<p>It's just so damn long and boring. I don't think their idea is that we thoroughly read the material (hence the line references.) I feel as the approach they are looking for is a quick skim as many prefer and going straight to the questions. Time is very hard to manage in the former method.</p>
<p>What do you find is the best method to approaching the reading? Just for kicks, add your SAT CR score as well.</p>
<p>Skimming may be a viable strategy for those in the 600s and below, but a 750-800 requires complete mastery of the passage, which can only be attained by a thorough reading of the entire passage. (800 CR)</p>
<p>That sucks. I have trouble concentrating and understanding the material as is, and doing it quickly is very far from where I am at. I’m very positive I can get an 800 in the math, and a 750+ on the writing, so 750-800 is definitely what I am aiming for in CR.</p>
<p>not really. I get in the 750-800 range by reading the passage as I answer the questions.</p>
<p>well, that’s reassuring.</p>
<p>Long? Err one page is long?
Boring? Actually, I find many of the passages to be rather interesting.</p>
<p>I read through the passage in its entirety, then answer the line-specific questions, then answer the questions about the theme/tone/any other ones that don’t have line references. This strategy has worked for me on practice tests thus far - I haven’t gotten below a 760 CR on a single one.</p>
<p>I concur with 112358; to get a really high score on CR, just reading the passage is necessary. Those who are looking for shortcuts to get higher scores probably aren’t capable of an 800 anyways. Likewise, those who can’t finish the passages/answer the questions in time (and hence are also looking for shortcuts) probably couldn’t get an 800 either.</p>
<p>There is not a way of getting 700+ on CR by “skimming” through long passages other than that of pure chance and luck. 6 wrong questions or more will put you below 700. There are 58 questions on the CR section. Over half of those belong to the passages. Do the math and estimate your chances.</p>
<p>The point is to read carefully on the stuff that matters, then skim over the crap that doesn’t (details). Initially you want a good overview of the passage w/o overwhelming your short term memory.</p>
<p>When you go to the questions, you refer back to the passage and read carefully as necessary.</p>
<p>T.G - I do think they are long. Regardless, I find that crap to be extremely boring. I’m not looking for a shortcut - Its just one type of strategy. </p>
<p>Yaha- I meant skim first, go to the questions and reference back. I thought that was clear.</p>
<p>I dont read the whole thing at once either. Instead, I look at line and paragraph references to mark them in the passage. Then I read from the beginning and as I pass through marked lines or exerpts, I answer them. By the time I have read the whole passage, I usually will have answered all line reference questions and ready to tackle paragraphs and very general questions like inference, author’s mood, main idea, etc. Let me just add that I actually read the passage closely, not skim through it. Hope this helps ;)</p>
<p>That seems like a pretty good plan of attack actually, I like it a lot. Whats your CR score?</p>
<p>I have never taken it up to this point and will take my first in November. My first practice test I scored 600 on CR section and 1800 on the whole test. However, after reading the Barrons SAT 2400 (this is where the method came from), I upped my CR to high 600s and low 700s and had 2000+ and 2100+ on the next 2 practice tests. I usually make about 2-3 sentence completion errors since I am not a native speaker and 2-4 in passages. However, I am working on some vocab lists, so hopefully I will be able to alleviate (came from a vocab list 
lol ) some of that trouble and score 750+ on CR. 
Good luck.</p>
<p>^i do exactly what yaha does</p>
<p>This is the first process that I have my students try-</p>
<p>The first suggestion to my students is to read the passage ACTIVELY. Get yourself involved in it…for heaven’s sake, it only takes about 2 minutes to read. Tell yourself that for the next few minutes, this is the only info in the world you want to know about.</p>
<p>Then, make sure that you read the informational passage at the beginning to set the tone, and get some info.</p>
<p>Get your pencil moving through the passage and, again, because you are an active reader, start outlining the passage. When I say outline, I mean a word or two next to each paragraph.</p>
<p>But how to outline? Ask (and answer) yourself these questions. Have a conversation with the author:
What’s your main topic, oh author?
What are you writing about?
Why did you include this paragraph?
What was the main point or thesis??</p>
<p>This lets you know WHERE the info is.</p>
<p>Critical Reading is all about active, engaged, prove it reading!
Then, you answer the line numbered (detai/VIC) questions.
Next, answer questions of tone, general, and lastly, reverse questions.</p>
<p>This is the high level process, and those who have adopted it, find the long passages easier and more enjoyable.</p>
<p>Lisa Kay</p>
<p>'those who have adopted it, find the long passages easier and more enjoyable." ^ LMAO</p>
<p>Its not about making them enjoyable. its about getting the answers right.</p>
<p>Nobody reads SAT passages for fun… just find what you need and move on.</p>
<p>^What are you talking about? That’s all I do in my spare time.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>even though nobody(except dareallycoolguy0, cause you know, he’s rly cool) reads the passages for fun, if you engage yourself and try to make it fun, you’ll understand the passages better and get more answers correct</p>
<p>“even though nobody(except dareallycoolguy0, cause you know, he’s rly cool) reads the passages for fun, if you engage yourself and try to make it fun, you’ll understand the passages better and get more answers correct”</p>
<p>I agree with you. But to claim it to be fun ??? Hmmm, thats an overstretch. However, it happens that I enjoy some passages a lot. For instance, scientific or philosophical ones. I have also come to hate the exerpts from fictitious literature because I tend to make most mistakes in those. Lol.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on personal preference. I suppose it’s possible to make a high score skimming - though my strategy was always to read all the way through.</p>