Here’s a free writing lesson on how to organize a paper.

Grammar – a discussion of when to use “appreciation of” and “appreciation for.” And how Sean Hannity pronounces appreciate funny.

I’m always meeting people who get frustrated by the complexity and apparently irrational nature of English. This word of a great example of what makes English seem irrational.

Remember, simple memorization without context has only limited, short-term value for expanding your vocabulary. Do as many of the exercises below as you can to really get this SAT word down.

My friend and writer David Sims once led me to an interview of Louis Markos about finding and writing great sentences. Markos says the following about the difference between a good and a great sentence:

Most teachers can point out their students’ mistakes. But you’re wrong if you think that’s the way to make an excellent writer out of your student.

This is the first of a regular feature on the WriteAtHome blog: the SAT Word post. It is designed, of course, to help students prepare for the SAT, but it will help anyone interested in expanding their vocabulary.

I won’t be just posting an impressive word and its definition. There are scores of websites where you can get that. I’d like to present a word that commonly appears on the SAT and then provide some exercises that will help you to incorporate the word into your working vocabulary. Memorizing lists of words is only minimally helpful, after all, and only for the short term. With vocabulary words, the old expression applies: Use it or lose it.