Words in Context: Key SAT Reading and Writing Strategies

Example #1: Vocabulary in Context

These are the most common types of Words in Context questions on the Reading section. If you’ve ever taken the ACT, you may notice that these are very similar to the vocabulary questions on ACT Reading. They will ask you to choose the best synonym for a given word in the passage based on its context. Here’s an example:

In this sentence, we can see that “credit” means something like “trust” because the demographers are the ones giving us data to suggest that the public transportation is on the upswing. If we trust them, the trend is real. Now that it's clear what we are looking for, it's time to go through the choices. 

Choice A is incorrect because “endow” means to equip or furnish someone with something, which isn’t a good replacement for the form of “credit” being used here.

Choice B is also incorrect because “attribute” would mean “cite,” which makes a little bit of sense, but still doesn’t match up with what the original sentence is saying.

Choice C seems to fit pretty well. If we “believe” the demographers, the growing popularity of public transportation is a reality.

Choice D is wrong because “honor" isn't a synonym for “trust,” and taking the demographers at their word is not the same as actively “honoring” them.

Final Answer: C

Example #2: Analyzing Word Choice Rhetorically 

You’ll also see questions that ask why certain words are used. Here’s an example along with the section of the passage it references:

Rather than choosing the correct definition of a word, you must determine why the author uses certain words and how they affect the reader’s perception of the passage. The three words mentioned in the question all indicate hopeful uncertainty, so that's something we should look for in the description of the tone. Also, upon rereading the paragraph, it's clear that this is a very dry, scientific reporting of facts. This clinical quality combined with the words listed seems to indicate that they're used as a means of stating aspects of the authors' hypothesis while clarifying that their beliefs are not yet scientifically confirmed. 

Ok, time to look at the choices. Based on the unemotional writing style of the paragraph, Choice A doesn’t fit. There is no descriptive language to suggest either an optimistic (or pessimistic) tone. It simply states the central tenets of the authors' hypothesis along with several supporting facts.

Choice B can also be eliminated because there is nothing to indicate a "dubious" or doubtful tone. Again, the authors are stating their hypothesis in scientific terms without giving us any clear insight into their deeper feelings about it.  

Choice C is the most promising so far. It reflects the measured, scientific tone of the paragraph. The authors believe in their hypothesis to a certain extent, but they can’t state their beliefs as facts because they haven’t conducted any experiments to test them. 

Finally, Choice D is definitely out. The elaboration in the second part of the sentence is overly specific, and once again, the passage doesn’t have strong enough language to establish a critical tone.

Final Answer: C

Example #3: Choose the Best Word

These questions are similar to vocabulary in context Reading questions, but they ask you to think in a slightly different way. You have to choose the word that fits best in the passage rather than just determining what the word in the passage means. Here’s an example:

Let's look at what the sentence is trying to say. The officials recently ordered six original paintings of cats from an artist. If the museum privately hired someone to paint the cats, it wouldn't be necessary for any sort of public announcement or "decree" to be issued. Based on this understanding of the sentence, choice A, "NO CHANGE", doesn’t quite work. We're looking for a word that means the same as "ordered" in the sense of "the officials ordered Chinese food" but in a more formal, artistic context.  

Choice B is a very promising answer. If you're familiar at all with the art world, you'll know that people and institutions often "commission" works from artists. This is just a fancier way of describing the process of submitting an order for a specific painting that you would like an artist to create. Makes sense considering what we know so far, so we'll keep it in the mix.

Choice C, “forced,” indicates that there was resistance to the creation of the paintings, and there’s no evidence for that. This answer can be crossed out.

Choice D, “licensed,” implies that the paintings already existed and the museum went through a legal process to make them official. This doesn't jive with our understanding of the sentence at all; any licensing, if applicable, would be done after the paintings were completed.

Final Answer: B

Example #4: Improving Word Choice

In some Writing questions that fall under the Words in Context category, you have to choose the word that makes the most sense given the tone of the passage. Here’s an example:

What type of word are we looking for? Let's examine the context. Well, the food was described as being of "terrible quality" earlier in the passage, so we want a synonym for unpalatable or gross. The passage is also a formal historical account, so we're looking for a word that matches with the serious tone.

Choice A can be ruled out because “sinister” isn’t an appropriate word choice based on what the sentence is describing. “Sinister” means ominous or foreboding. It would be weird to describe train food as “sinister” because this word is reserved for things that are subtly unsettling, not outwardly gross. 

Choice B, “surly,” is an adjective that describes a person’s behavior. It can’t be applied to an inanimate object like food, so this choice should be eliminated as well.  

Choice C, “abysmal,” seems like a promising choice. Abysmal is a direct synonym for terrible, and it's formal enough to fit with the tone of the passage. Keep this one.

Choice D is incorrect for different reasons than the other answers we eliminated. While "icky" makes sense as a synonym for unpalatable or gross, it doesn't set the right tone. It's way too informal to work with the rest of the passage.  

Final Answer: C

Example #5: Combining Sentences

This is another type of question that the SAT puts in the words in context category, though it is a bit different from the other types that I've gone through. In these questions, you just have to decide the best way to combine two sentences that are separate in the original passage. It's still categorized as a Words in Context question because you're asked to modify the phrasing of the sentences so they fit together seamlessly in the context of the paragraph. It requires you to understand how to use language effectively. Here’s an example:

First, let's make sure we understand the content of the original two sentences. The passage has already established that artificial lights lower worker productivity. The purpose of these two sentences is to add another reason to dislike artificial lights: their excessive cost. We're looking for a combination of the two sentences that preserves this purpose and maintains its grammatical integrity.

Choice A looks pretty good. It avoids misplaced modifiers and maintains focus on the costliness of the lights. We can keep this one.

Choice B is incorrect because it indicates that the cost of artificial light sources lowers worker productivity. This is an inaccurate statement because we know from the rest of the passage that the quality of the light source used in the office impacts productivity, not its cost. 

Choice C is wrong because it is worded awkwardly and doesn’t emphasize the central point of the two sentences. It gives equal attention to the two negative attributes of artificial light sources when cost is the main focus of this paragraph.

Choice D is wrong because, like choice C, it misses the point of the original sentences. It emphasizes a supporting detail about the lights' energy use while only briefly touching on the subject of their costliness.   

Natural lighting makes for a cheerier and less expensive office. Fluorescent lights will steal your soul if you work under them for long enough.