UW-Eau Claire news release

Josh Abramson

EAU CLAIRE — As University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire alumnus Josh Abramson began preparing for the Graduate Record Examinations, he knew an understanding of vocabulary would be essential. Pouring through reputable websites, Abramson noticed inconsistencies, poor visual layouts and poor sentence examples.

He realized then that a user-friendly book designed to help students prepare for the GRE would be beneficial, Abramson said of his decision to create such a publication.

After a year of writing, weeks of editing and some helpful feedback from family and friends, Abramson published "Definitions Made Simple" through lulu.com. Publishing the book without help from professionals or editors added to his sense of accomplishment, he said.

"It was gratifying knowing that I was the only person to write this book," said Abramson. "No editors or other professionals had any say in this project. Some friends and family reviewed parts of it and gave feedback. However, I wrote the sentences. The project is solely mine."

Abramson's book has approximately 1,200 words and idioms. In the future, he hopes to write revised editions of his dictionary.

"I want to continue to add words that are useful to everyone," Abramson said. "Being precise is a long process, especially because these websites make it a Sisyphean task sometimes. My book takes all of the difficulty out, and makes learning and using words as simple as 1, 2, 3."

Abramson didn't start his college career expecting to become a writer. Rather, he was focused on playing baseball during his first semester at Creighton University in Nebraska.

"Upon realizing the arduous nature of playing Division 1 athletics, I decided to move back home and focus strictly on academics," Abramson of his decision to transfer to UW-Eau Claire. "Finance was always my program of choice. Since UW-Eau Claire had a good program close to my hometown, the school was a good fit for me."

After graduating in 2006 with a degree in finance, Abramson accepted a retail management position with Abercrombie and Fitch. Four years later, he accepted a job in management at the Target in Eau Claire. He soon decided to go back to school to pursue a business degree in entrepreneurship. After graduating from UW-Eau Claire with his second degree in May, he plans to attend law school and earn an MBA.

This spring, Abramson hopes to create an application for the iPhone, which would allow people to look up words on the go.

"The iPhone is very popular, and having an app for it would be such a great accomplishment," said Abramson. "I figure this would be another great way to spread my project."

For more information about the book, go to lulu.com or contact Abramson at 715-338-5476 or abramsoj@uwec.edu.

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JT/JB/DW