recommend getting onto the internet and reading relevant analytical essays written on your school's set texts. This will expand both your knowledge of your texts and the complexity of the ways in which you approach writing on them.

Then there's the writing component. Pretty much self-expanatory. Write as many essays as you can, trying to avoid the easy topics after the first few weeks of school. If you train yourself to write on difficult concepts that force you to really think, you will find that your SAC topics will seem comparatively easier to tackle.

So my main piece of advice would be to read critical essays written by scholars on the internet. Google Books is a good resource that I found helpful in Year 12. 

Best of luck!

[holyknight]

read some essays by students here, and maybe incorporate some words etc... into your own essay, testing it whether its good or not. This is essential, as i believe that through incorporation, you develop your writing skills, allowing you to access more words and be more fluent.

Also, remember that writing essays is all good, but do vary your essays, think of these essays as experiments, by adding new things or writing in a different style to explore and expand your abilities. There is absolutely no point in writing the same essay all over again, repeatedly if your not using it to test out new things.

[jinny1]

read novels

[Inside Out]

theres no point reading a novel that you find boring to read becasue then you'll end up "skipping" through all the hard words. find like a genre your really interested in or like a series

[jane1234]

While reading a lot of novels is more beneficial in the long run, it is hard to improve vocabularly over a year just by doing this. For me, I found generating ideas was never a problem, but expressing them was a different matter. One of the best things to do is read through really good essays over and over again so that your mind absorbs some of the more complex essay language.

Although memorising lists is not the most effective way of improving vocab, it does help to memorise useful words. At the start of this year my teachers said the thing that would let me down in the exam would be my expression, but by the end of the year the external markers were giving me 10s for vocab and expression. The main thing I did was write my essays on the computer at the start of the year, then I would notice which words I was repeating. This is where a thesaurus came in handy - after a few essays of looking up synonyms for words I would use over and over again I would be able to weave them into the essay without looking like I had used the Word synonyms tool.

So I'd keep a list of words RELEVANT to your text, because you will find that you are able to use them in nearly every essay. Don't just memorise the list, rather keep it handy so that when you write essays you practice incorporating more sophisticated language into essays.

But as werdna said - ideas are far, far more important than fancy words.

[ShortBlackChick]

What I would also say, is to read. I'm quite a big reader anyway, but throughout the year I had a piece of paper stuck to my wall in which I'd add words that I'd read that would be useful to my essays. My page is full of words now and towards the end of the year I couldnt find space to add new words. And I can remember using some of the more complex words during the exam- somehow they just flashed in the back of my mind at the right moments!
My English teacher did recommend making lists for each topic- meaning one for LA, one for Context, and one for vocab relevant to my text, but I was too lazy and I only had one, but I would say that worked for me anyway. But I think she was right when she said good vocabulary does add to the level of sophistication of ones writing. But then again people have gotten 40+ with a more simpler manner of writting.
LOL My list/page still remains on my wall, idk if I just cant be bothered taking it off, or if it has some sort of sentimental value to it!

[xXPersonXx]

A huge thanks to everyone's input. I appreciate you all for the advice which was given

[Panicmode]

I think everyone else has hit it right on the head.

READ.

But not only this, it is important to read from a wide breadth of texts; classical novels, poetry, newspapers etc.