The Importance of Vocabulary

Vocabulary is an essential component of the SAT. Sure, mastery of definitions is important for sentence completions. However, a great vocabulary is also an asset for success on the entire test. For example, many times there will be a keyword in the sentence itself. How can we complete a sentence we don't fully understand?

Often, difficult words will show up as the answers to passage based reading questions. At other times, difficult words will be in the passage itself. I have even noticed that such words like "respectively" will sometimes show up in a long winded math word problem. Of course, almost immediately, my students will ask me, "What does respectively mean?"

Even in the writing section, a sentence error might contain the improper use of a word.

In one actual 2010 SAT, I counted at least 75 important words to know. Imagine the student who goes into the exam knowing most of these words! What an edge he or she would have.

Ways to Remember New Words

Play rhyme games in order to remember the meaning of new words. For example, one of my students was curious about the word "eke" which was the word of the day last week from dictionary.com. The standard dictionary definition of eke is to obtain with difficulty. But this is a tough concept to grasp just from a definition. So why not be creative and invent a sentence which will help such as, I eke by when I squeak by. When your sentence is short, original and to the point, you will always remember new words.

A Wonderful Website for Flashcards

Quizlet is a wonderful free Internet site for students. Many students often ask me what the best way to learn SAT vocabulary. While there is no surefire way, the use of flashcards is an efficient way to increase your word power. Quizlet allows you to create your own SAT vocabulary flashcards. The site displays many different groups of words including the 100 most popular SAT vocabulary words as well as the 250 most difficult words. These are but a few of the word sets the site offers. The link is http://quizlet.com/