<p>While doing the CR sections,do you always read the whole passage and then answer the questions ,or do you read the questions first,and then try to find the answer in the passage.Section #3,which contains 2 long passages and 2 short ones,seems extremely difficult to me.I always run of of time .I am not worried about WR and Math (expect 700++ on both) but CR is killing me.It is hard to pull a 600 on practice tests.Consider that i make no more than 5 errors on SC...
Basically,what is your approach to the passages ?</p>
<p>Personally, I work completely linearly. I read an entire passage, answer the questions to the best of my abilities, marking those I need to return to, and then move on to the next. All the books advocate looking at the questions first either to pick out the easy questions or to focus your reading. Try that, and if it helps, use it. For me, I find that I can concentrate much better on the entire passage if I read it without other things distracting me. That way, I can come back to harder questions later if I have time and not need to mindlessly search through a passage hoping to find the answer. I will know where to look and spend more time reasoning out the answer.</p>
<p>Why do you find yourself running out of time? Do you spend too much time on the questions? Do you read too slowly?</p>
<p>EDIT: I just want to add that becoming disorganized is the worst thing that can happen on this part of the test. If time is winding down, keep a level head. Accept that you won't be able to answer every question and focus on the ones you have the best shot on. Thinking about one question fully is better than thinking about five questions and two passages at the same time.</p>
<p>Well,one of the sections contains 6 SCs ,2 short passages and 2 long passages.It sounds...
Sometimes i don`t understand what i read.And i waste 3 minutes on reading,then when go to the questions,i just realize i have not remembered anything from the text and start again....</p>
<p>In that case, you might benefit from looking at the questions first, so you know what to look for when reading. You can also try reading with more concentration, but it depends a lot on your short term memory. Thinking about it, 3-4 minutes is a healthy time for reading a medium to long sized passage, but you need to remember a lot of details (or where to find them) for that to pay off. Give both methods a try. Sometimes it is just a case of trying to read to fast or thinking too much about the time instead of the passage.</p>
<p>No ,the problem is that i just don<code>t know what i read :) You see,there are so many unfamiliar words that i just sometimes don</code>t know what is the passage about :) If i somehow manage to pull a 660 and lets say 760 Writing 780 Math ,i will be more than happy ;)</p>
<p>There's nothing left to do than to just keep practicing then =(</p>
<p>Yep,considering the fact that 4 years ago i didnt know a single word in English makes me feel smarted :D:D</p>
<p>Step 1. Read passage FULLY
Step 2. Answer questions, referring to the lines referenced as needed.</p>
<p>Rinse and repeat.</p>
<p>Isn`t it possible to read the questions,answer the the questions,referring to the lines,and then answer to the general questions ?</p>
<p>Yes it's possible.</p>
<p>But unless you're a really slow reader, it's better to read the whole thing.</p>
<p>I do one paragraph at a time. If I see that the next line reference isn't until the next paragraph, I just skim the rest of the paragraph I'm on. Then, I do back and do the general questions. Kind of like a combo of the 2 methods, and it works for me.</p>
<p>@Ivan_Stanchev</p>
<p>Being a non-native speaker, our advice may not apply for you. If you have trouble understanding the entire passage in one go, then I would suggest that you look at the questions first, so that you know what to look for. Take care of the easier ones, that are about a word or a line or localized to a small region of the passage. Only then worry about the "main idea" type questions.</p>
<p>I read it, because it is fun reading them.
Don't approach them as a 'Test Passage'; that'll give you pressure.
Just see them as something fun.. </p>
<p>or maybe I'm just weird for finding CR passages fun?</p>
<p>I find them fun as well. </p>
<p>You have to if you want an 800.</p>
<p>Somehow i always answer ''the main idea of the passage is'' correctly.But how to answer a question like ''in line 2 'virtue' most nearly means'' when i don`t know what is 'virtue' and what 2 of the answer choices,but anyway i hope i will manage to pull a 650-700 with a lot of practice !</p>
<p>If it is a vocabulary problem, there's not much you can do at this stage. You could try reading those "600 words for the SAT" rubbish, but those are inevitably too dry to stomach in a short period of time (and in any case, my opinion is that they were more useful back when there were analogies). Of course, the general consensus is always to read challenging material. That does not always mean The New Yorker or other such newspapers. If you enjoy them, go for it, but I've always only read fiction stories, and I feel that has helped me.</p>
<p>In any case, there's nothing more you can do other than practice and do whatever you've been doing. The fact that you're on these boards already tells us that you're not being lazy.</p>
<p>I think it's best to read the passage first to get a feel for it as a whole...sometimes I read it twice, but I'm a quick reader. Some people say that prep books advised them to read the questions, but I honestly think it's better to have everything in context, and having a general sense of the passage can make guessing easier if you're running out of time.
And I got an 800. :)</p>
<p>I read it thoroughly once and refer to it when questions ask about specific lines/excerpts. All of the answers are really right there in the passage. You just have to decode them. =) If you approach CR with the attitude that it is a logical puzzle (like math), then it gets rid of a lot of the ambiguity you imagine is there.</p>
<p>The strangest part is that i am pretty good at SC.In fact,i only make 2-3 mistakes on SC;i have reviewed the Barron<code>s 3500 list.The problem is that i don</code>t know simple,but basic words/</p>
<p>Wow, that's exactly what I do. Here is the formula:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>For all easy questions: Is question easy? If so, select answer. Briefly look over rest of the answers. Too obvious? Think for five to ten seconds about ways ETS might try to trick us poor students. Bubble answer.</p></li>
<li><p>For all other questions: Read question. Refer to lines in passage if necessary, making sure to get an idea of where in the passage and what context the lines are in. Read answer choices. Narrow down obviously wrong answers and cross out. Most often there will be 2 or 3 choices left.</p></li>
<li><p>If 3 choices, think about which one of those 3 it probably isn't. Those ETS guys probably want us to have to choose between 2 close answers: must eliminate least likely one. Which one is too far-fetched? Which one is too complex to appear on this test? Which one is too metaphorical? Get rid of it.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, 2 choices left. If I am taking too long, circle and come back -- make sure to come back since I've narrowed it down. Apply same tests as in (3): which is more metaphorical/complex. Which can be supported directly in the text? Look for clues, words, etc. If I can figure it out, circle the right one.</p></li>
<li><p>If not, invoke 6th sense. Circle the right one (assume it's right since you'll never know anyway).</p></li>
</ol>