Sentence completion is probably the hardest part of the SAT Reading section for most test takers. No worries: I have created a SAT Vocabulary Word List in alphabetical order.
Adamant- obstinate, stubborn
Affliction- suffering
Anemic- weak, insipid
Anomalous- irregular, abnormal
Ballast- weight for stability, especially in a character or conduct
Bicameral- two legislative chambers
Bivouac- A temporary encampment often in an unsheltered area
Bucolic- rural, pastoral
Cacophonous/cacophony - jarring, incongruous, having a harsh, unpleasant sound,
Convalesce- recover
Cahoots- Questionable collaboration; secret partnership
Cajole(ments)- coax, persuade
Dearth- lack
Debauched- morally wrong
Debauchery- wickedness, depravity, extreme indulgence in sensual pleasures
Debacle- disaster
Efficacy- Power or capacity to produce a desired effect; effectiveness
Effervescence- fizz, bubbles
Efface- wipe out
Efficacious- effective
Facade- An artificial or deceptive front
Farcical- ridiculous, ludicrous
Fastidious- fussy, picky, choosey
Faux- fake, artificial, imitation
Gauze- haze
Geniality- friendliness
Glib- persuasive
Gregarious- outgoing, sociable
Heeding- pay attention to
Hegemony- domination, control
Highbrow- intellectual
Homogenization- to blend into a uniform mixture
Immaculate- perfect, clean, tidy
Impartial- neutral
Impeccable- perfect
Imperceptible- hardly noticeable
Latent- hidden, dormant
Lauded- praised
Lax- not tense, slack
Levied- tax, charge
Maelstrom- powerful whirlpool
Magnanimity- nobility, fairness
Malfeasance- wrongdoing especially by public officials
Malignant- evil, hateful
Naysayer- one who denies, refuses, opposes, or is skeptical or cynical about something
Nonchalant- casual, indifferent, unconcern
Neurotic- anxious, fearful
Noxious- harmful, toxic
Ominous- warning, threat
Omnipresent- present in all places at all times
Ostensibly- apparently
Ornery- bad-tempered
Paltriness- Lacking in importance or worth, Wretched
Panegyric- Warm, glowing praise
Panache- style, flamboyant
Pantomime- Communication by means of gesture and facial expression
Reneged- go back on
Reprieve- To bring relief to, pardon
Repudiation- denial
Reproach- disapproval, admonish
Saccade- twitch
Scant- slight, barely sufficient
Scrutinized- inspect with great care, examine, study
Scrupulous- careful, reliable
Telegenic- well suited to television
Tenacious- stubborn
Tenuous- having little substance or strength, weak
Tepid- lukewarm, lacking in passion
Unction- The act of anointing (ointment) as part of a religious, ceremonial, or healing ritual
Unequivocally- clearly, plainly
Unfathomably- Difficult or impossible to understand
Unilateral- one sided
Vindictive- spiteful, unforgiving
Virulent- marked by a rapid, severe, and malignant course
Virile- Of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an adult male
Visceral – natural, instinctive
Wrest- extort, extract
Windfall – bonus, extra
Whimsy- sudden turn of the mind
Zealous- enthusiastic, obsessive
Don't take the SAT twice, get a great score the first time!
It's well known fact that over fifty percent of test takers take the SAT again after their first time. Now after taking the SAT, you usually have a good idea of the test experience, that is, what kind of questions are asked, time constraints, difficulty and so on.
After taking the SAT once, you can bet on the fact you don't want to take it again. But what can you do to make sure you get a high score the first time. You've done all the tests in the practice book, memorized as much vocab as you can and don't know what else to do to increase your score?
No worries, I found a great tool that will help you boost your score no matter how much you think you "peaked" on the SAT. This book also offers something those Kaplan and Princeton Review books don't offer, a money back guarantee!
This book is also great if you have taken the SAT once and want to drive up your score for the second go at the SAT(and prevent the College board from taking any more of your money!)
After taking the SAT once, you can bet on the fact you don't want to take it again. But what can you do to make sure you get a high score the first time. You've done all the tests in the practice book, memorized as much vocab as you can and don't know what else to do to increase your score?
No worries, I found a great tool that will help you boost your score no matter how much you think you "peaked" on the SAT. This book also offers something those Kaplan and Princeton Review books don't offer, a money back guarantee!
This book is also great if you have taken the SAT once and want to drive up your score for the second go at the SAT(and prevent the College board from taking any more of your money!)
Acing the SAT Essay Even If You're a Bad Writer
A Step by Step Guide to Beating the SAT and Getting a High Score
As if the multiple choice questions weren't enough, the New SAT requires test takers to provide a sample of their writing in the form of an essay. You might think to yourself: "I'm a horrible writer. How the heck will I be able to get through this portion of the test?"
Don't worry. Even if you consider yourself to be a "horrible writer," the SAT essay portion is the easiest portion of the test that a test taker can "train" for. The SAT essay counts for one third of your Writing section score and it should be the easiest section to do well on.
Format:
You have twenty five minutes. Therefore you should aim to write a 5 paragraph essay with an introduction, 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion. Five minutes a paragraph? Think that's impossible? Read on to find out.
Introduction
The essay prompt will usually have a question with two sides to it. Your job is to pick a side and explain why you chose it.
