<p>Recently, I've noticed great jumps in my Critical Reading scores. A little while ago, I had been scoring anywhere in the high 600's, now I'm scoring in the low-high 700's, and I just can't seem to put my finger on why I've been able to deal with CR more effectively as to increase my score by some 100 points. My concern is, how do I ensure that this apparent success carries onto the next SAT trial.</p>
<p>Maybe some of you can relate to this concern, and share experiences.</p>
<p>Perhaps… you had an epiphany… :D</p>
<p>If you happened to find out the source of your success, you should share it with me. 
I need those points in CR.</p>
<p>Well, it’s such a small point that I believe has had an enormous impact on my ability to deal with CR passages much more effectively. And this is it:</p>
<p>Coming up with your own answer, whether it be one word, or a series of connected ideas in general, BEFORE looking at the answer choices.
I’ve realized that this does two things. One, it protects me from the traps ETS lays out for unsuspecting readers, or more colloquially known as “eye-catchers”. Two, I am always one hundred percent sure of the answer I put down, since it matched my process of reasoning in my head. If, in the case that I do not find an answer that even mildly matches my line of thought, I repeat the process by covering the answer choices, focusing more on the referenced area of the passage, gathering the information and trying to connect the paragraph to the main idea. If my efforts are to no avail, then I sharply omit the question, and move on. However, I have yet to omit a question thus far, since SAT passages are crystal clear, and the information is right there for the taking.</p>
<p>Have you tried this method before, JefferyJung?</p>
<p>Ahh… I’m not sure this method will work well with my current process of thinking. I’ll try this out… before the Jan SAT. Thanks!</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong though, from your other posts, it seems that you’re already well off and scoring in the high 700’s, so don’t go for a different method. If you feel up to it though, then go ahead and try it out. Though, mind briefly elaborating on how you approach the passages? Or is it the sentence-completions that you find the most trouble with?</p>
<p>My method is nothing special… I skim through the passage, and answer the the questions. However, I also use the answer choices to determine the meaning of the passage (I only skim through the passage, so I don’t get the whole meaning). Your method and mine are obviously mutually exclusive… :-(</p>
<p>Btw, how do you do on the narratives on the passages? Can you share some tips?</p>
<p>Ha, indeed, your and my methods are fully contradictory. I’ve never had any particular trouble with a certain type of passage though, however, I find that it helps to visualize (create images of the text in your head) when reading narratives. I’m sorry I can’t offer anything further, since I never had any particular difficulty dealing with narratives. Keep practicing, and good luck on 28th of January! :)</p>
<p>If you are taking one of the collegeboard tests and make sure you can consistently score in several practice tests than you should be ok.</p>
<p>Thing is, I’m all out of real exams, and so I’m re-solving the real exams. I mostly don’t remember any of the answers, but the topics of the passages are not totally unfamiliar to me. So I’m not sure, am I re-solving successfully because I’ve improved and found some key strategies that clicked with me, or is it because I have a vague familiarity with some of the passages I’m doing?</p>
<p>I did much better on the real thing than I did on my practice tests (and I took a lot of practice tests.) This is because I never checked my work on the practice tests but on the real thing, under pressure, i worked very very quickly and had time to fastidiously review all of my work. So for me at least, the pressure had a positive effect.</p>
<p>^ Interesting. According to most people I know, one always does better on the real thing than on practice tests.</p>
<p>I read on CC that one student who attained very high SAT 2380(?), when she ran out of all real exams she repeated them until she made no mistake at home. I think IIRC, she had 40 tests.</p>
<p>^ That’s very motivating to hear.</p>
<p>40 practice tests completed multiple times? How many hours did this individual invest into an SAT score…</p>
<p>the same amount of hours you waste on the internet, tv, video games…etc</p>
<p>I have been also improving in my Critical section. I am starting to analyze the paragraphs more and doing some small info about each of the paragraph. The only problem I have currently is improving on boring narrative ones,so hopefully by doing more exams and reading some stories I’ll be able to surpass it.</p>
<p>The flowery narrative passages written in the 1800s are the WORST.</p>
<p>post #14, I don’t know but I remember she got into every school she applied except Stanford. She had impressive research experience though.</p>
<p>Here is a link to a 2400er who did 50 tests.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/602755-tips-2400er.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/602755-tips-2400er.html</a></p>