SAT/ACT Vocabulary: The Hidden Weakness

I’m old enough to remember a time when not only was the SAT on paper (gasp!), but when it even had a full vocabulary section (double gasp!). In those days, SAT flash card products flooded the market. Even the phrase “SAT vocab” entered our lexicons (there’s an SAT vocab word for you).

But as the vocabulary section disappeared from the SAT in 2016, vocab study also disappeared from students’ preparation. It’s a mistake, in my humble opinion, whether you are shooting for that 800 in SAT verbal or that 36 in ACT reading.

Now, it should be said that specific vocabulary questions are not gone entirely; their numbers have just dwindled over the years. Students need to be prepared to handle those questions efficiently and accurately.

But beyond that, vocabulary plays an essential role in student performance on both reading and writing questions. You cannot answer a question accurately if you do not know what it is saying. And even if you can struggle your way through, you will be slow.

I call it the “hidden weakness” because students are reluctant to admit that they do not know many words or understand a passage. Sometimes, they may struggle with the reading sections, not even knowing that vocabulary is their limiting factor.

A 99th percentile vocabulary is not built in a week or even a month. But over the course of several months of preparation, you can significantly improve a student’s vocabulary with committed studying, memorization, and learning the roots, prefixes, and suffixes that make up the English language. And yes, it will help to buy one of those classic packs of SAT flash cards.

Do that, and your performance will be superlative, preeminent, and perhaps even impeccable.

Reach out to Einstein Prep now for a free consultation on vocabulary and more!