Academic Skills

A typical student in this score band can do the following:

• SKILL 1: Use context clues when selecting missing vocabulary at the sentence level
• SKILL 2: Use knowledge of root words, prefixes, and suffixes when selecting missing vocabulary at the sentence level
• SKILL 3: Use the context of a sentence or a short section of text to clarify the meaning of unknown words or to select the appropriate meaning of familiar and simple words that have multiple meanings

Suggestions for Improvement

To prepare for the next score band, try the following:

• When you come across an unknown or difficult word in your reading, look at the word to see if it contains a root word that you know.
• When you come across an unknown or difficult word in your reading, try to find out if that word is jargon, or the specialized vocabulary of a specific field.
• When you come across an unknown word or a word with multiple meanings in your reading, look at the context of the sentence for clues to what the word means.
• In your reading, pick out a long sentence and break it down into smaller parts. Think about how the structure of the sentence creates relationships among the ideas in the sentence. Think about how words like but, although, and also create certain relationships.

Skill Examples

The example questions below demonstrate the Academic Skills found in this score band. Without looking at the answers, try out the questions to see how comfortable you feel with the skills they test.