When studying to take the Middle Level SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test), it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the things you have to know. Not only does the Middle Level SSAT test Math and Reading skills, asking you to write an essay in response to a prompt, but it also tests your verbal reasoning skills on the Verbal section. The Verbal section of the SSAT may look pretty overwhelming at first glance, especially if English isn’t your best subject, but by efficiently studying the material, the SSAT Verbal section tests and learning about the types of questions the SSAT Verbal section asks and the ways in which it asks them, you can be confident in your ability to answer even the most challenging SSAT Verbal problem when you take the Middle Level SSAT.

The Verbal section on the Middle Level SSAT is made up of 60 multiple-choice questions, and you are given a half hour (30 minutes) in which to answer these questions. There are no essays on the SSAT’s Verbal section; you do write an essay for the SSAT, but during a different part of the test. You may feel somewhat relieved to learn that none of the questions on the SSAT’s Verbal section test your knowledge of grammatical rules, spelling, or writing conventions. While other exams like the ACT, SAT, and many statewide standardized tests ask questions based on correcting sentences with grammatical errors or selecting the best way to rewrite a sentence that contains a grammatical error, the SSAT does not. The SSAT also only asks two types of questions: Synonyms and Analogies.

Synonym questions on the SSAT present a word and five answer choices, asking you to pick out the answer choice that is the closest synonym of the word in question. Analogy questions on the SSAT present a phrase like “Apple is to fruit as pine is to” or “Cat is to meow as” and then ask you to pick out an answer choice that logically completes the analogy. In other words, the SSAT wants you to think about how the first two words are related, and then pick out an answer choice that makes the second two terms have the same relationship. For the first example, a correct answer might be “tree,” since an apple is a type of fruit, and a pine is a type of tree. For the second choice, since cats often make noise by meowing, a correct answer might be “dog is to bark,” because, just as cats make noise by meowing, dogs make noise by barking.

The best way to get better at correctly answering both synonym and analogy questions is to practice and expand your vocabulary. You can expand your vocabulary by learning about the roots, prefixes, and suffixes that make up words, and by learning new words. That way, you’re less likely not to know what a word means on the SSAT, and in this case, to be able to take a good guess at what it means based on the meanings of its roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Also, by practicing SSAT Verbal questions, you get used to the way in which the questions are asked and train yourself in thinking about the relationships between words. You can practice both synonym and analogy questions by taking Varsity Tutors’ free SSAT Middle Level Practice Tests. Each SSAT Verbal Practice Test consists of ten to twelve SSAT Verbal questions, and a complete explanation is given for each question, which tells you how to arrive at the right answer.

You may want to begin your review sessions by taking a Full-Length Middle Level SSAT Verbal Practice Test. All of the concepts you’ll need to know on the real exam are covered on this free online test. The extended format offers you the chance to work on your pace, focus, and endurance. As on the results pages for the shorter, topic-focused practice tests, the results pages for the full-length practice tests give you all sorts of helpful feedback, like links to in-depth review materials and detailed explanations that accompany each answer. These free online SSAT practice tests can also guide you in formulating a custom study plan that focuses on the concepts in which you need more review. Once you’ve brushed up on your skills, you can take another free Full-Length Middle Level SSAT Verbal Practice Test to gauge your academic growth.

By using Varsity Tutors’ free SSAT Middle Level resources to study and expand your vocabulary, you can feel completely prepared for the Middle Level SSAT’s Verbal section on test day!