SAT Vocabulary for Dummies »

Suzee Vlk has been teaching test preparation for more than 25 years. She is the author of For Dummies guides to the SAT I, ACT, GRE, and GMAT tests.

Unfortunately, most students don’t have the wealth of words or the volume of vocabulary that enable them to get top scores on the SAT I (the test that most people call “the SAT”). The fact that you don’t have an SAT vocabulary isn’t due to a lack of intelligence, it’s due to the fact that almost everyone speaks using concise sentences that get to the point, rather than belabor it.

Everyone begins with a different level of vocabulary. You may already know half of the words here or you may only know a few. Regardless of how strong or weak your vocabulary currently is, SAT Vocabulary For Dummies will help you build your vocabulary and boost your test scores.

SAT Vocabulary For Dummies focuses exclusively on the vocabulary you need to know to get a good verbal score on the SAT. In this fun and easy-to-understand guide, test-prep guru Suzee Vlk provides you with a reliable way to increase your vocabulary—and scores. Unlike most vocabulary books, which provide long, boring, alphabetical lists of words, this groundbreaking guide organizes vocabulary into easy-to-remember categories (such as “personal appearance,” “intelligence,” or “money”). This book also:

• Focuses on “hot” SAT words—the 500 or so that turn up again and again on the exams
• Illustrates the meaning of words by placing them in the context of a sentence—usually through humorous stories
• Delivers lots of practical tips and tools for remembering tough words
• Gives the lowdown on roots
• Lists antonyms and synonyms and shows ways to increase comprehension using context
• Containspractice questions with answer explanations

Packed with tips, tricks, stories, and jokes that will help build your vocabulary, SAT Vocabulary For Dummies is a painless way to get a handle on the words that you need to master before you take the SAT.

Introduction
Part I: Hardwiring Words into Your Brain
Chapter 1: Mastering Test Vocabulary
Chapter 2: Digging Out Meaning: Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes
Part II: Groups and Troops: Essential Vocabulary by Category
Chapter 3: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Words about Personal Appearance
Chapter 4: For Richer or for Poorer: Words about Money
Chapter 5: Look Who’s Talking: Words about Speaking
Chapter 6: Never Trust Anyone Over Thirty: Words about Age
Chapter 7: Hip, Hip, Hurray! Words of Praise and Criticism
Chapter 8: It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times: Words of Joy and Sorrow
Chapter 9: When Your IQ Is a Fraction: Words about Intelligence
Chapter 10: Couch Potatoes Need Love, Too: Words of Energy and Laziness
Chapter 11: I’m Not Always Right, But I’m Never Wrong: Words about Stubbornness
Chapter 12: Classy Chat: Impressive Words for Impressive Scores
Part III: Story Time: Finding Meaning in Context
Chapter 13: Donna and Larry’s Big Adventure
Chapter 14: All President and Accounted For
Chapter 15: Attack of the Killer SAT Book
Chapter 16: Report Card Jitters
Chapter 17: The Boy Who Barfed on Me
Chapter 18: King of the (Tongue) Studs
Chapter 19: The Girl Who Yelled, “You Stink!”
Chapter 20: Banned from the Bash
Chapter 21: Kid Klepto, the Boy Who Robbed Me Blind
Chapter 22: A Jewel of a House
Part IV: Putting You to the (Practice) Tests
Chapter 23: Practice Test #1
Chapter 24: Practice Test #2
Chapter 25: Practice Test #3
Chapter 26: Practice Test #4
Chapter 27: Genius Test
Part V: The Part of Tens
Chapter 28: Ten Ways to Put a Good Vocabulary to Use in the Real World
Chapter 29: Ten Great Quotes about Words
Chapter 30: Ten Ways to Master Words When English Is a Foreign Tongue
Appendix A: Additional Resources
Appendix B: Glossary
Index