EXTRAPOLATE means to predict future outcomes by extending known facts. The romantic relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce created a media frenzy in the Fall of 2023. At that time, I confidently predicted the relationship would fail and that Travis would inevitably end up in one of Taylor’s breakup songs. My EXTRAPOLATION was WRONG! As everyone knows, Taylor and Travis were married on July 3, 2026 in a massive star-studded ceremony held inside Madison Square Gardn in New York City.
My inaccurate prediction illustrates why it is best to be cautious about making EXTRAPOLATIONS from a narrow range of facts. It would have been fun if SAT test writers had used speculation about the relationship between Taylor and Travis to illustrate the pitfalls of making EXTRAPOLATIONS. Needless to say they didn’t!
Recent SAT vocabulary in context passages have used academic examples to illustrate EXTRAPOLATION. In one example, a researcher noted that the automobile industry did concentrate in Detroit, Michigan. However, she cautioned that you can’t EXTRAPOLATE this historic example to other industries. For example, vegetable oil manufacturing is widely distributed in locations across America. A second example, emphasizes that it is unwise to EXTRAPOLATE the findings of a study of school funding in one district to the rest of the United States.
EXTRAPOLATE – to predict future outcomes by extending known facts