<p>I got a 540 on my first CR section. I'm extremely discouraged, to the point where I'm just thinking of taking the ACT. Can anyone give me some encouragement? Is the first practice test always abysmal o_O?</p>
<p>P.S. I'm shooting for a 650+</p>
<p>Do u have to rush? If so, ACT reading will be harder.</p>
<p>The pacing on the ACT makes the pacing on the SAT seem like a joke. (ACT has 35 minutes for 40 questions - none of which are fast like the vocab questions on the SAT) However, the ACT questions are usually easier (at least in my opinion)</p>
<p>The passage-based questions for the CR aren’t necessarily “hard” for me, i think i just need to get the hang of them, because without rechecking anything (i usually have like 5 min left for rechecking) i get only a decent amount wrong.</p>
<p>The SC though, is extremely difficult for me. Out of the 19 SC questions, i got 10 wrong! I think that’s what’s bringing down my score drastically and reducing my confidence to dust :(</p>
<p>I just don’t know a majority of the words.</p>
<p>^That’s the same with me. =o</p>
<p>My suggestion would be to obtain a vocabulary list for the SAT. There are plenty of lists printable on the Internet if you do a Google search. Also there are novels that incorporate SAT vocabulary into them, like Tooth and Nail, which was published back in 1994. Also, be sure that you become very familiar with transition words so you can take note of the compare/contrast of the sentence in order to determine the relationship between the words. This is an even more important skill than knowing every single vocabulary word. Also be sure to practice and read often. I increased my CR from a 630 to an 800 over the course of five months by studying vocabulary and reading challenging literature. Good luck!</p>
<p>Anyone scoring from the 500-700 range is mostly due to the vocabulary along with missing the passage questions. Getting all or -1 of the SC will raise your score by at around 50 points(depending on your starting score), then continually reading and doing the passages will get you up another 50 (depending on your starting score). If you do all this it should put you around 700.</p>
<p>On my first practice test i got a 610 i am now up to 730 just by increasing vocabulary and getting all the passage-readings down so it is possible.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I’m going to go out and get a vocab list probably tomorrow, which do you guys recommend?</p>
<p>any vocab list is good… but im using direct hits and reading “30-Days-More-Powerful-Vocabulary” (for school) which has a LOT of great vocab and exercises</p>
<p>When are you taking the SAT?</p>
<p>I agree that CR sucks majorly but I have gotten over a 650 a few times so I think I can help a bit.</p>
<p>Vocab is important, but it isn’t the majority of the CR portion so don’t waste all your time preparing for that. Go for learning latin roots rather than the meanings of specific words because memorizing 2,000 SAT words really isn’t going to help.</p>
<p>eg: acri-monionous</p>
<p>That being said, it is useful to write down words that you come by in your day-to-day life that you don’t know.</p>
<p>eg: idiosyncracy</p>
<p>In the passages note when it says “the author implies” or “hints at.” This means any answer choice that cites information that is explicitly stated in the passage is WRONG.</p>
<p>Never choose the most extreme answer choices because it’s probably wrong. </p>
<p>eg: The author’s feels “loathsome” towards his colleagues.</p>
<p>Finally, buy the blue book and do every single passage in that thing! good luck!</p>
<p>Grab the Barron’s prep book and do their questions. They’re significantly harder than the actual SAT, so on test day the CR section will seem like a breeze. GL!</p>
<p>yankee, thanks. i havent signed up for a date, i still have a lot of time since i’m a junior. hopefully things will work out, i just bought direct hits and am going to start studying that. wish me luck!</p>
<p>You can certainly bring that score up! With the passages, just go back and check what types of questions you’re missing. Then maybe come back to us for some specific ideas. It sounds like your pacing is fine, almost to the point that you may be going through the questions TOO quickly. But you’re right that practice is the best thing you can do - the more questions you do, the more attuned you’ll become to those tempting wrong answer choices they always include!</p>
<p>As for vocabulary, everybody’s got their favorites as for what helps. If you’re missing THAT many of the SC’s you really do need to devote some time to it. Just getting a few more right in that department will get you in the 600 range very quickly 
My fave site for vocab is [Word-Nerd:</a> vocabulary test prep for the SAT and PSAT](<a href=“http://www.word-nerd.com%5DWord-Nerd:”>http://www.word-nerd.com) - it’s a very efficient way to learn, so you can consider that. I know there’s a lot of Direct Hits devotees on CC, too, so I’m sure you made a good choice there!</p>
<p>Best of luck, and keep us posted on how you’re progressing!</p>