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Words may not be your preference, but don’t think you can avoid them by going military. The ASVAB exam takes commitment to vocabulary very seriously. Communication is one of the most important factors in making the United States military the best in the world, and it is something you must be able to do effectively in order to move up the ranks. Here are 4 Vocabulary Strategies for Mastering the ASVAB. Put them to use and your scores will make you that much more marketable in the ranks of the Armed Forces.

1. Read as much as possible.

A considerable portion of the military’s test on word knowledge will be administered in the form of context clues. That means the boring standard you may have learned that required you to transcribe the dictionary definition of each word won’t apply in these questions. When you’re reading a book you don’t stop to check the definition of every word you don’t know. (If you do, no wonder reading isn’t very fun.)

Usually, you keep reading and try to determine the word meaning on your own based on the other words surrounding it and the overall drive of the scene. Determining a word’s meaning from the way it’s used in a sentence is very important to the “word knowledge” portion of the exam. Another strategy that works: read as much as you can. Novels; short stories; true crime books; non-fiction in areas that interest you; graphic novels; enjoying just about any kind of book is going to make you a better reader.

Virtually every medium of literature features work that can challenge and interest you simultaneously. Choose some pleasure reading to break up the monotony of studying the literal definitions of words, and you may just find that you don’t need a dictionary to choose the correct meaning of words you’ve never seen before!

2. Review recommended word lists from credible sources.

Not every technique has to be super fun to be effective. This next technique may not put a big smile on your face, but it will get results. Any credible study source in prepping you for the ASVAB will give you combinations of words that you are likely to see on the test. Make sure you’re doing whatever you can to find the meanings of these words once you have the study materials in hand.

Use vocabulary apps on your phone. Write out definitions. Use the vocabulary words in sentences of your own creation. As G.I. Joe once said, knowing is half the battle. You have to know what the words are that you’ll most likely see on exam day before you can take the actions necessary to learning them.

3. Employ good spelling techniques.

Spelling techniques are overlooked when studying for an exam. Many people who read well can’t spell to save their lives, and that is something that will hurt you when having to use your communication skills on the exam itself. Not only do you need to know what a word means, but also you have to be able to spell it correctly to be an effective communicator.

Take a word you don’t know how to spell and make a sentence out of it where each word starts with the letters of the word you are having trouble with. Break large words into smaller ones. Say words aloud and sound them out. You can do a lot of activities that bolster your spelling. And the more your spelling improves, the more your relationship with words will as well.

4. Use words in a sentence.

It’s already been mentioned once, but it bears repeating. Create your own sentences using a vocabulary word correctly. Think about your first time working a cash register. You couldn’t take all forms of payment and know what to do with every little sales slip by listening to your boss tell you how it’s done. Well, you could but that isn’t what prepped you for the mad weekend rush where you had to do all that and deal with the bossy customers all without losing it on someone.

What trained you for those situations was actually experiencing them and then using your own will to excel. In the same manner, you can hear a definition all day, but it will likely not stick until you know how to use it yourself. So write away!