<p>Okay
I am in the library, and trying to practice with the CR as much as possible.
The thing is, i m so ****ed right now.
Cuz, i read the passage and i dont get it..... I mean sometimes i understand the passage perfectly, and other times, i dont. I dont get it at all.....
Frustration is killing me.
I am currently using Barrons SAT 2008. Is it supposed to be harder than the real SAT?
Help me.... what should i do? Even if i dont understand the passage, should i just keep reading it over and over again?</p>
<p>When you don't understand the passage, maybe read the questions and then read the passage again. Maybe that will help. And yes, Barrons is harder than the real thing.</p>
<p>Don't use barrons.</p>
<p>DONT READ THE PASSAGE
you need to nit=pick. Find where the specific lines are first and do those questions. Read a sentence on each side of the lines referred to.
And lastly for the main concept questions. Just read the intro and conclusion</p>
<p>sorry zfox001, I think it is of vast importance to read the passage, or at least skim it, before you hit the questions.
Why? because I feel that one must comprehend the text or at least have a vague idea of what it is about before he/she attempts the questions.</p>
<p>Penn Dreamer, i empathize with you- I had those same problems about 6 months ago, but with persistence and diligence I defeated them. PM me if you ever need advice, because I am most willing to help anyone who is struggling</p>
<p>Its all good...everyone does things their own ways. Now that i think about it more though....It seems as though everyone has their own way to do things and once you find a good way it'll click and you will do well.
I find the questions are usually in order...the earlier ones are about something close to the beginning of the passage. SO in essence i guess i do end up reading the passage just i do it in 3 sentence chunks or so.</p>
<p>I dare to disagree with StrangeIndianFoo and agree with zfox91. The nit-pick way works best for me. Really, it takes too much time to read the passage, read the questions, and read the passage again to answer the questions. I only go to the referenced line numbers, and by the time I hit the tone/purpose questions, I have read enough to get those. It helped me a LOT, and it's the method I went from a 640 to a 780 on the CR section. :P</p>
<p>practice reading line by line first, read really slowly with a critical eye. Question yourself with basic questions like:</p>
<p>1) *** is this author trying to say?
2) What is his tone of voice?
3) What does this italicized word mean?</p>
<p>If it is a pair passage:</p>
<p>!) Tone of voice?
2) Do the two authors hate, admire, or research the topic they talk about?</p>
<p>Just read carefully and slowly, and after you get to the point where you are getting most of the questions right, then go at a faster pace. Eventually you will do good.</p>
<p>When you answer a question that has the "In lines 43-56, the author blah blah blah, " read the lines above and below that section. Usually the answer is outside the box. </p>
<p>Try to be in the author's shoes. This may sound awkward, but act out, literally act out each line of the story. If the author says something mean about a certain topic, act as if you hate that topic and stuff. </p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>i think shim's advice is definitely the best, couldn't have said it better myself</p>
<p>Thank you guys for the thoughtful answers!</p>
<p>i agree with zfox001. The other day, i took the first test in the BB but only did the CR sections. In total, i had 16 incorrect, 6 SC, and 10 passages. Then i decided to go through Grammatix READING portion. Afterwards, i took test 2 CR sections only again. I had 3 vocab wrong, and 0 passages. Isnt that a dramatic change? I would have to say, its all because of Grammatix. They tell you to NOT read the passages and give you tips to work around it. The first test, i read the passages. The second, i didnt. So id suggest that you read Grammatix CR section.</p>
<p>oh and btw, thats an increase from like a 610 to a 760</p>
<p>PennDreamer, take practice tests and try every method. </p>
<p>Personally, I HAVE to read the entire passage to understand the questions most of the time. The way I do it though is to read the passage section-by-section. Typically you can answer #2-5 on a long passage with just the first section, and then go from there. I typically go back and answer #1 last (it usually asks about the overview of the entire passage). If you read pretty quickly, you can easily read the entire passage and answer all the questions with time leftover. </p>
<p>Try every method though, determine which one works best for you before you take your next SAT test.</p>
<p>Give both of them a shot and maybe even try a hybrid.</p>
<p>where did u buy that grammatix book? cuz i couldnt find one in amazon. LOL</p>
<p>Critical reading is my best section. I do what others have said; I read the passages as far as I feel I can best remember and then go answer some questions. I read fast when I read a paragraph initially because I find myself rereading sentences to answer the most difficult questions anyway. It's important to concentrate and make sure that you are comprehending what the reading is saying or you might have not read anything.</p>
<p>Picking the right answer is tough, but I use elimination most of the time. For the difficult ones, it always comes down to two answers. Then if you read closely, there is always something about the wrong answer that gives it away--that it is the wrong answer. Every answer choice I circle, I make sure it is supported by the text, and I check that I feel comfortable with it. </p>
<p>I guess doing well on the critical reading comes down to practice SATs and experience with reading a lot--so you can read fast. </p>
<p>After a while, you realize that critical reading questions are all the same and you know what to expect. The same applies to the sentence completions; CB seems to always use the same words.</p>
<p>... i think you can get in trouble for copyright or something if you pass around someone else's book...</p>
<p>Reading the CR passages were cake to me after taking the AP English Language and Composition test. I think if you read even more difficult, complicating, and dull passages you will get better at it.</p>