AP Language and Composition

"Top 5 Reasons Why Vocabulary Matters" by Deena Seifert

There has been a big push the last 10-15 years to improve a student’s vocabulary skills, but do you know why? Here are the top 5 reasons why vocabulary is so important:

1 It Improves Reading Comprehension. Research has shown that kids need to understand 98% of the words they read to understand what they are reading. Improving vocabulary skills will improve their understanding of novels and textbooks.

2 It’s Important to Language Development. Children who develop a rich vocabulary tend to be deeper thinkers, express themselves better and read more. Improving language and literacy skills early in life will help them be more successful academically and communicatively.

3 Communicating Ideas. Successful communication or “saying what you mean” is dependent upon a good vocabulary base. Using the right words when talking, makes you a more effective communicator.

4 Expressing Yourself in Writing. Having a good vocabulary to draw from can help you write more effectively. Students need to use a more formal tone when writing – not conversational language – and to do that, they need a richer vocabulary to tap into those words we don’t use when we speak.

5 Occupational Success. Researcher Johnson O’Connor found that “a person’s vocabulary level is the best single predictor of occupational success.”* Success in the business place depends on your communication skills.

Students sometimes view journal writing as busy work, or something to be rushed and "gotten over with" at the very end of the week before it is due. However, as I've promised the students, I will do my best to not give busy work. Writing is a skill, and just like any other skill, it needs to be practiced every day.

One of College Board's course objectives for AP English says, "This course requires students to write in informal contexts....designed to help them become increasingly aware of themselves as writers and of the techniques employed by the writers they read."

Another course objective is "to write in several forms...about a variety of subjects" and our journals give us the opportunity to do that quickly, rather than spending lots of time on every subject or every form of writing.

Here is a link to an article that gives forty-three reasons why writing is important.

https://srcxp.com/why-writing-is-important-for-students/

Here are 5 reasons students need to improve their grammar from CorrectEnglish.com.

#1: COLLEGE READINESS

Not every student will pursue higher education, but that’s the dream for many—and grammatical proficiency is non-negotiable for further academic success.

One ACT research study revealed that college professors consider grammar the most important skill for entering students. Meanwhile, 20 percent of college freshmen require remedial writing courses before they’re even remotely capable of college-level writing.³

#2: VERBAL CLARITY

Even if a student’s chosen career involves limited writing, it will inevitably involve speaking with coworkers, clients, or otherwise. The best way to improve those verbal skills is by improving writing skills.

Essentially, “Enhanced communication skills call for a high degree of grammatical competence. Communicative proficiency involves knowledge and application of grammar and use of appropriate vocabulary of the language to convey meanings in a socially acceptable way.”⁴

Understanding written grammar leads to understanding verbal communication.⁵ As a result, a clear, eloquent grasp of conversational English impresses employers, distinguishing a former student as a professional candidate.

3: CAREER PREPAREDNESS

Why is grammar important in communication? For one thing, it’s a well-known fact that employers judge job candidates based on grammar.⁶

In 2019 and beyond, there’s no excuse for resume mistakes. If a student can’t avoid poor grammar on a single page, a hiring manager will quickly conclude that they would also publish articles with grammatical errors.

An unclear metaphor won’t indicate intelligence—it will only make the applicant look like they’re trying too hard. Saying that an internship had a strong “affect” (not “effect”) on their professional development also won’t help their case.

#4: CONFIDENT COMMUNICATION

Grammar is an undeniably challenging subject for many students. The difficulty brings a key benefit along with it, however: overcoming the challenge boosts students’ self-confidence because of the effort it took to get there.

Understanding the fundamentals of language gives students the skills to express themselves clearly and uniquely.

Blackboard Talk writes, “Just like a dance instructor teaches his students to first side-step before dancing the salsa, teachers of English must teach their students to first master grammatical rules and writing techniques before writing.”⁷

#5: LEARNING SECOND LANGUAGES

Fifth and finally, students who lack understanding of English grammar will struggle immensely to learn a second language.⁸

Every language has its own grammatical rules. (Spanish differs from English in the placement of adjectives within a sentence, for instance.) Unless a student has a grammatical baseline from their first language, grasping the second language’s differences can feel exasperating.