Vocabulary is heavily tested on the SAT, but if words like "exacerbate," "verisimilitude" and "paucity" don't form a part of your daily conversations, how can you prepare yourself to succeed on the exam's vocab questions? The answer is that you'll need to mix memorization skills with test-taking techniques.
Start building your vocabulary now
Expanding your vocabulary takes time and effort. Rather than trying to cram at the last minute, start studying now. This vocabulary list, which contains our carefully curated list of top 50 commonly tested words and their synonyms, is a great place to start. Here are a few other helpful ways to boost your vocabulary.
- Read, read, and then read some more. Undoubtedly the best
way to learn new words is to read, since you are then able to see how the words are used in context. Preferably, read material that is a little challenging but that you find interesting. As you see unfamiliar words look them up and write them down in a vocabulary journal or on flashcards. - Create flashcards. Use Quizlet or make physical flashcards so that you can keep track of the new words you learn. On each flashcard, write the word on one side and the definition plus a sentence using the word on the other side. Be sure to study your flashcards regularly!
- Practice online. Check out vocabulary sites like Freerice. You’ll see a word followed by four answer choices, and you’ll need to choose the answer that is a synonym of the word given. You’ll start with easy words, but as you answer questions correctly, you will see more challenging ones—or you can simply adjust the difficulty level at the start. Plus, for every question you answer correctly, the site will donate ten grains of rice to the World Food Programme.
Techniques for answering vocabulary questions
On the dSAT, vocabulary is tested in the form of "words in context" questions. Students must either fill in the blanks or identify what a word most nearly means, based on clues from the passage. The following techniques are useful for answering questions that test vocabulary in the context of a sentence:
- Look for clues. As you read the passage, look for context clues that indicate tone, relationships between ideas, or other information about the meaning of the missing word.
- Predict the answer. Vocabulary questions rarely have one glaringly obvious correct answer choice. Instead, two or more answer choices may seem reasonable at first glance. If you immediately jump to the answer choices and start plugging them into the sentence, you may not readily be able to decide which answer is correct. In fact, you could probably make a case for every single answer choice if you really wanted to. This is because every answer choice is designed to sound appealing if you don’t pay attention to the context. Instead, try covering up those tricky answer choices, and read through the passage. When you get to the underlined part, say the first word that pops into your head. (Seriously, trust your instincts on this one!) Nine times out of ten, you’ll come up with a word very similar to the correct answer. Often, you can even just steal a word from elsewhere in the paragraph.
- Use the process of elimination. Occasionally, you’ll encounter a word or two that you genuinely don’t know. If this happens, do not freak out! The SAT will intentionally include these words to intimidate you and get you to use up extra time. To avoid this pitfall, use the process of elimination. If one of the words you know fits the sentence, choose that one. If none of the familiar words works, choose the unfamiliar word. Don’t eliminate a choice just because it contains vocabulary you don’t understand, though! Often, you’ll still be able to find the correct answer even if you don’t know all the words. In the event that vocabulary prevents you from making any progress, the best thing you can do is guess and move on. Time lost fruitlessly trying to guess the meanings of words you’ve never seen can do real damage to your overall score.
Need more individualized advice?
The recommendations above are general suggestions. If you have specific questions, reach out to our experts here. We’re happy to help in any way we can.
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