<p>the score did increase but I wanted the score to be 700+.. </p>
<p>my next and last test will be the May test
but.. up till now, I solved almost every collegeboard tests that were released (in the blue book)
and now i have NO IDEA what to do to increase my score to 750+</p>
<p>since I seem to have problem with passages mainly, I think I should change my strategy.
I used to read all of the passage and then go to the problems..</p>
<p>I just really need to improve my scores to 750+ this MAY</p>
<p>Anyone willing to give me some advice? Thank you !</p>
<p>Big flaw there. You need to read the questions before you read the passages. This will encourage active reading: reading with a goal in mind. You’ll know exactly what you’re looking for in the passage, and as you read, you should underline anything relevant to the questions you just read. Read the passage very quickly at first, and then for each question, go back to that part of the text and examine it more closely. This will save tons of time. </p>
<p>I didn’t know these strategies for my first test. That was a 670 CR. </p>
<p>I used them on my second test and got a 760 CR. They’ll definitely work for you.</p>
<p>Absolutely. I used it on the ACT and got a 36 on Reading. Granted, I don’t have another score to compare that to, but I can guarantee I wouldn’t have gotten a 36 without that strategy.</p>
<p>I am of the opinion that there is no ONE strategy that works for all when it comes to CR. I did a bit of research while I was prepping, found out about the different strategies people use, tried them out and formulated my own according to what suited me best.</p>
<p>What I did with the passages was, I simply looked at the line numbers mentioned in the questions and marked those lines in the passage before reading them. THEN I read the passage and paused whenever I came to a marked line to answer the corresponding question. When I’d finished the passage, I answered the remaining few questions that dealt with the overall idea of the passage. Personally, I found this better than saman42’s strategy, because reading the questions before reading the passage made me lose focus. I think it’s very important to get the ‘feel’ of the passage, which is difficult if you’re thinking about the questions when you’re reading it. However, as I said, you might want to try out a few techniques and then zero in on one.
Another tip that I found helpful is to always remember that the correct answer MUST BE SUPPORTED BY SOME EVIDENCE in the passage. The evidence might be just some minor details or words, but look for them when you’re confused between two ore more choices. If while practicing from the BB you read ALL the answer explanations, you’ll get an idea of how the CR section wants you to think, and what kind of evidence you should look for.
Btw, I got a 800 in CR this Jan.
Hope this helps! :)</p>
<p>Reading the question on the spot , just before you start reading the part of the text it refers to , is the best method ever! Just don’t forget to mark your line references from the questions before you start reading.
The most important requirement for this method to work flawlessly is indicating what kind of passage are you reading and what the questions are asking for. Some passages contain more line reference questions than “overall idea” ones , others contain more tone of the paragraph / text structure. Your ability to recognize the part of passage you’re reading will help you to get into the right mindset for the questions.</p>