How to Study SAT Words Effectively: 3 Essential Tips

Now that you've got a huge list of SAT vocabulary words you can work with, what’s the best way to study them? Here are three key tips to help you get the most out of your SAT vocab studies.

#1: Make Flashcards and Use the Waterfall Method

One of the absolute best ways to study SAT vocab words is to make flashcards. This lets you control which SAT words you study and even randomizes them so that you don't accidentally memorize words in a predetermined order.

We recommend using the waterfall method to study your flashcards. With this method, you'll get to see all the words in your deck, going over the most challenging words more often than the ones you already know or sort of know.

Here's how to use the waterfall method:

Once you’ve made your flashcards, split them up into decks (you can put whatever words you want in these decks) of about 30-50 cards each. Choose one deck to be your Starting Stack. 

Go through your Starting Stack, looking at each and every card. For the words you know, put them in a Know It pile. For the words you don’t know, put them in a separate Struggled pile as so:

Now, pick up your Struggled pile and go through each card in it (leave your Know It pile where it is). Put the cards you know in a second Know It pile and the ones you don’t know in a Struggled pile.

You should now have two Know It piles and one Struggled pile:

Repeat this process of picking up your Struggled pile and going through each card until you’re left with about one to five cards in your Struggled pile:

By now you should know most, if not all, cards in your deck. But it isn’t enough to just go through them once—you also have to work back up your “waterfall” of cards. 

To do this, combine your Struggled pile with your last Know It pile (the pile closest to the Struggled pile). This will be your Working pile. Go through all the cards in this pile. If there are any words you forgot, go through the entire pile again and again until you've learned all the definitions in it.

Continue this pattern by combining your current Working pile with the next Know It pile. Go through all these cards until you know each one.

At the end, you should have made your way all the back to your original Starting Stack. You now know all the SAT words and their meanings in your deck! Repeat this waterfall method with the other decks you make so that you can learn even more critical SAT vocab words.

#2: Focus On Words You Don’t Know

If you don’t have time to study the entire list above or only want to learn some SAT words, use our list to make a new vocab list containing only the words you don’t know. So if you know a word or are fairly sure you’ll be able to recognize it on test day, skip it and instead focus on the words you’ll have the most trouble remembering. Once you have your list, use the waterfall method to study it.

If you’re not a fan of paper flashcards, you can opt for digital flashcards. Anki is a free software you can download and use to make your own flashcards. The program uses spaced-repetition software (SRS) to show you difficult cards more often than those you know (basically, a digital version of the waterfall method).

#3: Take Official SAT Practice Tests

Since the majority of the words in our list above come from official SAT practice tests, once you’ve studied these SAT words, you can put your knowledge to the test by taking a practice test. This lets you see whether you truly know the meanings of the words and whether you’ll be able to get the right answers in the context of a full-length, timed test—just like the real SAT.

If you miss any questions because you forgot the meaning of a word, go back over our SAT vocab words list using your flashcards and the waterfall method.

The Best SAT Vocab Flashcards

If you plan to make your own SAT vocab flashcards from our list, you'll need at least 300 blank index cards and a system to keep them organized. These basic cards are an affordable option that are also available in fun colors. You can keep them organized with plastic baggies or rubber bands, or you can get an organizer. Alternatively, try these easy-flip flashcards that include binder clips.

Though we strongly recommend making your own flashcards, you can also buy pre-made ones. There aren't a lot of options for the new SAT. We'd recommend going with Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know, a series of exercises to master key words and idioms, or Manhattan's GRE flashcards if you're looking for a challenge.

Conclusion: The Importance of Studying SAT Vocabulary

Overall, vocabulary words don't play a huge part on the SAT. That said, you’ll definitely have some questions on both the Reading and Writing section that test your knowledge of SAT words, so it’s important to study those most likely to appear on test day.

The best way to study SAT vocabulary is to make flashcards and use the waterfall method. This ensures you know all the words in your deck and aren’t glossing over any difficult ones.

If you don’t want to make flashcards or don’t have time to study the whole list, however, it’s a good idea to pick out the words you don’t know and study just those. With these, you can either make a smaller deck of paper flashcards or opt for digital flashcards.

No matter how you choose to study SAT vocab words, be sure to test out what you’ve learned in the context of full-length practice tests. Nearly all the words in our list above come from official SAT practice tests, so you’re guaranteed to come across them in some form!