Sample Prompt:
Do you think the government has too much power or do you think the government has to little power?
So now its up to you to pick which side you want to support. It doesn't matter if you don't agree with the side you decide to write about. You should pick the side that you know about the most. If you can think of many examples on why the government has too much power, then go ahead and write about that.
After deciding what side to support you will then have to pick examples to support your side. Three good examples or two great ones is usually the right amount. Avoid just doing one. Most importantly avoid hypothetical examples. Make sure your example are from movies, books, or recent events.
Make sure you have at least one or two examples from books, movies, and recent events. That way you have space for the easiest example: the personal example. The personal example allows you to use events from your life to support the side you picked. Maybe your dad is a teacher and he feels the government has too much power in determining how science should be taught in schools. Write about that. Your dad not a scientist? Hmm, but how would the college board know if you said he was? This is the beauty of the personal experience example. You can make up something and use it as a personal experience. Just try to not make it obvious that you're smudging the truth. For example, don't say your dad is a top level professor at Harvard. Just keep it simple and say he's a high school teacher.
So in your introduction you should say: what side you picked and examples you will use to support your side.
Body
If you have three examples, it should be one paragraph per example. If you have two examples, it should be one longer paragraph for each example. Start each paragraph by stating why or how your example supports your side. (the topic sentence) Then go into detail for 4 or 5 sentences. Your last sentence should summarize the topic sentence. Repeat for the rest of the body paragraphs.
Example:
From my personal experience, I think the government has too much power. (topic sentence) My dad is a science teacher in a high school. Recently, he was told by his supervisor that he should incorporate religion in his teaching of science. His supervisor told him there was government pressure to do so. As a science teacher my dad wanted to teach only science and not religion. However he couldn't teach what he wanted to because of the power of the government.(summary of topic sentence)
Conclusion
Always to make sure you have a conclusion. It is the most important part of the essay. If you have five minutes left and you're just starting you third example, forget it. It better to have 2 examples and a conclusion than 3 examples and no conclusion. The conclusion should just summarize your whole essay. State which side you support in the first line. Then say something like:”through these examples (list the examples), I have showed why I supported the side I picked (say the side)
As if the multiple choice questions weren't enough, the New SAT requires test takers to provide a sample of their writing in the form of an essay. You might think to yourself: "I'm a horrible writer. How the heck will I be able to get through this portion of the test?"
Don't worry. Even if you consider yourself to be a "horrible writer," the SAT essay portion is the easiest portion of the test that a test taker can "train" for. The SAT essay counts for one third of your Writing section score and it should be the easiest section to do well on.
Format:
You have twenty five minutes. Therefore you should aim to write a 5 paragraph essay with an introduction, 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion. Five minutes a paragraph? Think that's impossible? Read on to find out.
Introduction
The essay prompt will usually have a question with two sides to it. Your job is to pick a side and explain why you chose it.
Sample Prompt:
Do you think the government has too much power or do you think the government has to little power?
So now its up to you to pick which side you want to support. It doesn't matter if you don't agree with the side you decide to write about. You should pick the side that you know about the most. If you can think of many examples on why the government has too much power, then go ahead and write about that.
After deciding what side to support you will then have to pick examples to support your side. Three good examples or two great ones is usually the right amount. Avoid just doing one. Most importantly avoid hypothetical examples. Make sure your example are from movies, books, or recent events.
Make sure you have at least one or two examples from books, movies, and recent events. That way you have space for the easiest example: the personal example. The personal example allows you to use events from your life to support the side you picked. Maybe your dad is a teacher and he feels the government has too much power in determining how science should be taught in schools. Write about that. Your dad not a scientist? Hmm, but how would the college board know if you said he was? This is the beauty of the personal experience example. You can make up something and use it as a personal experience. Just try to not make it obvious that you're smudging the truth. For example, don't say your dad is a top level professor at Harvard. Just keep it simple and say he's a high school teacher.
So in your introduction you should say: what side you picked and examples you will use to support your side.
Body
If you have three examples, it should be one paragraph per example. If you have two examples, it should be one longer paragraph for each example. Start each paragraph by stating why or how your example supports your side. (the topic sentence) Then go into detail for 4 or 5 sentences. Your last sentence should summarize the topic sentence. Repeat for the rest of the body paragraphs.
Example:
From my personal experience, I think the government has too much power. (topic sentence) My dad is a science teacher in a high school. Recently, he was told by his supervisor that he should incorporate religion in his teaching of science. His supervisor told him there was government pressure to do so. As a science teacher my dad wanted to teach only science and not religion. However he couldn't teach what he wanted to because of the power of the government.(summary of topic sentence)
Conclusion
Always to make sure you have a conclusion. It is the most important part of the essay. If you have five minutes left and you're just starting you third example, forget it. It better to have 2 examples and a conclusion than 3 examples and no conclusion. The conclusion should just summarize your whole essay. State which side you support in the first line. Then say something like:”through these examples (list the examples), I have showed why I supported the side I picked (say the side)
Hi Everyone.
Hi everyone. I've had a long and hard year at Cornell. I had piles and piles of schoolwork but somehow I was able to get through all of it. Thankfully, summer's here and I will be free to provide updates and advice on the college life and of course tips for the scary SAT.
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