<p>I took the SAT a few weeks ago, after having memorized tonsss of words (probably around 1,000). I used DH, Princeton, and a little of Sparknotes. Still, I feel like SC was the hardest for me on the actual test. Memorizing those words helped me eliminate the ones I knew, but there still many I were unsure about. I have heard that studying roots is way more effective than studying actual words. Is this true? If so, where can I get a list of good SAT roots?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>If you are observant, you’ll probably pick up all the relevant roots by studying vocabulary. I am very surprised (almost unbelieving) that there were still many words that you did not know after going through Direct Hits, Princeton Review, and more. Did you forget the words?</p>
<p>Memorizing words themselves is better. You’ll probably see patterns naturally in prefixes, suffixes, and roots as you learn words anyway. I wouldn’t recommend learning individual roots and the like separately because it is a waste of time (unless you have a lot of it, in which case it wouldn’t hurt to do so). You should study as many words as possible from credited sources like Direct Hits and released CB exams.</p>
<p>EDIT: I didn’t read that you’ve finished DH already. There are lots of other word lists and compilations online. Try to remember some of the words you missed in your last exam and see if they show up on lists you’ve never seen before. Vocabulary is icky, and, unlike silverturtle, I think that it is not surprising that you have studied about a thousand words and are still not able to get every single vocabulary question right on any given test. However, if vocabulary is still a big problem for you after having studied that many words, then there is definitely something wrong here.</p>
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<p>Yes, it seems that we were thinking along the same lines in responding to the OP.</p>
<p>By the way, silverturtle, have you ever heard of the words ‘acolyte’ and ‘apoplectic’? If so, from where? I am done with the SAT but I am still curious about how people can know so much vocabulary as mere teenagers.</p>
<p>crazybandit - I was unsure about those words too on the SAT!</p>
<p>I’m really not sure how many I missed on SC, but I know that thats the only part on the test I had to skip questions (probably skipped like 4-5). I also guessed on a few were I could eliminate wrong choices. </p>
<p>I just really feel like SC is definitely my weakest section. Now I feel so unsure about how to study at all. I feel like even though I memorized so many words its almost like luck of the draw when it came to answering those questions.</p>
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<p>Yes, I know apoplectic, but I cannot pinpoint the source. After looking up acolyte, I recognized the meaning, but I had been unable to recall it.</p>
<p>I can only speak for myself, but as a “mere teenager,” I learned all the vocabulary from reading books. “Acolyte” and “apoplectic” aren’t exactly rare words either. I hear them in everyday speech where I live, the Panhandle.</p>
<p>^You hear those words in everyday speech, really? “Apoplexy” is an outdated medical term referring to a type of stroke, and “apoplectic” as a colloquial term means “furious.” Neither of these forms (of medical or colloquial nature) are common let alone known by a typical teenager. “Acolyte” is a Christian term, or in general a word that means “follower” or “assistant.” It’s like the test-makers couldn’t find regular words so they had to pick specialized words that just happen to have general and widely applicable meanings. I wouldn’t know the word “vertiginous” if it didn’t remind me of “vertigo,” which is a medical term that I only hear about, not use. “Vertiginous” means “inconstant,” which makes sense in reasoning. But the hard part is knowing “vertigo” in the first place. “Vertiginous” has 330,000 Google search results; “Vertigo,” 14 million. The test-makers love to make things complicated, but make it seem simple only because there is a good amount of people who know these words. It just doesn’t mix with the rest of the test. There is little reasoning involved. Anyway, this is besides the point of this thread. Sorry.</p>
<p>I’m just memorizing the words. But they do not always connect to other words. Sometimes even confuse you.</p>
<p>I was gonna say u just need to memorize roots since vocab is kinda useless considering the huuge amount of words u needa know…
But after reading their advice it seems very reasonable to study actual vocab, since this helps you recognize roots at same time. Thanks, this thread was very helpful</p>
<p>It is good to memorize synonym clusters of words. ETS loves to draw words from them. For example they have used wry 5-6 times on the PSAT and various SATs over the last 2 years and then they used droll which is a synonym in a recent test. Another favorite has been the trite, hackneyed, banal, platitudinous cluster.</p>
<p>Really, yes, I hear it in everyday speech. I probably hear apoplectic a little more than acolyte though.</p>
<p>haha i got the acolyte questions right cuz i watched teenage mutant ninja turtles… the turtles go to this place as students to learn from these masters and the turtles were called acolytes there lol.</p>
<p>I am enjoying this thread. D competed at the National Spelling Bee. Beforehand a couple of snarky relatives made remarks in front of everyone during some family and friends gatherings about the “waste of time studying words and meanings that she would never use again” Thanks to those “words” she will be a NMF and she received perfect scores on the English and Reading portions of the ACT. She studied roots and words including apoplectic and acolyte. Yeah!</p>
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<p>Reading.</p>
<p>I rarely hear either word in day-to-day conversation but often see them in books, articles, blog posts, etc.</p>
<p>haaivain - what articles do you read? Do you read them in your freetime or for school assignments?</p>
<p>My recommendation would be to read. Studying vocabulary might get you a good SAT score but wouldn’t you rather be well-read and able to place those terms in a relevant context? Studying vocabulary will not make you a more intelligent person- reading high quality literature probably will.</p>
<p>Just a thought.</p>
<p>@people on the first page: I recognize apoplectic from biology: apoptosis. Dunno if it means the same/near same thing, though.</p>
<p>Of course words.
Are there any roots for the words “maverick”, “dilettante” and “rendezvous”?</p>