In this section, we will analyse techniques you can learn to answer word knowledge questions in effective ways. These strategies will ensure you attain a higher grade on the day of your exam.
In this section, we will analyse techniques you can learn to answer word knowledge questions in effective ways. These strategies will ensure you attain a higher grade on the day of your exam.
The previous section looked to methods we can employ in preparation of the ASVAB Word Knowledge test. This section, in contrast, looks to strategies you can muster when answering questions on the day of the exam. It might come as a surprise to you that you can strategically infer the answers from word knowledge questions, but with a little effort this is precisely what you can achieve. Nonetheless, it takes a while, which is why we advocate practising the hundreds of ASVAB Word Knowledge questions available on our program.
01 | Synonyms | Antonyms |
02 | Descriptions | Definitions |
03 | Tone and Context | Prefixes and Suffixes |
We’re going to take a look at example sentences for each of these headings, and learn how you can use these tips to ace your ASVAB Word Knowledge test. We begin by studying the influence of synonyms in the formation of sentences.
A synonym is described as a word has the same, or nearly the same, meaning as another word. For example, the words ‘angry’ and ‘mad’ are synonyms of each other. How does knowledge of synonyms assist our performance in the exam? Well, you can infer the correct answer by understanding the structure of the sentence. For instance, in the sentence:
The tough and resilient statue withstood the fierce winds last night.
Even if we never heard of the word ‘resilient’ before, we can at least infer it’s a synonym of the word ‘tough’, as both words describe the statue in the same way. Similarly, when faced with a question involving synonyms, you should be able to tell which word is likely to be the answer. Evidently, we’ll be able to rule out some answers which, at the very minimum, improve your chance of selecting the correct answer.
An antonym is described as a word that has the opposite, or nearly the opposite, meaning of another word. For example, the words ‘happy’ and ‘angry’ are antonyms of each other, as they are opposites in meaning. Like synonyms, we can infer meaning from sentences to derive which word is likely to require an antonym word selection. Let’s take a look at the following sentence to see this in action.
Jack is an extremely polite person, unlike Harry who is notably boorish despite his pretences.
Even if we never knew the meaning of the word ‘boorish, we can infer from the “unlike” part of the sentence that Harry must somehow be the opposite of Jack in terms of personality. So, when faced with a selection of words and 2-3 of the words are related to polite in some way, we can easily dismiss them in favour of this word, even if we don’t know its meaning. This is similar to how synonyms operate above, though the sentence structure in this case is notably favoured toward the negative thanks to the word “unlike”.
Descriptions are much easier to identify in that the words preceding or following the word in question somehow describe that word. In an exam scenario, this means we’re capable of dismissing certain answers that wouldn’t make sense to be described. Let’s take a look at the following scenario and see what we mean by this:
The red painted alcove stood out in a unique and exclusive way.
The fact we are furnished with the description “red painted” should give us some idea in the options as to what it definitely could not be. This, at the very least, would round the answers down to improve our chance of selecting the correct answer. An alcove, in this sense, refers to a recess found within a room and, in this case, it was painted red. Notice, too, how the red painted alcove is described – using the synonyms of ‘unique’ and ‘exclusive’. This example, therefore, should clearly highlight both the use of descriptions and use of synonyms as aids in how to answer ASVAB Word Knowledge questions.
In terms of definitions, the opposite is the case. Here, you’ll be presented with the description of something, which means you can deduce the possible word it must be, while crossing off those words it could not possibly be. Let’s take a look at the following description, with the word in bold representing the word described:
The Rhea is a large flightless bird found chiefly in the territories of South America.
Very few people would know what a Rhea is, but the purpose here is to focus on the entire section around the required word – the sentence. This sentence evidently requires us to produce something, a mammal, whose presence is limited to South America. With this knowledge in mind, we can go through each of the four possible answers and rule out those words who do not conform to animal status. This allows us to determine with a greater degree of accuracy what the word might actually be.
Try to bear in mind the tone of the sentence in question. If the tone sounds overtly negative, you can assume the required word, similarly, must be negative in nature. If, on the other hand, the message sounds explicitly positive, you can assume the missing word is of a wholly positive nature. Take a look at the following two examples to see what we mean:
The radiant colours from our garden planets beamed happiness into all the family.
Down and dejected, he simply couldn’t find it within himself to exonerate his friend of the crime.
In these two examples, you can clearly see how the tone of the message can influence the choice of words for a given sentence. Try to imagine yourself writing sentences and how you strategically choose some words over others, and this is no less true in an exam setting. By determining the overall tone of the piece, you can increase the probability of choosing the correct answer.
Analysis of prefixes and suffixes can also play a crucial role in settling on a particular word. This is principally true for words with Greek or Latin prefixes and suffixes. For example, let’s take a look at the following words:
And…
The common theme, as you can see, is the prefixes ‘Mal’ and ‘Ben’. The prefix ‘Mal’ always refers to something bad or negative, with the prefix ‘Ben’ always referring to something good or positive. Benign, for example, means harmless, whereas Malign, on the other hand, refers to harmfulness. This is just one example of where prefixes and suffixes consistently determine the meaning of words. If you never heard of the word ‘Malevolent’ before, but you knew of the prefix ‘Mal’, you can determine its meaning must refer to something bad or negative. So, you can see how an understanding of different prefixes and suffixes can aid in answering ASVAB Word Knowledge questions.
The next section provides an overview of everything we have learned over the course of this study guide.