SAT: The Language of the Test: Language of the Test, List 2

Explicit points are made directly; you won't have to read between the lines to find them in a reading passage. If an SAT question asks you about what a writer has explicitly stated, you better head back to the passage to find it. It will be right there in front of you. Explicit is the opposite of implicit, meaning "implied."

Can you see the word imply in the word implicit? That can help you remember that implicit is an adjective to describe something that is not directly (or explicitly) stated. On the SAT, you will be continuously trying to figure out the writers' implicit messages.

Answering reading comprehension questions often requires you to try to figure out what an author really means, even if he or she is not directly stating it. You may see the word allude used on the SAT, to connect an author with some indirect reference he or she has made. For example, an author might refer to the "flood to end all floods" as a way to allude to the flood in the Book of Genesis. The author doesn't directly mention the Bible story, but he or she is alluding to it.

To imply something is to hint at it, without directly stating it. On the SAT Reading Test, you will be asked to figure out what a passage implies. In order to answer such a question, you will have to make inferences based on the clues the writer has provided you. Think of yourself as a textual detective!

Don't confuse infer and imply. When you are asked to infer on the SAT, you are interpreting what a writer has implied or hinted at "in between the lines." The idea, conclusion, or meaning that you infer is called an inference.

To foreshadow is to hint at something beforehand. For example, an author might foreshadow a tragedy in a work of fiction by describing dark storm clouds gathering before the event. On the SAT, you may be asked to identify an example of foreshadowing or the event being foreshadowed.

Since the SAT Reading Test will include science passages, you better learn that a hypothesis is a theory or idea that you test through an experiment. For example, you might have to read about an experiment and identify the main hypothesis and how evidence either supported or refuted that hypothesis.

When you capture an idea, you describe it really well. On the SAT, you'll have to answer questions that may ask you to choose the best answer option that captures an author's point. This word is used like other words you may see on the SAT, like characterize and describe.

Even though you can see the word character inside characterize, this verb does not just apply to how an author describes or builds a fictional character. A writer could characterize anything — for example, the 1920s were characterized by many writers as a time of decadence.

As weird as it may sound, an item on the SAT is a question. So, when the College Board tells you that you may want to review "the sample items," they really mean the sample questions. Go figure.

To summarize is to retell something without interpreting it. You may be asked to identify the best summary of a reading passage on the SAT. In that case, choose the statement which captures or summarizes the main points of the passage "in a nutshell."

When you are asked to analyze a reading passage on the SAT, you are doing more than just trying to figure out what it is saying on the surface level. Analysis requires figuring out how the different parts of the passage relate to its overall message and its effects on the reader.