<p>This kind of seems like VERY disheartening, to put even the number 530 on CC. BUT I need desperate help.. :( I can only score 530 on the CR... after like taking the SAT quite many times.. I have always been in the 490-530 range... People say "don't worry, you're non-native speaker, so colleges will give you some slack." But I won't take my English as 2nd language as an excuse. And esp. where I want to apply, 530 will NOT cut it.</p>
<p>I don't enjoy reading, because I really lack focus. I cannot focus at all; I will always "think" about what I will do today or some random dream I had or anything... How do you people "READ"?? :(</p>
<p>I have Direct Hits Vol 1 & 2 in 2010 Edition, so I'll use that for the vocabulary words.</p>
<p>Oh BTW, 740 on Math and 730 on Writing... So you can see how outlier my little CR score is.</p>
<p>730 in Writing, is a really good score so I’m surprised that you got a 530 in CR. I always score highest in CR, and I think I owe it to being an avid reader. If you don’t enjoy reading books I would suggest reading articles from magazines like Time or news papers like the New York Times. If for some reason or another you are unable to get these in print then you should read them online. It’ll take you less time to read but help you improve your vocabulary.</p>
<p>well i sort of have the same problem as you. I can get a easy 800 on math, writing is no problem if compared to CR. CR just completely destroys me, i took a practice test yesterday got a 580. Non-native speaker as well but i have no problem communicating/writing/pretty much doing anything in english, but when it comes to test taking i just get pwned. My 2 biggest problems with CR, time management/pacing and the demonic vocabulary. Because i don’t understand like 70% of all those weird-ass words on SAT, it brings my speed down to a point where i get stuck often and can’t finish. working on it right now. im an upcoming junior.</p>
<p>oh and btw i actually do enjoy reading, but this is a thing that started last week. it’s a bit too late to use reading as a tool to conquer CR because reading requires time you can only improve your vocab/grammar/reading speed over time by reading books.</p>
<p>Hmm have you tried critical reading strategies? I’m a good reader, I’ve loved books since I was a child, but I would always run out of time reading the passages. Then I tried just reading the sequential questions first, answering the “overview” questions last, referring back to passage when needed, and it helped sooo much time-wise. Most of the time I didn’t even read the whole passage, but I managed to get a general idea. Really helps when you find yourself easily distracted.</p>
<p>I just can’t… think well… I think it’s a disease or something.</p>
<p>Vocabulary words aren’t my problem, although they kind of are. I always manage to get more than 5+ wrong on passages. I basically hate all of them. Direct line reference, just flat-out question, and analogy questions about paired passages(HATE THEM)… Tone is okay, I got a bit comfortable with the tone question.</p>
<p>I know, it’s really frustrating I got an 800 on the reading section in 8th grade, then I couldn’t get anywhere NEAR it for the next few years. It felt like I’d lost the ability to concentrate (I blame facebook and the internet and our instant-gratification society). </p>
<p>Maybe you’re psyching yourself out. Sometimes I’ll take a test and get stuck and start freaking out because I can feel time passing and oh gosh this question is so stupid and the next few questions are impossible as well and grarrrrrrrr. </p>
<p>It sounds dumb, but breathing techniques really help. ;)</p>
<p>anyway kimhm92 “Vocabulary words aren’t my problem, although they kind of are.” not sure what you mean by that. but for me vocab is definitely A problem. i don’t know if most people get their vocab from general reading over time or from direct hits 2 months before the test.</p>
<p>Sorry for the ironic statement. Vocabulary word is like a hit-or-miss. But the passage reading constitutes the most MC score, so I’m saying vocabulary words are not that momentous. Rather actually trivial part of the CR score. If you can’t hit the passage questions right(like me), the score won’t even be in the 600 range. And I do study vocabulary words, so it’s not the most problematic part. Just reading is…</p>
<p>If you cannot focus, start small and work your way up. Go to your library and get a book that really interests you. Read in small chunks at first, and build your way up to reading it for longer periods of time. Once you conquer that book, get another one and repeat. After some time, you should be able to read longer/harder books while retaining your focus. This might not help you much if you are taking the SAT very soon, but it will improve your reading skills. You need those strong reading skills for college.</p>
<p>Another note: You said that you get distracted by what you have to do that day. Get a blank sheet of paper to use as your bookmark. Every time that you get distracted by what you have to do, just write it down as a to-do list. That way, you will have it there later so you won’t forget but you can retain more focus.</p>
<p>I personally don’t think reading books helps… CR is just your ability. I read a lot of books (read 80+ books 5th-7th grade) and got 500’s as well. </p>
<p>I never took the SAT but I took the PSAT. The Critical Reading section is just hard for some people (especially for bilinguals). I am a bilingual and I find reading quite hard. My friends are bilinguals as well but they speak spanish and portuguese. So it helps a bit with the vocab and reading. If you don’t want to use it as an excuse, just keep practicing. If that’s the best score you can get, you can’t do anything about it. Most of the time, all you need is a good combined score to get any scholarships available.
Good luck!
PS Reading selections written by George Orwell, Aldous Huxley and some other classic writers! It will probably help you :)</p>
<p>Reading is how I did well. Lots and lots of advanced, voracious reading. </p>
<p>And only 80 books in three years? That works out to around 2 books per month. That’s a very low amount. I read that in a DAY (if I don’t have class and usually one a day if I do). I got a 730 on the CR and a 35 on the ACT reading section.</p>
<p>Now I can read very fast, so perhaps 1 or 2 books a week is more reasonable but on 2 per month? That’s not even close to “a lot.”</p>
<p>OP: Start reading. Anything at first. Then work up to harder stuff with better vocab.</p>
<p>Edit: DST246 is right, the SAT likes to use classic authors on the test. It may not be from their books but might be an essay or from their autobiographies. In any case, the vocab is great in those books as well. I recommend Brave New World (Huxley) and Animal Farm (Orwell). Oh and something from Bradbury, probably Fahrenheit 451 is the best to start with but his short sotries are also good.</p>
I got an 800 on the reading section in 8th grade, then I couldn’t get anywhere NEAR it for the next few years. It felt like I’d lost the ability to concentrate (I blame facebook and the internet and our instant-gratification society). </p>