Vocabulary and General Knowledge
What this section tests
This domain rewards a broad working vocabulary plus light general knowledge. Expect synonyms and antonyms, context-clue items (a word used in a sentence, with four candidate meanings), word parts (prefixes, suffixes, Greek and Latin roots), connotation (positive, negative, neutral), homophones and commonly confused pairs, simple analogies, and general-knowledge questions drawn from basic science, geography, history, and literary terms.
High-yield word parts
- bene- good / mal- bad (beneficent, malevolent)
- pre- before / post- after
- anti- against / syn- together
- -ology study of / -itis inflammation
- -graph writing / -phobia fear
- aud- hear / spec- look / dict- speak
Traps to expect
- Secondary meanings. A familiar word used in an unfamiliar sense (a run in her stocking, a sharp turn).
- Connotation mismatch. Two choices may be synonyms, but only one carries the right tone (thrifty vs. stingy).
- Look-alike words. Emigrate/immigrate, accept/except, affect/effect, principal/principle.
- Analogy direction. Establish the relationship first (part-to-whole, cause-to-effect, degree), then apply it in the same order.
Rule of thumb
For context items, cover the word and predict a substitute. Then check the sentence with each option; the correct choice should preserve both meaning and tone. For analogies, write your relationship as a full sentence before looking at the pairs.
Worked example
The doctor's prognosis was guarded. Using pro- (before) plus the root gnosis (knowledge), prognosis means a forecast of how a condition will develop - a prediction made before the outcome is known. Choices offering "diagnosis" (identification of the disease) are the classic distractor.