What this lesson covers
- Cover the four choices before you read them, because they are written to sound reasonable
- Predict the meaning in your own plain English words from the sentence's own logic
- Match your prediction to the closest choice instead of browsing for a word you like
- The evidence is always a contrast word, a semicolon, a colon, or an example that spells the meaning out
Questions worked in the video
- 0:00The author does not reject the theory outright; she merely ___ it, noting two cases it fails to explain.
- 0:50Although the study's sample was small, its conclusions were later ___ by three larger trials that reached the same result. (A) discounted (B) substantiated (C) qualified (D) undermined
- 1:53The committee's decision seemed ___: no criteria were published, and two nearly identical proposals received opposite rulings. (A) arbitrary (B) decisive (C) unanimous (D) provisional
- 2:21Far from being ___, the coastline is reshaped every winter by storms that move thousands of tons of sand. (A) static (B) fragile (C) pristine (D) hazardous
Chapters
- 0:00You know the word, not the meaning
- 0:22Cover, predict, match
- 0:50The money move
- 1:25Six words, second meanings
- 1:53Topic is not logic
- 2:21Your turn
- 3:10Three traps
- 3:30Recap
Lesson transcript
The narration of the video, word for word, under its chapter headings.
0:00You know the word, not the meaning
Welcome to SAT Climb. Read this sentence. The author does not reject the theory outright; she merely, blank, it, noting two cases it fails to explain. The word is qualifies. You already know that word. You just know the wrong meaning of it.
0:22Cover, predict, match
Words in Context is not a vocabulary quiz. It is a logic question wearing a vocabulary costume. So use three steps. One, cover the choices. Two, read the sentence and predict a plain English word in your own head. Three, match your prediction to the closest choice. The sentence always carries the evidence. A contrast word, a semicolon, a colon, or an example that spells the meaning out for you.
0:50The money move
Here is the money move, in full. Although the study's sample was small, its conclusions were later, blank, by three larger trials that reached the same result. Cover the choices and predict. Three larger trials got the same result, so the blank means supported. Backed up. Confirmed. Now look at the options. Discounted means dismissed, the opposite. Undermined means weakened, also the opposite. Qualified means limited, and nothing here is being limited. Substantiated means supported with evidence. That is your prediction, word for word.
1:25Six words, second meanings
Six words the SAT loves, and the meaning it actually wants. Undermine is not to dig under. It is to weaken. Novel is not a book. It is new. Discount is not a price cut. It is to dismiss. Static is not noise. It is unchanging. Yield is not to give way. It is to produce. Arbitrary is not simply random. It is chosen with no reason behind it. The everyday meaning is the trap.
1:53Topic is not logic
Here is why guessing feels so close. Every choice is a real word that fits the topic. Only one fits the logic. The committee's decision seemed, blank: no criteria were published, and two nearly identical proposals received opposite rulings. Decisive, unanimous and provisional are all real words about committees. But the colon tells you exactly what the blank has to mean. No rule. No reason. Arbitrary.
2:21Your turn
Your turn. Far from being, blank, the coastline is reshaped every winter by storms that move thousands of tons of sand. Choice A, static. Choice B, fragile. Choice C, pristine. Choice D, hazardous. Predict before you pick. Pause here. Far from being tells you the blank is the opposite of whatever follows. What follows is constant reshaping, so the blank has to mean unchanging. That is static. Fragile, pristine and hazardous are all true sounding beach words, but not one of them is the opposite of reshaped every winter. Static.
3:10Three traps
Three traps. One, taking the everyday meaning of a word you already know. Two, reading the four choices first, which quietly swaps your thinking for theirs. Three, picking the hardest word in the list. The SAT is not paying you for vocabulary size. It is paying you for fit.
3:30Recap
SAT vocabulary in context, solved. Cover the choices, predict in plain English, then match. And when you meet a word you know, ask whether you know the meaning they want. Start free at satclimb.com.
Read the written version: the Words in Context strategy guide, then try 25 hard Words in Context questions with full explanations. Both are free, no account needed.