<p>My vocabulary sucks. I was on studentedge.com using flashcards, starting with list 1 which are supposed to be the most basic and I didn't know half of them. I've heard that reading is the best way to improve vocab but I read a lot...maybe I'm just not reading the right books. So can you recommend some please? Thanks:)</p>
<p>It is hard to just recommend books… my kids both scored very well on CR and the Lit Subject test. But they have read thousands of books in their lives, it has been a big part of their daily lives practically since they were born (obviously they couldn’t read to themselves at first, of course :)). I guess I would say focus more on books from the adult section of the library. Maybe books that are classics or well reviewed in someplace like the NYT review of books. Some “classics” are just hard to read, but others are actually really good – so just give some different ones a try. But in general I think those books will have more vocab-type words than the average teen shelf book will. Or start reading something like the New York Times regularly… but if you are close to taking the test, honestly reading is not a very productive way to go. I think you need to read a LOT to build a vocabulary that gets you to a high CR score. If you don’t know the flashcard words, then probably start by learning those.</p>
<p>What grade are you in (age)?</p>
<p>I’m 16, a junior</p>
<p>I would recommend attacking the problem directly by buying direct hits vol 1 and 2 or barrons 3500 vocab words or Princeton review hit parade. Make flashcards and consistently go through them. I personally used Barrons 3500 words because I had a lot of time, and its fantastic. If you truly memorize all those words (it’ll take time) then vocab will be MUCH easier. And you should see is it the actual vocab the problem or getting the context of the question. Getting the context of the question takes practice, vocab takes some studying.</p>
<p>I suggest that you read well written works of literature unless you just want to be an automaton who does well on the SATs
automaton - : a machine or control mechanism designed to follow automatically a predetermined sequence of operations or respond to encoded instructions</p>
<p>The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The Fault in Our Stars
The Book Thief</p>
<p>I learned roots instead. There’s a yellow Gruber’s book for the SAT that has a few pages of them, and I’d say that’s more helpful and efficient than words alone. It has a ton of vocab as well if you still want to go for it. Had a 770 in reading.</p>
<p>I heard TIME Magazine has a lot of SAT vocab. I can’t say it’s true for sure but it’s good all the same.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!! I’m starting to read the newspaper and The Fault In Our Stars. I’ve been studying Direct Hits for a while. I tried learning roots a few years back but I have a hard time recognizing them in words. It takes a while for them to come to me. But still thanks for the help everyone I really appreciate it:)</p>
<p>I have never taken the SAT, but any challenging, well-written book will help you to improve your vocabulary. I would also recommend other literary mediums such as poems and short stories.</p>
<p>Read science! I know this sounds ridiculous, but if you really read the text, you will find yourself tearing through books by Richard Dawkins and Carl Sagan. I am not trying to force atheism on you in any way, but they bring up wonderful points while also using vocabulary at every turn. Some really awesome reading.</p>
<p>I second chargers12121. Carl Sagan is a great writer and read Cosmos. I haven’t gotten around to reading any Richard Dawkins though. Science books are great because in order to understand what the authour is saying, one has to really pay attention. </p>
<p>Otherwise, read “boring” stuff like The Economist. It’s good to read it because you do have to force yourself to pay attention. At the end of each article, ask yourself, “What is the main idea? What is going on <some country=”“>? Why does this matter?” If you do that, you’ll be good at reading “dull” passages, and also you’ll know some current events. You don’t have to actually get the paper subscription. Their articles are online. [The</a> Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance](<a href=“http://www.economist.com/]The”>http://www.economist.com/)</some></p>
<p>Also, if you want to improve your vocabulary, it’s actually way better to just memorise words. Reading is good but it takes much longer to get a better vocab if you try to get it out of reading.</p>
<p>The Cat in the Hat
Goodnight Moon
Green Eggs and Ham
That’s Not My Penguin</p>
<p>I could go on if you’d like…</p>
<p>It’s nice to see likemindedness around here. </p>
<p>I am a firm believer in the use of dictionaries to improve your vocabulary. However, I would not advocate that you sit down and start reading one. It’s far too boring and you ultimately end up forgetting 9/10 of the words. I would suggest instead that you download the Dictionary App for your iPhone/Android/whatever you may have so that you can get the “Word of the Day”. Upon receiving these vocabulary words, you should try to incorporate them into your conversations somehow. Keep it on your mind and do it. It’s fun and helps you learn the vocabulary effectively.</p>