<p>Okay, so I suck really badly at this section. I just got my PSAT score and was happy at first because I got a 79 in math, and a decent score in writing, a 69. But, I got a freaking 54 in reading. I am taking the SAT on Jan. 23 and I really want to improve this score, but for some reason I just don't have a natural talent in this section and I have done a decent amount of preparation. What can I do to raise this score up to 650-700 range by this time? I am willing to do pretty much anything and I have a long break coming up. Thank you.</p>
<p>Get Direct Hits Vocabulary book.
Do some sentence completions.
Practice reading the passages, that’s all I can tell you. Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m a Senior now and Im retaking my SAT on January 23, I only have one more chance left. Hopefully, I can score 550+ on the CR. And 600+ on Math. And 650 on Writing this time. I don’t know what’s been going on ever since I got 400s on CR, but I’ve gone up so much.</p>
<p>If your weakness is vocabulary, memorize some words.</p>
<p>If your weakness is the passages, then you have to practice and try new strategies and see which one works the best. Finish the blue book and if you’re getting around 550’s, that means that you’re making some common errors and you should check your wrong answers and understand why you got it wrong and why the answer you picked wasn’t a viable one.</p>
<p>^ 550 is already hard to get for most kids.</p>
<p>Practice, get a tutor, or study with a friend who can explain the mistakes you make. I know it’s easy to want to blow something off when it doesn’t come naturally, but it sounds like you have the right attitude. Also, you might try using a book/website focused solely on this section. Kaplan has a pretty good workbook (but it’s a little pricey). I’m a tutor and ask my students to use this free site, which also sells some really good, affordable strategy books that you can get through pretty quickly: [SAT</a> Critical Reading](<a href=“SAT 1, SAT Books, 2200+ SAT Preparation Strategy @ MY-SAT.com”>SAT Critical Reading)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>^The kaplan CR workbook is $12 on Amazon…the e-books on the website you mention are $19 (or $37 for three) … So, I’m not sure what you mean by “pricey”, exactly.</p>
<p>I say practice practice practice, & memorize vocab words especially if youre not or havent been a reader all your life. @first I though looking at vocab words over & over again wouldn’t help. But trust me it does, a lot of words actually do appear. In my opinion, tutors aren’t all that great. I have friends (of my “smartness”) that spent (or their parents lol) in the thousands on tutors & I’m the 1 who turned out with the higher scores. & please RELAX during the test. I wish that i relaxed more when i started my testing last yr. 1 SAT is not the end of the world. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try your best, but the times I’ve taken it while sitting back & relaxing & not worrying about every little question have given me my highest scores.</p>