Plug and Play Is Not the Way
SAT® Words in Context Questions come with specific instructions. You should follow them!
I've seen it a million times.
A student, working on a Words in Context Question, mentally inserts each answer choice, intently “listens,” confidently selects the one that "flows" the best, and... gets it wrong.
The problem?
Words in Context Questions don't ask you to "flow" (what does that even mean? Nobody knows!)
The instructions are right there in front of your eyes: "Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?"
Logical. Precise.
Yeah - those aren't throwaway words. They actually matter.
Think of it this way: SAT® Reading isn't testing your "ear". It's testing your brain.
The SAT® doesn't care about what "sounds good" or "feels right" to you, personally.
If that sounds a bit harsh, well... standardized exams aren't exactly known for their compassion!
But it’s not all bad news. Most Words in Context Questions leave a trail of breadcrumbs directly to the correct answer. You just have to know where, and how, to look.
To achieve a top score on SAT® Reading & Writing, you must develop the skill of identifying context clues and analyzing the logical relationships they establish.
Take today’s free practice question for example. When the passage says "contradicting the long-held view" and "far more cosmopolitan society than once believed," these aren't random remarks or general filler that you can breeze past. They're carefully placed, deliberate signals pointing to a specific type of answer that your brain needs to decode.
Want to know the real secret behind those coveted 700+ scores? It’s not getting better at intuiting “flow.” Rather, it's this exact skill we're discussing.
The Difference Between 600 and 750 Scorers
As I recently mentioned, SAT® Reading isn’t horseshoes, hand-grenades, or government work. “Close” doesn’t typically cut it.
Yet many students approach a Words in Context Question as if it were a piñata—eyes covered, disoriented, taking wild swings, just hoping they’ll connect with something that makes the points come spilling out.
But hope is not a strategy. At least not a good one.
Top scorers, meanwhile, interrogate passages like detectives, systematically breaking down each context clue to determine precisely what logical function the blank must serve and what meaning it must express.
One approach leads to inconsistent guessing, sub-optimal scores, and crocodile tears; the other leads to consistent score gains and SAT® success.
In today's post, I'm sharing three brand new, hand-crafted Words in Context practice questions that illustrate this principle perfectly.
Free subscribers can tackle the first question, while paid subscribers receive two additional, more challenging questions with comprehensive strategy walk-throughs and detailed answer explanations.
Words in Context Practice Question 1
Recent archaeological evidence has ______ historians' previous interpretations of the Indus Valley civilization, contradicting the long-held view of isolated settlements. Extensive maritime trade networks connecting these urban centers with distant cultures suggest a far more cosmopolitan society than once believed.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) validated
B) augmented
C) recapitulated
D) transformed
Quick Tip 💡
Ditch the vague "sounds about right" approach and focus on identifying specific context clues and the precise logical relationships they signal. The test explicitly asks for "logical and precise" because that's exactly what it measures and rewards. Master this systematic approach to textual analysis in my SAT® Reading & Writing Mastery LIVE course, where we turn guesswork into guaranteed points. The early bird discount expires soon, so don’t delay!
SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Board, which is not affiliated with Walker Prep and was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product or website.
Additional Practice Questions with Strategy Walk-Throughs and Answer Explanations
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