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The Merriam-Webster’s Vocabulary Builder is exactly what it says on the cover, a book to build your vocabulary published by Merriam-Webster, an American publishing company. The book can be used by a diverse group of people, from experts to people with just a moderate knowledge of English, to enhance their vocabulary.

The book contains a lot of words that are used in standardised English tests. Hence, it has been a favourite among not only students, but also adults seeking certification of their English proficiency. The Vocabulary Builder focuses on thousands of words and introduces thousands more, and includes quizzes to test the student's progress (Spears, D M (2005, p. 19).

The vocabulary builder gives educational and interesting details of English words, especially English words derived from Greek and Latin. The words are arranged based on the root words, for easier comprehension and better organisation of related words; and each word is explained clearly and distinctly.

Often, exciting and fun facts are included about words, to enrich the experience of the reader. The words are used in several phrases and sentences. These serve as examples to illustrate the different usage and connotation of the words.

Merriam-Webster’s book is organised into study units for convenience of learning. The book contains thousands of "high quality" English words, with their meanings explained precisely. The example phrases and sentences in the book are chosen with great care to clearly indicate the purpose and usage of the words.

Each series of words is followed by quizzes and exercises to test your retention skills and refresh your memory. The organisation of words based on their origin, the usage of them in sentences, and the quizzes and exercises that follow, directly ensure that you really preserve the words in your memory.

The vocabulary builder is a relatively inexpensive book and is widely available in just about any good book store and library. It is available in several editions, the first published in 1994 and the latest published in 2002. The book can be used as an instructional book for language classes, a self-study book, or a reference book. There is also a CD-ROM based on the book, for people looking for computerised resources to augment the material in the book.

No single book can give a complete vocabulary coverage of all the important words in the English language, and the Merriam-Webster Vocabulary Builder is no exception. A person would have to read a number of books to have at least an appreciable knowledge of many of the important words used in English. However, the Vocabulary Builder is one of the best and most popular books available for improving your English vocabulary.

REFERENCES

Spears, D M 2005, Developing Critical Reading Skills, 7th edn, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Two Penn Plaza, NY.

University of Michigan 1997, Microcomputer Abstracts, vol. 18, no. 1-2, Learned Information Inc.