🎓SAT English
READING 2
SAT Words in Context for ESL Students
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SAT Words in Context helps ESL students learn how to match a word to the meaning of that word by understanding the overall meaning of the surrounding text, called the context.
For example, if the tone of a passage is very positive, and the context surrounding a word is positive, then we are looking for a word that has a positive meaning,
Why Learn the Words in Context?
For English language learners, words in context helps to:
- Connection: connect a word to the correct meaning of how it is used in a sentence, its role and meaning.
- Fluency: learn the meaning and common use of words together like strong winds and heavy rain
- Clarity: to recognize the meaning of words when in use when the word has multiple meanings.
- Build: by understanding the context readers improve their reading comprehension and language ability.
There are 6 to 12 Words in Context questions in the SAT Exam
Exercise 1 Order the Words
Exercise 1 Put these words in order (1 to 5)
- very gentle (low e.g.1) to very strong (high e.g. 5)
- asked demanded insisted suggested wondered
- very negative to very positive
- changed damaged destroyed improved transformed
- very formal to very informal*
- began commenced got going kicked off started
- * formal is official (teacher , police officer) and informal is casual (family, friends)
How to Tell the Passage Tone
Look for feeling words ดูคำที่แสดงความรู้สึก
คำเชิงบวก vs คำเชิงลบ
- Positive: happy, helpful, excellent, kind
- Negative: rude, terrible, lazy, unfair
คำทางการ vs คำไม่เป็นทางการ
- Formal: request, assist, require
- Informal: grab, kids, coo
คำที่แรง vs vsคำที่อ่อนกว่า
- Strong: furious, terrified, amazing
- Weak: annoyed, worried, good
Look for tone clues in the text. Is the text expressing something positive negative or neutral? Often 3 of the 4 choices are the wrong tone.
Clues to find tone:
- Adjectives & adverbs (kindly, harsh, softly, angrily)
- Verb choices (smiled vs. shouted)
- Punctuation (!!, ?…)
- Topic & word feelings (positive: wonderful, brave / negative: terrible, nasty / neutral: said, walked)
Exercise 2 Practice Questions
Select the Word in Context
Q4 The old bridge was ___ by years of rain and wind, and nobody dared to walk across it.
- strengthened
- weakened
- studied
- painted
Q5 She ___ that the room needed cleaning, but she did not want to upset her friend.
- screamed
- demanded
- mentioned
- announced
Q6 The professor ___ the students to review all chapters before the examination.
- told
- instructed
- bugged
- reminded
Select the word that "most nearly means" the underlined word
Q7 After three days without sleep, his mind was completely flat.
- horizontal
- empty and tired
- musical
- smooth
How to know the tone - examples
Exercise 3
Words in Context Practice Questions
Look at these examples on Word in Context questions (do not answer yet)
Look at these examples on Word in Context questions (try these)
You can look at the original questions to see if you understand them better now. Answers explained below.
More Help for Words in Context
How to answer SAT words in context questions: Conquer Words in Context Questions in the Digital SAT Test for ESL Students and Beginners
SAT questions
Do you wish to try Khan Academy SAT practice questions now? Words in Context | Lesson