For many students, one of the most frightening parts of the SAT is the one with SAT vocabulary words. It’s understandable: the words that we don’t use every day can be confusing. Yet, knowing SAT words is essential for overall success on the test. We are going to take a look at what students say and what tutors suggest, as well as overview the best tactics to build your vocabulary and get rid of stress. Keep reading!
Note: If you are looking for a long list of the SAT words you simply must know, here you go. Still, in this post, we’ll go in-depth and check the vocabulary students found particularly challenging to deal with on their first digital SAT exam. Plus, we’ll peek at what tutors have to say about that.
SAT Vocabulary: What Students Say
Source: Freepik
Let’s start with a students’ discussion. This year, many have already passed the exam, so it’s worth hearing them. You will need to apply your SAT word knowledge in the next sections:
Source: Reddit
Some students believe you just have to learn many words by heart. Many hope this will help them decide in no time what some words in context mean. At the same time, there are students who believe that you don’t have to study word by word; you just need to immerse yourself in proper reading materials:
Source: Reddit
None of these approaches is wrong, as none of them is universally right. However, the intensity of learning new words matters. According to the people participating in the Reddit forum, some of the SAT hard words encountered on the first digital test on March 9 are the following:
- Banal: boring, ordinary, not original.
“He made a series of banal remarks that just wasted everyone’s time.”
“His technical painting skills are high, but his approach to his subjects is so banal that his artwork ends up instantly forgettable.”
- Dogmatic: holding certain principles and opinions to be incontrovertibly true.
“He’s a dogmatic Marxist who won’t allow any deviations from or refinements of Marx’s original ideas.”
“He tried to give his opinions without being dogmatic.”
- Indigenous: native, originating from the same place they are found today.
“Native Americans, Eskimos/Aleuts/Inuits, and Native Hawaiians are the indigenous populations of the United States.”
“This plant is originally indigenous to East Asia but is now grown all over the world.”
- Vacillate: to go back and forth between two opinions or positions, refusing to choose one.
“While the president vacillated, many soldiers continued to die.”
“As an adult, he vacillated between the religious faith of his childhood and the ardent atheism of his high school years.”
- Exhaustive: really comprehensive; examining/considering everything.
“After an exhaustive search, they managed to find the best candidate for the position.”
“She’s undergone exhaustive testing, but we’re no closer to figuring out what’s making her sick.”
- Superficial: only on the surface; not deep or thorough.
“The doctor said this was only a superficial wound and should heal quickly.”
“She’s incredibly superficial — she only cares about her looks.”
- Preclude: to make another possibility impossible, to prevent the presence, existence, or occurrence of something.
“His disability won’t preclude him from living a normal and active life.”
“To preclude any misunderstanding, let’s put this all into writing.”
- Detractor: a critic, someone who disparages someone or something.
“You shouldn’t focus too much on your detractors.”
“Despite her overwhelming popularity, Taylor Swift still has many detractors.”
There are big chances you will face some of these words on your SAT. This small vocabulary was formed entirely based on students’ experience, so you can try and memorize words from this list.
Low-, Mid-, and Top-Frequency SAT Words: Tutors’ Opinion
Source: Freepik
Tutors are trying to help students in many ways, for example, by compiling the whole experience and summarizing it. This is what one of the tutors did: he created vocabulary lists. Essentially, he put together a list of words encountered over the last five years of his teaching of accelerated ESL to college-bound international students.
The goal was to create resources that would allow a curriculum planner, a teacher, or a learner to cover a significant amount of relevant vocabulary that would be applicable in both classroom tasks and the SAT, avoiding rote memorization.
Now, there is a top-frequency and a mid-frequency words list. Together, they encompass roughly 70-80% of the vocabulary from the past SATs. When combined with the low-frequency words list, they cover approximately 94% of the SAT vocabulary. Studying these words is a great path to systematic vocabulary improvement.
Notably, there are 450 top-frequency hardest SAT words. Do you have to follow the full list of words and memorize them one by one? Of course not. There are wiser approaches.
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How to Learn the Hardest SAT Words?
Source: Freepik
There are many ways to work on enhancing your systematic vocabulary. From learning the list of difficult SAT words to courses, flashcards, and other activities, you have a lot of methods that work. Let’s have a look at them:
- Use flashcards. This is a classic study tool for a reason. Write the word on one side and the definition and a sentence with the word in context on the other. Seeing the word in action will solidify your understanding and make memorization less painful. Learning words with flashcards is a timeless mnemonic device you can still use. Create a set of flashcards or use those made by tutors.
- Try spaced repetition. Spaced repetition, where you revisit information at increasing intervals, is a powerful tool for long-term memorization. There are plenty of free flashcard apps that use spaced repetition algorithms, which makes them a great alternative to rote memorization with traditional flashcards.
- Study in groups. Studying in a group can be a fun and effective way to learn vocabulary. Learn the definitions first, then quiz each other, discuss strategies, and create your own silly mnemonics (memory aids) to remember the words. The more engaged you are, the less stressful studying will feel. Of course, this is not perfect advice for solo learners, but even they can try to join a group or study with a friend.
- Read, read, and read. There is no better way to boost your vocabulary than reading. This is the most natural thing when it comes to enriching your vocabulary! Read challenging materials like news articles and classic literature. Pay attention to how unfamiliar words are used and try to infer their meaning from the context. A full list of hard SAT words will seem easier to understand if you have seen them before.
Try to find the ideal way your memory can absorb new words and their meanings. Learning activities can be different for everyone. Check different mnemonic devices. If nothing works well for you, go back to the safe strategy and continue learning with flashcards.
Conclusion
Consistent practice is key. Dedicate a small amount of time each day to vocabulary building, and you’ll be amazed by the results! With dedication and the right strategies, you can transform the SAT vocabulary monsters into your greatest allies. If you need guidance, find a tutor. With the right teaching tools, many things you fear will vanish from your learning routine, and you’ll feel physical relief. Good luck!
