<p>Hi, so I'm a rising junior and plan to take the SAT in October. I'm working on increasing my score, but one thing I have trouble with is memorizing vocabulary words. It's just hard for me to do and what's worse is that there are so many of them.
A friend of mine (who got a 2350 btw) recently suggested that I don't try to memorize words, but memorize roots, prefixes, and suffixes instead that could help me figure out the meaning of the word. This sounds better since there aren't as many to memorize, but I'm wondering if this will actually work (my friend is generally really smart and probably had a great vocabulary already)? Like would I have to spend/waste time on the actual SAT trying to figure out the meaning of the word by its root, or is this technique actually effective?</p>
<p>Other than that, any general tips on memorizing vocab/roots would be appreciated! Thanks :) </p>
<p>Honestly speaking, there aren’t as many root-based words on the SAT vocab section as you may expect. I did participate in spelling bees during elementary and middle school, though, so I learned several roots/prefixes/suffixes, and I suppose that helped with SAT vocab (I never really studied much vocab).</p>
<p>That being said, it’s better to learn words out of a vocab book like Direct Hits or SAT Vocabulary Cartoons, since they have proven tools/techniques to learn specific words for the test. In order to test your mastery with vocab, use a website like number2.com or an Android app like Test Your English Vocabulary. There is also an app on the Apple App store called Mindsnacks, which is good for learning words quickly and painlessly, so maybe check that out?</p>
<p>As you study and learn these types of words, you should also notice some patterns with roots/prefixes/suffixes (ex. auto- means self) and ultimately learn those, too. </p>
<p>Hope this helps! Good Luck! :)</p>