On the ACT and SAT, vocabulary-in-context questions will directly test whether you can determine meaning from context, but the passages themselves will indirectly test your ability to do so as well. With these words, it is important to know not only their literal definitions but also their connotations, or secondary meanings. Consider the words consistent, emerge, admit, perform, require and maintain each one can be used in a variety of contexts (I have to admit, I was shocked when I was admitted to all of the colleges I applied to). The vocabulary words tested on standardized tests are known as “tier-two” words: high-frequency words that often have multiple meanings.
This ability will prove useful on the reading sections of both tests. Increasing the amount of reading you do will also improve the most important skill you need to solve vocabulary questions on the ACT and SAT: understanding words in context. 😉 Of course, there tons of dictionaries accessible online, but my main point here is that you must develop the habit of looking up unfamiliar words and logging their definitions. Plus, walking around with a heavy backpack - known as “rucking” in the military (bonus vocab alert!) - gives you get the added benefit of burning extra calories and building your back muscles. I know the idea of lugging around a dictionary sounds outdated, but the students who I’ve seen improve the most usually have a dictionary in their backpack. Have a dictionary at your immediate disposal You will instinctively understand the meanings of some words from context, but you’ll often need a dictionary to look up definitions. As you read, you will gain exposure to new words, which you should log in a vocabulary journal. I know you’ve heard this before and while reading every day is much easier said than done, it is one of the best ways to improve your vocabulary. There’s no easy answer to this question, but let me provide you with some helpful tips to put you on the right path. But lately, many students have asked me, “What’s the best approach to improving my vocabulary?” It’s commonly understood that a strong command of language will always yield the best results for the Reading, Writing & Language/English, and Essay sections of the ACT and SAT. Understanding a word from context is a subtle technique, but the ability to do so reflects the reality of how most vocabulary appears in text and conversations. Now, when it comes to vocabulary on the ACT and SAT, the name of the game is context. As you can see, this is essentially a fill-in-the-blank vocabulary question, so knowing the definitions of many different words could be useful in this situation.
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