Words Can Have Several Meanings

Knowing that common words have several meanings is a valuable tool towards solving passage based reading vocabulary in context questions. For example the word mean can be used as follows: "Mommy was mean to me!" or "What does that word mean?" or "86 degrees is the mean temperature for NYC in the summertime" or "Danny plays a mean saxophone". See what I mean? No pun intended. Do not fall for the first definition that comes to mind. Read the passage and once you fully understand how a particular word is used in the sentence IN CONTEXT, then predict what you think the answer should be and then find that answer! The ability to master these questions will greatly bolster a student's SAT reading score.

These Two Types of SAT Questions Are Similar

Sentence Completions and Vocabulary in Context questions are both included in the Critical Reading Section. The techniques used to solve sentence completions are very similar to the approach a student must take toward Vocabulary in Context questions. In my previous post, I urged the student to try and predict in his or her own words how a sentence should be completed. Well, this is especially true with these two question types. Before predicting a Vocabulary in context question, go back to the reading passage and read around the indicated sentence, ie. read the sentence before the actual sentence, then read the sentence, then read the next sentence. Finally, before predicting, realize that most of the time the word in question will have several meanings and the answer will usually be a secondary or third meaning. More about how words have several meanings in my next post.