<p>So I have recently taken a break from doing the tests on the BB, but I'm still studying vocabulary words. Now I have been memorizing words and at the same time studying roots, prefixes, suffixes, and what not. I want to know if studying the roots will pay off or am I just wasting my time? Has anyone ever tried this?</p>
<p>honest just read books. EVERY TIME you don’t know a word, look it up. It’s that simple.</p>
<p>Studying roots does help. I take latin which has been immensely helpful in taking the SAT. However, most of the roots you can pick up your own just by thinking of words that contain the same roots, prefixes, suffixes, etc.</p>
<p>honestly, i find studying roots to be quite tedious and unnecessary. I think that reading will supplement your knowledge of roots to a sufficient level. </p>
<p>however, as for vocabulary, use sparknotes 1000 vocab cards… after using those, I always knew either every word in a Sentence Completion problem, or if anything, only didn’t know one word. I got an 800 on my reading section in January, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without sparknotes 1000.</p>
<p>I never used a prep book for the SAT, but I read so much that I knew every word on the March SAT cold.</p>
<p>just read a lot, that way you know them in context and its much easier to remember the meaning than just straight up tedious memorization of flash cards</p>
<p>Reading is definitely a great way to build vocabulary. You might want to check out the SparkNotes vocabulary books–they pack 100+ words into a 200ish page novel, and they define every SAT word at the bottom of the page. They’re a great way to learn vocab without being completely bored to death. I’m not sure if anyone else has tried these, so feel free to give any of your opinions</p>
<p>The Sparknotes vocabulary books, in my opinion, are a terrible way to learn vocab words if : 1. you enjoy reading 2. you want to learn vocab words in a quick and efficacious manner</p>
<p>Well, I kind of think starting to read now would be futile. 1- I don’t really have time, I have enough hw and stuff as it is.Thanks for the advice, I guess I’ll just keep doing my own thing.</p>
<p>Although I used to read a lot as a kid, I hardly read anymore because I don’t have spare time. Instead, I used the flashcards that come with Barron’s SAT prep book (the normal one, not the 2400 one). It saved me A LOT of time because the flashcards were already made for me, and a couple of those words actually appeared on the March test! So if you’re pressed for time and only need to learn the words with the highest frequency on the test, I would really recommend Barron’s. (The book also has word lists other than the highest frequency but that are still useful.)</p>
<p>The most efficient and effective way my son found to do well on the critical reading section (750) was using Direct Hits (check out the other threads on CC) and the Blue Book. The Barron’s word list is a good supplement but you need to start on it way before junior year (when the SAT really counts).</p>
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<p>not true
well, partially true
I took the SATs in Oct of my Senior Year and to prep for it, I memorized all of the verbs/adjectives in the barron’s book in a little under 3 weeks.</p>
<p>but that’s because I went crazy haha</p>
<p>I’ve been using like 3-4 different vocabulary flash card/word list applications on my iPod and it’s actually been very helpful. Aside from those, I’ve found reading books to be helpful. (Catch-22 has had a handful of them so far, and I’m only at page 50ish.) </p>
<p>I’ve tried the Sparknotes SAT novel and I honestly don’t feel like I learned many words: a majority of them were simple words (i.e. universal, gracious), but the ones that were new and difficult to me, I still couldn’t retain. Learning the vocab in that book is similar to as if someone was throwing a hundred balls at you at once, and you’d only be able to catch like 3-4 of them; it’s hard to retain any of the words when many of them are just being thrown onto the page. (I don’t know if that analogy made any sense?) Maybe other people have had better experiences with them than I had, since I tend to read books too quickly.</p>
<p>I intend to use a list that xiggi posted a little while back.</p>
<p>Direct Hits definitely. Helped me a lot on the March SAT. </p>
<p>But that should just be extra-help for the “SAT Vocabulary”.</p>
<p>Read voraciously, in general. That’s what I did when I was younger and it has helped in many respects with regard to SAT CR in general.</p>
<p>Silverturtle:</p>
<p>What list was that?</p>