Why Does Writing Become Harder in Middle School?

Middle school students must complete more sophisticated assignments, like five-paragraph essays. They must also do more critical thinking. These tasks are especially difficult for students who have done only a little writing in elementary school.

Why Does My Child Struggle to Write?

Writing is scary; even professional writers will tell you that they struggle. But they know which writing models to use, so they can overcome their fears. Most kids struggle to write because they lack clear models. Once they have these models, they have less fear.

Why Is My Child’s Writing So Simple?

When children are in elementary school, it’s actually fine for their writing to be simple. At this age, many kids lack the cognitive development for sophisticated ideas. But starting in 6th grade, kids must produce more sophisticated writing, including five-paragraph essays. At this point, if their writing is simple, kids might need more feedback, practice with sentence combining, or grammar instruction.

Why Are My Child’s Sentences So Short?

Your child might feel nervous about writing, so he writes sentences that feel safe to him. Or he might need more help combining his ideas into longer sentences. Learning grammar helps students by showing them logical ways to build longer, more sophisticated sentences.

Why Do Some Students Use Simple Vocabulary Even When They Read Well?

Their active vocabulary is smaller than their reading vocabulary; many students can guess the meaning of a word from context but are unable to use the word properly in a sentence.

Why Do Strong Students Struggle With Essays?

Some students read well and think well but struggle to organize their thoughts. They need a lot of practice writing thesis statements and topic sentences.

How Do Students Develop More Sophisticated Writing?

There are two parts to developing sophisticated writing: improving sentence complexity and improving thinking. To improve sentence complexity, kids should study grammar and use that knowledge to write more sophisticated sentences. To improve thinking, kids should write out their ideas and discuss them with adults who can help point out weaknesses in the argument.

Why Is Vocabulary So Important for Writing?

Good vocabulary helps kids express themselves clearly and write sophisticated arguments. It helps them avoid needless repetition and gives them pride in their work.

Why Don’t School English Classes Always Improve Writing?

In school English classes, teachers usually have 25-30 students per class, and 125 - 150 students total. That means that grading a single essay assignment for all classes could take 20-25 hours of work. Since teachers don’t have this time, they assign essays rarely and take weeks to return them.

How Can Parents Help Students Develop Stronger Writing Skills?

Parents can make sure that their kids are completing regular writing assignments from school, receiving good (and timely) comments from the teacher, and reading age-appropriate books. Warning: Kids, especially preteens and teens, will likely resist parent-led writing assignments.

Should I Let My Child Use AI for School Essays?

No. Kids need to face the challenge of writing without AI help. Writing is a complex skill that requires kids to create, reason, and edit, and these skills need years of practice. Letting kids use AI to write essays is like allowing them to use calculators to complete basic arithmetic instead of requiring them to learn mental math.

Why Doesn’t My Child Read Anymore?

Some children read a lot in elementary school but stop reading in middle school. Since they have more homework, they have less time to read. Also, activities like video games and social media become more interesting.

My Child Won’t Read the Books I Give Him

He might just prefer other books. Ask him what he would like to read, buy him those books, and see what happens. Restrain the urge to pass judgment on his taste.

Are Graphic Novels Good for Kids?

Yes, graphic novels are fine so long as they read chapter books as well. Many advanced readers have read a lot of graphic novels, comic strip collections, and manga. But they also read more advanced books. (Keep in mind that reading graphic novels is better than playing video games.)

What Are Good Books for Kids to Read?

There are two types of “good books”: The books kids want to read for fun, and the books that challenge them. For fun books, let kids read what they want to read. Light reading helps to build focus and attention. For challenging books, rely on texts assigned at school or by a tutor. Many students benefit from guidance when reading more challenging books, especially in middle school and high school.

Is Speed Reading Good?

No, not for kids. At this age, they should slow down their reading so that they can focus. They need to understand books at a slow pace before they can understand them at a fast pace.

Should My Child Read Books on an iPad?

No. iPads have games stored on them and are connected to the distractions of the Internet. By using a e-reader that is exclusively for reading, your child will build focus.

How Can My Child Improve Reading Comprehension?

1. Improve vocabulary. 2. Increase the number of hours spent each week reading. 3. Read with focus (don’t skim). 4. Read aloud (to avoid skimming) 5. Discuss the reading with a teacher, a tutor, a parent, or an intelligent group of friends.

