<p>Since this seems like an interesting debate, I’ll step in and add my two cents.</p>
<p>First, I do believe that memorizing words is a necessary part of SAT study, since very few people go in with an advanced enough vocabulary to start (Xiggi, you may be one of the few who are prepared :)). For the majority of people, studying a couple hundred words seems like the best way to go. What’s important is choosing the right words to study-you don’t want to study a list of 800 words if you already know 600 of them.</p>
<p>However, attempting to memorize monstrosities such as Barron’s 3500 is not a wise way to study. As stated by xiggi, it simply takes far too long to study all of the words. In addition, doing so only directly aids 19 questions on a 170 question test. After a certain point, memorizing more words will no longer yield any more benefits. Instead, shorter, leaner lists such as Sparknote’s 250 Hard Words are my preferred lists.</p>
<p>So, in conclusion, I advocate a slightly more aggressive vocab study plan than xiggi. Personally, I believe that several hundred words, memorized systematically, is a good way to go. However, the selection of the right words is the key.</p>