Use of the Thesaurus in the Creative Writing Classroom

Abstract

It was my aim to establish that students often make mistakes in the appropriate use of words which have similar meanings because they have picked up these words from the thesaurus and not by reading them in context. Studies have shown that a learner can acquire the skills of appropriate use by practicing them in context and only if he reads enough will he learn the proper use of words. Student response to my questions showed that 4O% of students are not in a habit of reading books other than their text books regularly. Based on that, the opinions of their teachers, and my own observations as a teacher I came to the conclusion that many students make such errors because they are not in a habit of reading.