How Can My Child Improve Vocabulary?

To improve vocabulary, kids should look up the meanings of unknown words in their books (but no more than two words per page). To remember these words, kids should write the definitions in a notebook or on vocabulary cards.

What’s a Good Vocabulary Book for Kids?

For decades, the best vocabulary books have been the Wordly Wise series, by Kenneth Hodkinson. Out of all the vocab books I’ve read, these contain the best mix of age-appropriate words and learning exercises.

What’s the Best App for Improving My Child’s Vocabulary?

We don’t recommend using apps or websites for vocabulary study. They are connected to phones and the web, which are a source of endless distraction for kids. Free versions contain ads, another distraction.

How Can I Help My Child Read More?

You could create a family reading time where the entire family reads books of their choosing for 15-30 minutes daily. Kids learn to value reading when they see adults reading. The books should be books for enjoyment, not textbooks or other school reading assignments.

SAT Vocabulary Lists for the Digital SAT

This SAT vocabulary list includes advanced academic vocabulary words commonly encountered on the SAT Reading and Writing sections. The list is organized to help high school students strengthen reading comprehension, analytical writing, and academic English skills.

Our SAT vocabulary instruction emphasizes semantic relationships and contextual understanding rather than rote memorization alone.

For example, in the following list, we pair the antonyms adroit and maladroit. In the complete download, we group the words with the “bene” root (meaning “good”) and the “mal” root (meaning “bad”).

SAT Vocabulary Words and Definitions

Vocabulary List 1

#	Word	Definition	Sample Sentences
1	abridge	to shorten (a piece of writing)	The publisher abridged the long novel by leaving out the chapters with long descriptions of the countryside.
2	abstain	to refrain from (doing something that you could do)	My parents abstained from drinking alcohol for religious reasons.
3	abstemious	refraining from rich food or strong drink	Charles was naturally abstemious, so he felt at home in the monastery.
4	abstract	dealing with ideas rather than concrete objects	Geometry is an abstract subject because it studies objects like circles, which exist only in thought.
5	abstruse	describing advanced knowledge that is difficult to understand	The brilliant professor was an expert in the more abstruse topics of theoretical physics.
6	acclaim	to praise highly	The audience acclaimed the composer's latest work as a masterpiece.
7	adroit	skillful, especially with one's hands	The pianist handled the keys adroitly.
8	maladroit	clumsy (mal– = bad)	The maladroit man tripped while walking down the sidewalk.
9	adulation	great public praise	The championship team walked down Main Street, listening to the adulation of cheering crowds.
10	adversary	opponent	The boxer stood up in his corner and studied his adversary carefully.
11	adversity	challenge or difficulty	The settlers survived the adversity of their first winter and went on to build a prosperous community.
12	advocate	to express public support for	The environmental activists advocated stopping all logging in the old-growth forest.
13	aesthetic	having to do with beauty	Philosophers of aesthetics like to ask why people call certain works of art beautiful and others ugly.
14	affable	friendly	The affable guests stood around talking with each other while the shy ones sat around drinking punch.
15	affirm	1. to assert strongly and publicly; 2. to declare one's support for	The preacher affirmed his commitment to helping the poor by starting a food drive at his church.
16	alleviate	to make (suffering or a problem) less severe	The conductor took Aleve to alleviate his arthritis pain.
17	aloof	emotionally distant, reserved, cool	The aloof teenager walked the school halls, talking to no-one, listening to music on his earbuds.
18	altruistic	acting from purely selfless motives	People consider Mother Teresa altruistic because she devoted her entire life to helping poor people in third-world countries.
19	ambivalent	uncertain which course of action to take, often because you see both benefits and drawbacks	I felt ambivalent about taking a vacation: on the one hand, I wanted a break, but on the other hand, I needed money.
20	ambiguous	unclear	Because the directions were ambiguous, most of us did the assignment incorrectly.

Next Steps

Want the complete printable SAT vocabulary list? Download the full PDF version below.

If your SAT Reading and Writing score has plateaued, we also offer advanced SAT Reading and Writing instruction.

Many students become stuck in the low-to-mid 700s because vocabulary memorization alone is not enough. We specialize in helping students break through SAT Reading and Writing plateaus through deeper reading comprehension, grammar, and analytical writing instruction.

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SAT Vocabulary Lists for the Digital SAT

SAT Vocabulary Words and Definitions

Vocabulary List 1

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