{"id":688,"date":"2015-04-22T11:02:20","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T11:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/?p=688"},"modified":"2015-07-30T19:10:19","modified_gmt":"2015-07-30T19:10:19","slug":"top-tips-for-act-vocab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/top-tips-for-act-vocab\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Tips for ACT Vocab"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hidey-ho, Magooshers! Today I\u2019m going to give you my top three tips for vocabulary success on the ACT, and what they mean for you in preparing for test day.
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Top Tip #1: The ACT and SAT test vocabulary in different ways.<\/h2>\n

Traditionally, an \u201cSAT word<\/a>\u201d has been a vocabulary word that is both uncommon and difficult. You know, the sort of word you\u2019d only get by drilling vocabulary into your head until your brain bleeds.<\/p>\n

(Author\u2019s Note: please don\u2019t try that at home.)<\/em><\/p>\n

The ACT, on the other hand, tests vocabulary that isn\u2019t too terribly difficult. They\u2019re words you would probably see in real life, and you\u2019ll probably come across them in some of your reading in college — which you will have, regardless of your major. Sorry.<\/p>\n

What this means for you:<\/strong> You\u2019re unlikely to be asked about weird, difficult vocabulary words, but you\u2019ll be expected to know very detailed definitions of more common words. You also won\u2019t be asked any straight-up vocabulary questions, but you will be expected to use words appropriately in the context given to you. So if you\u2019re taking both tests, or if your school or teachers are offering ways to help you prepare for the SAT, not everything applies from the SAT to the ACT — though knowing more words can\u2019t hurt!
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Top Tip #2: The ACT loves secondary definitions, like whoa.<\/h2>\n

Imagine with me for a moment. You\u2019re in the middle of your ACT Reading test<\/a>, and you come across the word \u201csuffer\u201d in one of the passages. If you\u2019re anything like me, when you read the word just now, you probably thought that someone was in pain or going through trauma of some kind.<\/p>\n

But what if the sentence was something like, \u201cShe suffers from a tendency to exaggerate.\u201d Here, the woman in question isn\u2019t in pain. I used a secondary definition of \u201csuffer,\u201d which here means \u201cShe is given to exaggeration\u201d or, in more intelligible English, \u201cShe exaggerates a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or what if the sentence is something like the famous Bible quote, \u201cSuffer the little children to come unto me\u201d? Don\u2019t worry, no one is hurting kids. \u201cSuffer\u201d is being used in yet another way: as a synonym for \u201callow\u201d or \u201cpermit.\u201d In this context, \u201csuffer\u201d means \u201cAllow the little children to come to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

What this means for you:<\/strong> If you think you know what a word means in an ACT question, you probably need to double-check the context. Even if you don\u2019t think you need to, do it anyway.<\/p>\n

Another thing you should double-check: parts of speech. If you\u2019re dealing with the word \u201cdetermined,\u201d for example, you should be totally clear on whether the word is being used as an adjective (Alyson was a determined young lady) or as the past tense of the word determine (Galileo determined that the Earth orbits the sun).
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Top Tip #3: The ACT also loves idioms.<\/h2>\n

Idioms are one of those lovely things about English that make the people learning it as a second language want to hit native speakers with the nearest lexicon until internal consistency is achieved. An idiom is a common phrase that makes no sense when you think about it, but we all know what it means in context. Some familiar examples of idioms include:<\/p>\n