English Help

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>Hey guys, I'm a new member here. I did a google search for critical reading strategies, came upon these forums and found it somewhat useful for me.</p>

<p>I am hoping that there are some people here that can help me in my situation. I'm going to be a high school senior this upcoming September. In October 2006, I took my SATs for the first time and scored a 680 CR, 800 M, and 760 W (Essay 12), making my total a 2240. I also scored a 201 and 214 in my sophomore and junior year PSATs (57 80 65, 65 80 69). I spent last summer studying for pretty much only CR, and I wounded up doing worst in it.</p>

<p>As far as my CR experience goes, since the past summer of studying I haven't so much as looked at an SAT book since.. so my score is likely to have gone down. I did, however, manage a 90 in possibly the hardest course offered at my high school, English 3 Honors.</p>

<p>My problems seem to be that I can't fully concentrate on a reading since I find most of the passages boring and I seem to be lacking in vocabulary.</p>

<p>I am retaking the SATs in October and plan to apply early to the University of Pennsylvania, which has, I believe, a 750 CR average for the middle 50% of their incoming class. It seems like a long shot, but that's what I'm aiming for.</p>

<p>My questions .. for those who have taken the SAT and have scored well in the CR section..</p>

<p>1) Is there any point in learning vocab? If so, how intensively should I be doing it? And by what means?
2) What should I be doing for CR passages? Right now I'm reading a question, then passage, then question, then passage. I, however, read that my strategy in particular doesn't work in that the reader doesn't get the full gist of the passage.
3) How do I go about studying? Just practicing? If so, how intensively?</p>

<p>I don't expect a large amount of feedback but just a little bit of information would be nice. I realize my score may be considered good enough by some but I'd like to strive for a little more, and I ask that anyone who has something other than advice or constructive criticism to say keep it to himself/herself.</p>

2

<p>1) yes there is point in learning vocab considering it's 1/3 of CR. so if you're aiming high don't take any chances. do you have barron's new sat? it's got a hot wordlist and i found it especially helpful. also, add Prof Gilzot as aim buddy. he is a robot that helps you with sat. there're math, sentence completion and vocabulary.
2) for CR make sure to read the passages. i know there're strategies out there that advises otherwise. but, again, if you're aiming high read them thoroughly. for CR i did alot of practice. barron's workbook for CR is extremely helpful. bottom line is do alot of practice. analyze your errors and stop making them.
3) you're already pretty well off. so for you i guess you just need to concentrate on CR. start memorizing vocab everyday(lets say 10 a day) and work on CR workbooks. </p>

<p>hope that helps=] and good luck!</p>

3

<p>The passages are boring on purpose. The best way to improve your speed and focus is to get used to reading boring passages. Plus, you'll have to read hundreds of boring articles and books in college, so you might as well get used to it.</p>

<p>To practice, read boring articles from magazines like Popular Science, the Smithsonian, Foreign Affairs, etc. PowerScore's free help area has a "Study Hall" with links to these magazines and more. You should read at least one article a day. When you finish, jot down the main idea, the author's tone, and the purpose of the article. This will go a long way to helping you get used to the passages.</p>

<p>And yes, vocabulary is important, but it's difficult to predict the words that will appear on the test. You can memorize 200 words, but they won't help if they don't appear on the test. Use a vocab list that has been pulled from past tests so that the words are "frequent flyers" on the SAT.</p>

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<p>I had not heard of that aim bot that helps you with SAT. I am going to add him. And I will also start to read that one article a day.</p>

<p>As for leo's questions:
1. There is a huge point in learning vocab. If you don't know much vocab, like me, it is vital to know the vocab to get a score as high as you.
2. Not the best person to answer your question.
3. You should familiarize yourself with the articles. And be very analytical and technical when going over your mistakes so you know what you need to concentrate on and be careful on. I think the best way though, after reading a couple of strategy sections on the CR, is to just take as many tests and practice questions as you can.</p>