How to Answer “Words in Context” Questions on the SAT Writing Section

One of the more challenging aspects of the SAT Writing section is the “Words in Context” question type. Words in Context (WIC) questions ask you to read a sentence or phrase and decide which word would best fit in the blank. These questions can be tough for a couple reasons. First, they almost always include at least two answer choices that are fundamentally similar and therefore difficult to choose between. Second, they may also include unfamiliar vocabulary words. When students encounter tricky WIC questions, they sometimes freeze or spend too much time trying to answer them. To avoid this trap, we recommend using the following three best practices.

Predict the Answer

WIC questions rarely have one glaringly obvious correct answer choice. Instead, two or more answer choices will usually seem reasonable if you really think about them. Here’s an example:

If we immediately jump to the answer choices and start plugging them into the blank, it may not be readily apparent which answer is correct. In fact, you could probably make a case for every single answer choice if you really wanted to. This is because every answer choice is designed to sound appealing if you don’t pay attention to the context. Instead, try covering up those tricky answer choices and read through the passage again. When you get to the blank, say the first word that pops into your head. (We’re not kidding. Trust your instincts on this one!) Nine times out of ten, you’ll come up with something very similar to the correct answer.

Pay Attention to Tone

In addition to predicting what word should go in the blank, be sure to pay attention to the tone of the passage as a whole. Some passages will be neutral and academic while others may be more persuasive or even entertaining. The correct answer will always match the overall tone of the passage.

Ignore Unfamiliar Vocabulary

Occasionally, you’ll encounter a word or two that you genuinely don’t know. If this happens, do not freak out. I repeat—do not freak out! The SAT intentionally includes these words to intimidate students and eat up extra time. To avoid this pitfall, be prepared to completely ignore all unfamiliar words. Oftentimes, you’ll still be able to find the correct answer even if you don’t know all the words. However, in the rare event that vocabulary prevents you from making any progress, the best thing you can do is guess and move on. WIC questions are only a small portion of your score, but time lost fruitlessly trying to answer them can do real damage to your overall score.

Now that we know how to approach WIC questions, let’s try a sample question:

Let’s start by covering the answers and reading the whole sentence. Once we’ve read the sentence, a few clues should stand out to us. First, the meal has herbs and spices that were hand-selected by a chef. Second, the chef’s taste, or “palate,” is both unique and discerning. Based on these clues, it’s clear the chef has been careful about the herbs and spices he or she has included in the meal. Without overthinking, it looks like we’ve already stumbled upon a prediction for the blank: “careful.” Now that we have a prediction, we can think about tone. The sentence appears to have been excerpted from a very positive review of the chef’s work, so we’re looking for an adjective that describes the assembly of herbs and spices in a positive light. Uncovering the answer choices, we immediately see that answer D, “snooty,” is critical and should therefore be eliminated. We are left with three answer choices. Answer A is complimentary of the chef’s dish but is not the same meaning as our prediction, “careful.” In fact, there are no clues in the sentence that suggest the dish brings a sense of joy or delight. Let’s eliminate A. We’re left with two answer choices: B and C. Both of these answer choices may include unfamiliar vocabulary. However, if we know one of the words, we can use process of elimination to arrive at the correct answer. Suppose, for example, that we do not know what “bombastic” means. We do, however, know that “meticulous” means showing great attention to detail. Since the definition of “meticulous” almost exactly matches that of our prediction, “careful,” we can simply select answer B and move on.

As shown above, WIC questions can be a real sore spot for unprepared test-takers who do not predict their own words first or who allow unfamiliar vocabulary to intimidate them. However, if you trust your instincts and don’t dwell on strange words, it’s possible to get through these questions without even breaking a sweat.