Introduction   

           This educational application is intended as an aid to the students preparing for the GRE general test, to build their vocabulary skills.

            The application has a database of 3,600 words and their synonyms. Each word and it’s synonym(s) is displayed in alphabetical order. The user can browse the list automatically, using the Browse and Stop buttons. A Navigation Bar is provided by the application to help the user to browse the word-list manually.

The user can move onto the next word as per his wish, after he has finished memorizing the current word. The ability to jump to the first word starting with a particular letter is also provided.  This enables the user to start browsing midway through the database.

            A facility is provided to enable the user to mark any word as a tough word, and to browse only the tough words instead of all the words.

            The user is also allowed to edit entries, so that he can add any alternate meaning, or change the synonym to what he/she feels is more appropriate.

            New words can be added to the database. The word is automatically placed in it’s correct alphabetical position.

These facilities allow users to customize the application to their specific skill set.  

A unique feature of this application is the voice capability it provides. A button is provided which when pressed, the current word and its meaning are spoken aloud through the multimedia PC speakers. We have made use of the Microsoft Speech API to provide this useful resource.  

In addition to these revision facilities, a timed test facility is also provided. A specified number of words are picked at random from the database. They are displayed to the user along with 5 alternatives, to be answered in the given time. The user’s responses are noted and at the end of the test he/she can view the results. The application keeps track of the number of times a word has been used in a test, so that repetition of the same words is avoided. The user can review the test for the purpose of self-evaluation .If the user desires, the current test score along with 4 previous scores on the test, along with the average time taken per word, are displayed to allow the user to judge his progress on the word-list.