SAT: The Language of the Test: Language of the Test, List 10

The SAT can ask you to tell the difference between the general and the specific, and a concept is a general idea apart from specific examples. Your particular sandwich may have turkey on it one day or tuna fish on it another day, but the concept of a sandwich is food between pieces of bread. Examples are important, but when you are talking concepts, you are talking what those examples have in common. Words related to concept include idea and essence.

A dispute can be a disagreement or a fight, but it is also used on the SAT as a verb meaning "to reject or take exception to." To effectively dispute a claim, you should have evidence on your side that supports your stance or perspective on an issue. To dispute something is to go against it, to act in opposition to it. On the SAT the presence of dispute indicates a difference of opinion, and other words that do this include: refute, oppose, and diverge.

To determine something is to figure it out. On the SAT, the word determine may show up in question stems or in answer options, since many of the reading passages will involve logical arguments where evidence is used to determine something. Determine usually implies something objective, not subjective. In other words, you don't "determine your feelings" about something. It's usually a fact you would determine. For example, you can use a thermometer to determine your temperature.

An intention is the result you mean to happen from an action you take. On the SAT, you my be asked to interpret the intention of a certain character (which you can infer from their actions and their attitudes about what they are doing). Other words that are related to intention are purpose and reason.

To indicate is to give a sign of something occuring. Large dark clouds can indicate that a rainstorm will start soon. An SAT question with indicate is asking you what something means, what it points to, or stands for. Words related to indicate include: signify, mean, and imply.

You may think that two people are needed to discuss something, but there is another use of the verb discuss. This discuss means to address or examine a topic, and you can do that alone. To discuss is to look at a topic thoroughly in writing or speech. In the world of the SAT, an author hasn't written about a topic, they have discussed it. Other words related to discuss include: examine, dissect, and elaborate on.

This use of discussion refers to an author's writing about a topic, particularly in the SAT reading passages. Let's say the passage is about many kinds of sea creatures. Using a phrase like "the discussion of dolphins" in the question is a way to indicate the current topic and where in the passage one should look for help in answering the question.

The word abstract comes up a lot in academic language that you may encounter on the SAT. It can be used as an adjective to describe a concept or idea — like innocence or envy — or it can be used as a noun to refer to a short summary of an academic or scientific article. A good way to remember the adjective meaning is to think of abstract art where a splash of paint may represent an emotion, and then contrast that with a realistic painting — like Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

Previous means "just before." On the SAT, instructions often include the phrase "previous question." This means the instructions are telling you to look at the question right before this one to help with the question you are now answering. Most likely, you will have to use some decisions you made in answering the last question to help you choose the answer to the question you are thinking about now.

When you accomplish something, you achieve it. A question on the ACT Reading Test might ask you how an author accomplishes his or her purpose. This word is related to accomplishments, or things that you have achieved in your life.

When something doesn't stay the same, we say that it varies. To vary is to change. Vary is used on the SAT during discussions of experiments, where scientists try to limit what varies to one thing — the variable they are testing.

An assumption is something taken to be true, a belief. Sometimes assumptions are stated by an author and sometimes you have to infer them. On the SAT, you could be asked a question like, "An unstated assumption made by the author about x is..." Or, you may have to choose a statement that "best captures" an author's central assumption. As you can see, the SAT will most likely require you to infer assumptions.