Aside from fear of math, the hardest shortcoming to overcome when preparing for a standardized test is a weak vocabulary.  If you’re an adult, it’s good to examine your present vocabulary and consider how much of it you knew when you were 17.  In my case, most of the polysyllabic words with which I’m now familiar I hadn’t used even once at that age.  Let’s face it, learning vocabulary is a sedimentary process.  Words wash in, and if we use them regularly they bond with the words we already know.  When they’re not used, they wash away again. (more…)