The thought of sitting for a four-hour exam is intimidating all on its own. The idea of studying enough to do well is even more daunting. It’s difficult to succeed on the SATs when you have limited information about what will show up on the test. To help ease your anxiety and improve your score on the reading and writing portions of the SATs, we have some helpful tips for mastering SAT vocabulary.

Use Flashcards

Flashcards are the way to go when you’re trying to learn as many new words as possible. Quizzing yourself requires actively recalling definitions. To that end, flashcards make it easier to go through your list of vocabulary words more quickly. If you want to really pound the words into your head, you can write out definitions as you go through your flashcards to help you recall them more effectively. Despite not knowing whether the words you study will show up on your particular version of the SAT, this method is especially helpful for looking over vocabulary and retaining what you studied.

Take Practice Tests

Whether you attend an SAT Prep class or simply buy a test prep book on your own, familiarizing yourself with SAT question formats and vocabulary words is a surefire way to improve your reading and writing scores. Rather than simply memorizing definitions, practice tests force you to find the meaning in context and practice your deduction skills. Taking practice tests is a great way to gauge your progress and identify best practices for studying.

Repetition Is Key

Yes, spending only a night or two looking over your SAT vocabulary words would be a lot faster and much less stressful. But failing to roll out a long-term persistent studying effort will come back to haunt you on exam day. Practice makes perfect, so continuing to study these words over multiple days is crucial for improving your score. Not only will it engrain the knowledge of the subject matter into your brain, but it will also help you move through the reading and writing portions of the exam more quickly.

Read, Read, & Read Some More

What better way to expose yourself to new words and their meanings than by reading? Considering the exam will test students on their ability to identify definitions based on context, a great way to prepare is to read books on your own and find words you don’t recognize. Learning to pay closer attention while you read and actively think about the meaning behind each word will train your mind to do the same on the exam. Make things easier on yourself by treating every book like an exam section.

Diversify Your Vocabulary With SAT Test Prep

There is no definitive study guide with a list of every word you might be tested on, but the skills above are designed to help you learn as many words as possible and deduce the meaning of unfamiliar terms based on context. For more tips and trick on mastering the non-numerical sections of the SATs, subscribe to our education blog today!