<p>After taking the SAT twice and not studying enough, I have finally decided to start legitimately studying. My biggest downfall is vocabulary. It is not that I have a bad memory, the problem is I haven't looked over words the past two times. </p>
<p>My first question is whether people think the 250 word list in the Princeton Review's "Manual for the SAT" is a good list? It seems pretty good and I started looking it over today; but I wanted to know other people's opinion of it.</p>
<p>My second question is whether you feel the "1,2,3" strategy works? I have heard several people say to split the vocab words into 3 groups (words you know, words you have heard of, and words you don't know at all), but I wanted to know if anyone has had personal success with the strategy?</p>
<p>And lastly, this question is going to be hard to answer since you personally don't know me. I definitely don't have a photographic memory, but my memory isn't bad at all. I am taking the test on October 6; do you feel studying one hour of vocab everyday until October 6 can help me do very well on the sentence completions?... or do you feel I need to study more than that each day?</p>
<p>Thank you! And I know some of these questions are hard to answer, but I would appreciate anyone's opinion. Thank you!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Study your vocab words in bed at night just before lights out. Your brain consolidates memory during sleep. If you get enough sleep and study just before bed, you will be amazed how easily you learn words.</p></li>
<li><p>Review your words every few days, even the ones you are sure you know. Simply re-reading them will help, but quizzing yourself is better.</p></li>
<li><p>Learn the second and third definitions of the words as well as the first. You can count on ETS testing them on higher level questions.</p></li>
<li><p>When you learn the words, search your mind for associations you can make with the word. Use visual images if possible. If the word describes an action, personal characteristic, mood or attitude, imagine a person in some kind of meaningful setting acting out the word. (Vision and smell are the two senses most evocative of memory.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>5 A little bit of study each day (half an hour or so) is far better than a marathon cram-fest once a week.</p>
<p>I like the Barron’s Most Frequently appearing word list. </p>
<p>Flashcards work the best for me, although it’s a total pain to make (but I make it when I’m watching TV, so that’s ok). I take it around with me everywhere, and whenever I’m waiting in line or waiting for a friend, I just bust it out and start memorizing. I usually look at the definition side of the flashcard, and then try to guess what word is before I flip it over. That strategy works really well!</p>