SAT Vocabulary – Words You MUST Know

More and more words that I consider basic to anyone’s vocabulary are beyond most of my students.

I’d like to continue to complain about the poor state of language skills in today’s kids, but I think it would be more productive if I worked to improve it.

So here are a few words you MUST know for the SATs – and to be considered minimally conversant with English.  (Look for more words in the coming days and weeks.)  If you don’t know what they mean, look them up.  You do have a dictionary ap on your phone, don’t you?

peril (you know this one drives me crazy – it’s in the Star Spangled Banner, for goodness sake!)

ambivalent

inconclusive

erroneous

nostalgic

detrimental

renown

precede

anachronism

That should hold you for a few days.  Please don’t make me give you a quiz!

Wendy Segal

http://www.wendysegaltutoring.com

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Last Minute Advice: Taking the ACT

The ACT isn’t a strategy test, but there are a few pointers to remember.

1.  Work quickly.  The ACT is a speed test.  Don’t let any one question slow you down.

2.  Answer every question as you see it.  Don’t leave a question out, hoping to return to it later.  Put something down, even if it’s a wild guess.  If you circle the question number, you’ll know which questions to return to IF you do happen to have time at the end of the section.

3.  In the English (grammar) section, don’t be afraid to put “No Change.”  It’s a more frequent answer than “No Error” is on the SATs.

4.  In the math section, remember that you can’t rely on the drawings.  Don’t presume that the figure that looks like a right triangle actually is one.  Figure it out for yourself.

5.  In the reading section, save passage 2/ Social Science for last.  Most kids don’t do particularly well on that section and it can suck up your time.  (If you have done practice tests and you are weak in a different section, save that one for last.)

6.  In the science section, save the “student 1/ student 2” passage for last.  It usually is the most time consuming.

7.  For the essay, use the “Persuasive Essay” format we’ve discussed (“Here’s what they think, here’s where they’re wrong, here’s what I think.”)  Use lots of examples.  They like their essays long!

Don’t forget to tell me how you did when the scores come back!

Wendy Segal

http://www.wendysegaltutoring.com