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sat
vocabulary words Alphabetical list shows definitions, differences (aggravate, aggregate) This site is a by-product of my SAT test prep teaching in Montgomery County, Maryland. In Montgomery County, MD? Click here for help. Free at the bottom of this
page: my SAT Test Math Notes (scroll down) (below vocabulary) © 2010
EEENI Inc. Nonprofit. Steve Baba, Ph.D. Free: my
professionally-read, 50-minute, MP3 audio, basic mnemonics
"I
went from a 500 to a 750 thanks to your online list." SAT
test student |
5,000 vocabulary words
on 7 audio CDs Professionally-read,
audio CD edition of
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+ SAT TEST MATH
Seminar
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abase v. To lower in position, estimation, or the like; degrade.
abbess n. The lady superior of a nunnery.
abbey n. The group of buildings which collectively form the dwelling-place of a society of
monks or nuns.
abbot n. The superior of a community of monks.
abdicate v. To give up (royal power or the like).
abdomen n. In mammals, the visceral cavity between the diaphragm and the pelvic floor; the
belly.
abdominal n. Of, pertaining to, or situated on the abdomen.
abduction n. A carrying away of a person against his will, or illegally.
abed adv. In bed; on a bed.
aberration n. Deviation from a right, customary, or prescribed course.
abet v. To aid, promote, or encourage the commission of (an offense).
abeyance n. A state of suspension or temporary inaction.
abhorrence n. The act of detesting extremely.
abhorrent adj. Very repugnant; hateful.
abidance n. An abiding.
abject adj. Sunk to a low condition.
abjure v. To recant, renounce, repudiate under oath.
able-bodied adj. Competent for physical service.
ablution n. A washing or cleansing, especially of the body.
abnegate v. To renounce (a right or privilege).
abnormal adj. Not conformed to the ordinary rule or standard.
abominable adj. Very hateful.
abominate v. To hate violently.
abomination n. A very detestable act or practice.
aboriginal adj. Primitive; unsophisticated.
aborigines n. The original of earliest known inhabitants of a country.
aboveboard adv. & adj. Without concealment, fraud, or trickery.
abrade v. To wear away the surface or some part of by friction.
abrasion n. That which is rubbed off.
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The words are targeted for SAT test
prep, but other tests, such as the GRE and GMAT, use the same collegiate words.
GRE words and GMAT vocabulary are just hard SAT words; SAT prep will help you on
graduate school entrance tests.
The below SAT vocabulary and SAT math advice also applies to GRE vocabulary and
GRE math, but the difficulty is different.
wittingly adv. With knowledge and by design.
wizen v. To become or cause to become withered or dry.
wizen-faced adj. Having a shriveled face.
working-man n. One who earns his bread by manual labor.
workmanlike adj. Like or befitting a skilled workman.
workmanship n. The art or skill of a workman.
wrangle v. To maintain by noisy argument or dispute.
wreak v. To inflict, as a revenge or punishment.
wrest v. To pull or force away by or as by violent twisting or wringing.
wretchedness n. Extreme misery or unhappiness.
writhe v. To twist the body, face, or limbs or as in pain or distress.
writing n. The act or art of tracing or inscribing on a surface letters or ideographs.
wry adj. Deviating from that which is proper or right.
yearling n. A young animal past its first year and not yet two years old.
zealot n. One who espouses a cause or pursues an object in an immoderately partisan
manner.
zeitgeist n. The intellectual and moral tendencies that characterize any age or epoch.
zenith n. The culminating-point of prosperity, influence, or greatness.
zephyr n. Any soft, gentle wind.
zodiac n. An imaginary belt encircling the heavens within which are the larger planets.
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Students of English as a Second Language (TESL TEFL TESOL ESL EFL ESOL): These are very advanced English language vocabulary words.
