How to Learn Vocabulary for Any Exam

This article explains a practical framework for learning vocabulary that goes beyond rote memorisation. You’ll see how context, flashcards, and wordlists work together to build long-term retention for any exam.

---

When students start preparing for exams like GRE, GMAT, IELTS, or TOEFL, one of the biggest hurdles is vocabulary. The first instinct is often to grab a deck of flashcards or a ready-made wordlist.

You look at a word, its meaning, maybe an example sentence, and try to cram it into your memory. On the surface, this feels efficient. Thirty minutes a day, and in a couple of months you think you’ll be set.

The problem is, this approach rarely works for long-term retention. I’ve tried it myself as a student, and the results were disappointing. I would cram a dozen words today, but by tomorrow, half of them were gone from my head. The next day, even more slipped away. I was fighting a losing battle.

What eventually made them stick was learning them in context. I began reading newspapers but I chose only those reports where I already understood the bigger picture, like a cricket match I had watched the previous evening or an incident I had already heard about. Because I already knew the overall story, it was easier to focus on the unfamiliar words that appeared in the text.

Those are the words that have stayed with me, even today. I also kept a notebook where I wrote them down and reviewed them every few days. But more often than not, I didn’t even need to look back. Once I had met the word in a clear context, its meaning was almost impossible to forget.

That was my moment of realisation: when you meet a word inside a story, article, or even a TV show, you take in more than just its dictionary definition. You also learn how it’s naturally used, the tone it carries, the prepositions that follow it, the kind of sentences it belongs in, even the mood it conveys. All of this sinks deeper than simple memorisation ever could.

In fact, the meaning often became so obvious from the context that I didn’t need to check the dictionary nine times out of ten. And those were the words that stayed with me the longest.

For example, I still remember learning the word capitalize from an episode of Modern Family back in 2013. In that episode, Phil says to the camera: “Claire went out so I capitalized on the situation and did something to please her.” 

I didn’t have to look the word up in a dictionary. From the scene, I understood it meant “to take advantage of a situation.” More importantly, I also noticed that the word is usually followed by the preposition on. 

Even today, more than a decade later, that memory is clear. If I see a GRE question with a blank followed by “on,” and capitalize is one of the options, I’d know instantly which option to choose.

Let’s see an example: 

While many entrepreneurs fail to recognize fleeting opportunities, the most successful are those who quickly _______ on favorable circumstances, turning even minor advantages into major breakthroughs.

Options:
A. ruminate
B. capitalize
C. expound
D. vacillate
E. subsist

Explanation:

For a student who has learned vocabulary through reading, the preposition on immediately after the blank is a vital clue. Two of the options can be ruled out just on this basis alone. 

Option A, ruminate, is normally followed by over or about (for example, “She ruminated over the decision for hours”), and Option D, vacillate, is usually followed by between (as in “He vacillated between two career choices”). So, even if you did not know their exact meanings, you could eliminate them confidently.

Now, let’s consider the other three. Option C, expound, does take the preposition on (“She expounded on her theory”), but its meaning (“to explain in detail”) does not fit the sentence, which is about seizing opportunities quickly. Option E, subsist, also collocates with on (“They subsist on a meager diet”), but its meaning (“to barely survive”) is again completely out of place in this context.

That leaves Option B, capitalize. Not only does it naturally take the preposition on (“to capitalize on an opportunity”), but its meaning also fits the sentence perfectly. 

If you recall from the Phil and Clair’s example above, the word Capitalize means “to take advantage of a situation”. Putting this word in the blank space makes the sentence feel natural: while unsuccessful entrepreneurs miss opportunities, successful ones seize them. This alignment of both collocation and meaning makes capitalize the correct answer.

That’s the power of context. Stories create hooks in your brain, and the words tied to them stay longer.

Now, you might be wondering where do flash cards and wordlists fit in all this. Well, they fit in a framework, which I like to call The Vocabulary Cycle.

Let’s now see how you can learn vocabulary for any exam using the above approach.

Vocabulary Learning Ladder (VLL method)

This is what VLL looks like:

Step 1: Learn words in context

This is the foundation. Read widely and choose material that challenges you. Good newspapers like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, magazines like The Economist, and non-fiction books like Sapiens or Thinking, Fast and Slow are excellent sources. 

Don’t stick to one genre either. Instead, explore different fields. If you prefer audiovisual content, watch English shows or movies where the dialogue is rich in vocabulary. When you come across a new word, jot it down in a journal and revisit it regularly. 

This stage takes longer than flashcards, but the retention is far stronger. If you’re consistent, three to six months are enough to build a solid base.

Step 2: Use flashcards for testing and retention

Flashcards are not the starting point to learn vocabulary, they’re the middle step.

Once you’ve encountered and understood words in context, flashcards become powerful tools for checking whether you still remember them. You can use them for spaced repetition, which simply means revisiting the same words at increasing intervals, say after a day, then three days, then a week, then a month.

This way, the memory strengthens each time you recall it. At this stage, flashcards shift from being cramming devices to self-testing devices. They keep your knowledge fresh and prevent words from slipping away.

Step 3: Review with vocabulary lists

Once you feel confident with a strong set of words, it’s time to climb the final step. Pick up a popular exam wordlist like Barron’s 333 or Magoosh’s 1000. These lists help you spot any words you might have missed during your natural learning. 

You’ll likely find that many of the words are already familiar because you’ve seen them in articles or tested yourself with flashcards. The few new ones that remain will be easier to learn because your base is already strong.

By following this ladder (context first, flashcards second, lists last), you not only prepare for exam sections like reading comprehension or sentence completion but also build a vocabulary that feels natural. It won’t be about cramming anymore. 

Instead, you’ll have the confidence to recognise words instantly, use them correctly, and carry them with you long after the exam is over.

Take away

The key to mastering vocabulary for any exam is to stop treating it as a memorisation task and start seeing it as a process.

First, meet words in their natural context so they carry meaning, tone, and usage. Next, use flashcards not to cram but to reinforce and test what you’ve already learned. Finally, turn to wordlists as a safety net to catch anything you may have missed.

If you follow this cycle patiently, your vocabulary won’t just be exam-ready; it will stay with you long after the test is over.