How the PELLETB vocabulary sub-test works
Each item is a sentence with one word underlined. You choose, from four options, the word or phrase that most nearly has the same meaning. POST says the words are common ones that may come up in law enforcement work, not police jargon.
POST’s own sample items show the traps: an option with the opposite meaning, options that would make sense in the sentence but do not mean the same thing, and near neighbours that are close but not exact.
How to answer a vocabulary item
Define first, then look:
- Cover the options and say what the underlined word means in your own words.
- Find the option that matches your definition, not the one that sounds right in the sentence.
- Cross off the opposite, which is often there.
- If you do not know the word, use its parts (prefix, root, suffix) and the sentence to narrow it down, then choose. Never leave it blank.
Worked example
“The sergeant gave a terse reply.” Options: a. short and abrupt, b. polite, c. detailed, d. angry.
Terse means using few words, often curtly, so the answer is a. “Detailed” is the opposite. “Polite” and “angry” both fit the sentence, and “angry” is close in feeling, but neither means using few words.
Tips for the real vocabulary sub-test
- Read widely in the weeks before. POST says vocabulary is not a skill that improves quickly, and that word lists without context are not enough.
- Learn common Latin and Greek roots and prefixes, such as “in” and “im” for not, or “loc” for place. POST’s guide lists several.
- Watch for two options that both seem right. POST advises working out the difference between them before choosing.
- Answer every item. Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer.
Practise PELLETB vocabulary on CogniPrep
Our vocabulary drill gives you 16 items in 10 minutes, in American English, with the opposite-meaning and fits-the-sentence traps that POST’s examples use. You can move back and forth and flag items. You get your percentage correct, compared with the average applicant in POST’s older published figures. The 10 minutes are our suggested share of the real 1 hour 45 minute clock.