Academic Vocabulary: Academic Words - Olsen Amy E. 2012

Make Your Own Word Maps

Making a word map is a great way to visualize the meaning, synonym, and antonym for a word. By creating the map, you become more familiar with different aspects of the word. You can find the synonyms and antonyms in a dictionary or thesaurus, in some of the Word Lists or Self-Tests in this text, or come up with your own. To test yourself using a word map, cover one or more of the circles around the vocabulary word; then state the information in the covered circle(s). Another method is to cover the vocabulary word to see if you can identify the word using the meaning, synonym, and antonym. You can also ask a friend or classmate to cover up the information and quiz you on the word maps.

For some words, you may want to use one (or more) of the options below if it will help you better understand and remember the meaning of the word:

1. Write more than one synonym or antonym.

2. Put the part of speech under the vocabulary word.

3. Include a circle that gives an example of someone or something that applies to the word, such as who would do or use it.

4. Choose different colors for the meaning, synonym, and antonym, and outline or fill in the circle in those colors.

To get started, you can photocopy the templates in this text or use a blank sheet of paper to make your word maps. Examples that illustrate some of the options using an adjective, verb, and noun follow.

Synonym: left circle Antonym: right circle

Vocabulary word: center circle Meaning: bottom circle

Note: For some nouns it may be tricky to find an antonym. If it becomes too difficult to find or think of one, don't stress about it.

WORD MAPS