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Taught undergraduate and graduate courses Published papers in academic journals Teaching and Academic awards Decade of SAT Prep Experience (part-time) Former students at Yale, Dartmouth, USMA (West Point) and other prestigious schools. |
My other Non-SAT websites: Minimalist News
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SAT Vocabulary Building by Dr. Steve Baba You do not need to learn
every word in the dictionary to improve your SAT score. Every bone in your
body has a name, but the names of your bones will not be on the SAT for
two reasons. It would give an unfair advantage to students interested in
human anatomy, and the question would be too difficult. Just as easy
questions that everyone can answer will not be on the test, questions that
no one can answer will also not be on the test for the same reason; they
do not measure anything since everyone would get the same score. Merriam-Webster
Vocabulary Builder, 558 pages, $5.99 (list price). Click on the above titles to view Amazon.com’s description. Amazon.com pays me a pittance, as an Amazon associate. In addition to answering more vocabulary questions correctly, answering quickly leaves more time for reading comprehension questions, which have vocabulary embedded in the passages. |
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On the SAT, Both Speed And Accuracy Count Finishing the easy SAT math problems faster gives you time to solve two more hard problems per section for 60 more points. Every SAT math problem, even the hard ones such as these in my seminar (PDF), can be easily solved in one minute without a calculator. The reading-passage questions are NOT ordered from easy to hard. If you run out of time, because of slow reading or slow vocabulary, you both miss opportunities to answer easy questions for easy points and don't have extra time for hard questions. Just 20% faster is like having an extra 5 minutes on 25-minute sections. SAT prep, such as my CDs/DVD, can enable you to gain 50+ points from increased accuracy and 50+ points from increased speed per subject for a total increase of 300+. |
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SAT Writing: Can’t write (no good/good/well)? Not a Big Problem The “new” SAT writing (really the same old SAT II writing) is 2/3 multiple-choice grammar and 1/3 a 25-minute essay. The multiple-choice grammar does not even require knowing the names of parts of speech. One only needs to pick the best of several choices or identify errors (no good/good/well). Because SAT scoring is highly curved, half correct (50%) is enough to reach 500, and even 600, 650 or 700 allows many mistakes or 50/50 guesses. Most, but not all, of the multiple-choice questions can be answered with two-dozen English grammar rules, which are covered in the Kaplan and Princeton Review books. Multiple-choice grammar questions can be answered multiple ways: A 25-minute essay is as far from a creatively written novel as a 25-minute fast-food meal is from a gourmet meal. Becoming a professional chef or novelist takes years. Becoming a fast-food cook or writing a decent 25-minute essay can be mastered faster. The essay is often illustrated by a triple cheeseburger. Top bun = introduction. Three burgers = three examples. Cheese between burgers = transitions between examples. Bottom bun = conclusion. Cooking small pieces of meat is easy = using small examples is easy. SAT writing is the easiest to improve. Reading with difficult vocabulary is the hardest to improve. |
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Recommended SAT Prep Books by Steve Baba, Ph.D. While some books are slightly better than others, I have found that none were exceptional. Kaplan certainly knows what Princeton Review is doing and vice versa. Books from other companies generally contain similar advice and are only differentiated by jokes, writing style, and graphics. I have found that the Princeton Review book is slightly better for low-scoring students because it simplifies every solution. I have found that the Kaplan book is slightly better for high-scoring students because it does not (over) simplify every solution. The book The Official SAT Study Guide provides real SAT tests, which are ideal for practicing and becoming more confident with the test. But do not use this book alone. Using The Official SAT Study Guide alone is like learning how to swim by jumping into the deep end of the pool. To maximize your SAT score, you need to both practice and learn from experts. While SAT preparation books generally contains similar advice, longer books obviously contain more information. While learning 200 SAT words is useful, learning 2000 words is better. Ditto for math problems. Some other useful books: |
Almost every SAT math problem can be solved with
the below math. My DVD SAT math seminar shows how-to while covering the
necessary math.
Print (click icon below) the below, free, 6-page SAT Math Notes and use as a crash course and/or a quick
reference "cheat sheet."
The 4-column, small-type, terse-wording design enables students to quickly find and
read formulas. On a table or a large desk, 6-pages can be viewed
instantly.
Average amount of time teenagers spend
listening to music a day: 2 hours and 31 minutes
(Kaiser Family
Foundation)
Amount of time it takes to amass a top-5%, Ivy-League vocabulary: 10 minutes a day
Turn
unproductive-music-time into productive-time with my vocabulary CDs and math DVD. Buy now for maximum
prep-time.
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Can you solve this
very hard SAT math problem It took a total of 10 hours to hike from the base of a mountain to the top and back by the same route. Going up speed was 2 miles per hour. Going down speed was 3 miles per hour. How far from base to top? A) 6 B) 10 C) 12 D) 14 E) 24 Hints: 1) Work backwards from answers. Rule out too large or too small extremes. Calculate close answers until one works. Does 10, 12 or 14 work? 2) Pick a multiple of 2 mph and 3 mph to choose a distance (6 miles) to form a ratio (6 miles: 5 hours) and solve ratio. 3) The long way: use algebra. Rate times time equals distance. There is no given distance, but distance up equals distance down. There is also no time at each rate, but total time equals 10 hours. This is one of 55 problems (PDF) fully explained in my Advanced SAT Math Seminar DVD. |