Vocabulary Questions on standardized Tests
Understand the concept
There are several different kinds of vocabulary questions that might appear on standardized tests.
contextual Passages
One of the most common types of vocabulary questions will ask you to read a passage and then answer questions about particular words that appear in that passage.
The word attack strategies you have learned in this program will enable you to answer questions like this one. Use context clues, word parts, and your knowledge of word families and origins to make an educated guess about the meaning. Then consider the answer choices and choose the one that is closest to your educated guess.
synonym and Antonym Questions
Synonym and antonym questions give you a word and ask you to select the word that has the same meaning (for a synonym) or the opposite meaning (for an antonym). You must select the best answer even if none is exactly correct. For this type of question, you should consider all the choices to see which is best. Always notice whether you are looking for a synonym or an antonym. You will usually find both among the answers.
Try It Yourself
E x E r c I s E A
Read the passage below from “Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe. Then identify the best answer to each question that follows the passage.
For the most wild yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not—and very surely do I not dream.
But tomorrow I die, and today I would unburden my soul. My immediate purpose is to place before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment, a series of mere household events. In their consequences, these events have terrified—have tortured—have destroyed me. Yet I will not attempt to expound them.
Use context clues such as comparison, contrast, cause and effect, restatement, and examples to help you “get the gist” of unfamiliar words.
Tip
LEvEL Iv, UnIt 6
68 Exceeding the Standards: Vocabulary & Spelling © EMC Publishing, LLC
_____ 1. In this passage, succinctly most likely means A. elaborately.
B. recklessly.
C. briefly.
D. imaginatively.
_____ 2. The word expound most likely means A. explain.
B. succeed.
C. overwhelm.
D. forgive.
_____ 3. An antonym for homely as it is used in this passage would be A. fancy.
B. ugly.
C. homemade.
D. gorgeous.
_____ 4. The best synonym for solicit would be A. destroy.
B. solidify.
C. request.
D. question.
sentence completion Questions
Sentence completion questions present you with a sentence that has two words missing. You must select the pair of words that best completes the sentence. The key to this kind of question is to make sure that both parts of the answer you have selected work well in the sentence.
Try It Yourself
E x E r c I s E B
Select the best answer to each of the following sentence completion questions.
_____ 1. It took me a full week to _____ the courage to confront that _____ reporter.
A. generate…solicitous B. annoy…biased C. muster…malicious D. decimate…indignant
_____ 2. The newscaster worried that the change in her hair color would be too _____, but it turned out to be _____.
A. dramatic…imperceptible B. intense…electrifying C. distracting…different D. important…essential
_____ 3. The musician’s _____ clothing and makeup caused parental _____.
A. suggestive…approval B. garish…censure Write a paragraph describing
a monster, ghost, or other ghoulish creature that might live somewhere in your house. In your paragraph, use five invented words. Use context clues or familiar word parts to help your reader determine the meaning of each invented word. Then exchange paragraphs with a partner and have your partner use the context clues you have provided to identify synonyms for each of your invented words.
Just for Fun
Approach sentence completion questions by trying each of the first words in the first blank. Eliminate those answers that don’t make sense.
Then see which of the second words from the remaining answers works best.
Tip
69
© EMC Publishing, LLC Exceeding the Standards: Vocabulary & Spelling LEvEL Iv, UnIt 6
C. modest…outcry
D. immoderate…imposition
Analogy Questions
Analogy questions ask you to find the relationship between two words and then to recognize a similar relationship in another pair of words.
Look at the example below.
example
CAMERA : PHOTOGRAPHY ::
A. paint : paint brushes B. easel : drawing C. nail : hammer D. writer : computer
In an analogy question, the symbols : and :: mean “is to” and “as.” The example above would be read aloud as “Camera is to photography as…”
Follow these guidelines for answering analogy questions:
1. Think of a sentence that relates the two words. For the example above, you might think “A camera is a tool used in photography.”
2. Try substituting the words from each answer pair in the sentence.
“A paint is a tool used in paint brushes.”
“An easel is a tool used in drawing.”
“A nail is a tool used in hammer.”
“A writer is a tool used in computer.”
3. Decide which sentence makes the most sense.
4. If none of the options makes sense, try to think of a different sentence that relates the words, and work through the same process with the new sentence.
Try It Yourself
E x E r c I s E c
Select the best answer to each of the following analogy questions.
_____ 1. HAPPINESS : EUPHORIA ::
A. joy : despair B. denial : excuse C. urgent : important D. anger : fury
_____ 2. TORNADO : DESTRUCTION ::
A. hurricane : ocean B. thunder : wind C. windmill : electricity D. wave : tsunami _____ 3. HEART : LOVE ::
A. brain : vision B. smiley : good will C. flag : burning
D. television : entertainment
Analogy questions can utilize many types of relationships. While synonyms, antonyms, and cause-and- effect relationships are the most commonly used, others include:
general and specific (pasta : spaghetti); part and whole (petal : flower); age (horse : foal); tool and associated action (scissor : cut); worker and tool (dentist : drill); and symbol and meaning (flag : patriotism).
Tip
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: __________________
LEvEL Iv, UnIt 6
70 Exceeding the Standards: Vocabulary & Spelling © EMC Publishing, LLC
convoluted (k5n v@ l2> ted) adj., overly twisted or complicated As you experiment with using new vocabulary in your writing, avoid inserting extra words unnecessarily, a practice that could make your writing convoluted.
Convoluted comes from the Latin con- (“with, together”) and volvere (“to roll”). In literal terms, convoluted means “all rolled up together,” or “tangled.”
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