I told of my attempts to present vocabulary in a discrete unit, with an old-school focus on word parts Latinate and other, this to help student figure out meanings of words.  "Astronaut", for example, is a combo of  "star" and "sailor".  Not only is it a neat example, it's lovely and metaphorical.  "Fraternity" and it root "brother" gives access to "Sor-", "Pat-", "Mat-" words, and so on.  My approach sorta kinda worked, with first year students having the most fun with an exercise that allowed them to make up new words using various incongruous word parts.

One teacher at the CC conference lobbied for reinforcing vocabulary development through attention to diction when evaluating student essays.   This is a point well taken, and can work well if students understand what "diction" is, and also know  that it's going to be a part of their essay's grade; however, I would suggest waiting until later in the semester to use diction as a serious grading tool.  In the early weeks, the focus probably ought to be on basic rhetorical strategies--how  they are/are not  organizing information on the page–with a nod toward diction that "needs improvement."

In the break-out session where we discussed vocabulary, I sent around  a piece of paper and asked the teachers to jot down an important  word or two that first year college students should know.  Herewith that list:

analyze (good entry into the other rhetorical modes, such "illustrate" "compare/contrast" etc)

annotated

citation (as well as "cite")

cliche'

dichotomy  (excellent conceptual word)

perfunctory

succinctly

synthesis/synthesize (a must concept for college students)

HELP!  (good humor...)

affect/effect  (verb and noun forms)

ubiquitous

plutocracy

explicit

implicit (also works with "inductive")

infer/imply  ("infer" is another key conceptual term)

discourse

a lot  (hey--that's two words!)

digress

syllabus

medieval

systemic  (I  liked this choice a lot)

sensory

pedagogy  (this word is a puzzlement to most college students)

procrastination

your  (as contrasted to "you're," I'm guessing)

ideology  (very important  word)

rhetoric  (another of those slippery words)

diction  (yes!)

syntax  (key term for a grammar and usage approach)

trite

diligent

contemplative (nice choice)

monolithic (excellent!  All about keeping an open mind--or not)

essay  ("assay"--to take a  journey; to attempt)

define  (one would hope, but one of those words that bears revisiting)

organization

expository (another scary writing term, but friendly when defined)

connotation  (excellent choice)

plagiarism (say no  more)

assessment (as in "self-";  I like it)

reflection (nice pairing with contemplative)

recursive  (good upper  level diction choice)

flexibility

parody (great choice. Can open the door to "satire," "irony" and the like)

epiphany (my all-time favorite literary term, with roots as a religious metaphor)

fallacy (very fine!  Kicks open the  door to  "logical argumentation")

illustrate

discuss

cause

effect (noun)

affect  (verb)

loan (noun; Ben Franklin didn't call them "Loaning Libraries")

lend (verb)

paradigm (my choice.  It gets us to "paradigm shift", which is what true education is all about.)

We didn't get a full "100 Words Every College Student  Should Know" list, but this is a good start.  If you have words to add to the list,  email them  to me.  Use "Vocab List" in the subject line.  wweaver@paulbunyan.net.  Thanks to Barbara Rochon of Bay College for reminding me to post this list!