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Officer Candidate Tests For Dummies
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Building a strong vocabulary will greatly improve your chances of doing well on the verbal abilities sections of the officer candidate tests. Though the types of questions vary from test to test, these tips will give you an edge:

  • Read widely — on a variety of topics.

  • Look for contextual clues to determine a word’s meaning.

  • Look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary in your daily reading, even when you're reading web pages.

  • Jot down unfamiliar words and their meanings.

  • Use words you’ve learned to improve retention.

  • Work crossword puzzles.

  • Play word games like Scrabble or Boggle.

  • Use word-a-day calendars or dictionary web sites and apps.

  • Take online vocabulary tests.

  • Create and use vocabulary flashcards.

About This Article

This article is from the book: 

About the book author:

Jane Burstein has decades of experience as an English teacher, adjunct professor, AP reader, and tutor for the SAT®, ACT®, GRE®, and GMAT® exams. She is the author or coauthor of numerous English and test-prep books.

Carolyn Wheater teaches math at The Nightingale-Bamford School in New York, New York.

LTC Richard Dahoney, U.S. Army, Ret., is the principal author of disbursing policy guidance for the U.S. Department of Defense.