<p>For those of you who scored an 800 on the CR, HOW exactly did you study for it? What methods and strategies did you have, and what books did you use? Also, can someone who scored an 800 give me some tips on the CR? Thanks.</p>
<p>do a few practice tests. make sure they are from college board only, not McGraw Hill or Barrons. Use the line out technique, which is just quickly reading the questions, marking the lines used in the passage, and then then chunk reading. also make sure you study vocabulary to ensure 19/19 every time. Direct Hits is great.</p>
<p>Why not from the Barrons books!?</p>
<p>Does a 770 count? I didn’t study, I’ve just always been a voracious reader and took honors/AP english classes.</p>
<p>jnix’s comment about NOT Barrons, Kaplan, etc. is bogus. I found Barron’s to be MUCH harder than the actual SAT, which made the test a breeze for me (800 in CR).</p>
<p>Just make sure that in all of the passage-based reading, you can pinpoint something specific in the reading to support the answer you choose. If you have to make some sort of a “stretch,” or if you can evidence that’s close, but doesn’t match, then you’ve picked the wrong answer.</p>
<p>Barron’s is harder, it’s true.</p>
<p>Climbing Mount Everest without oxygen is even harder still.</p>
<p>Should we recommend mountain climbing to improve SAT scores?</p>
<p>It’s not about difficulty, it’s about accuracy. Barrons uses the wrong passages and asks non-standardized questions. They struggle to write truly difficult questions that are 100% unambiguous. It is an incredibly difficult task even for the College Board, which uses its experimental section to test out all it’s questions on thousands of real test takers before using those questions on actual tests. Barrons tests out its questions on… no one.</p>
<p>Do not confuse ambiguity with difficulty. Real SAT tests provide the only source of truly difficult yet completely unambiguous and standardized reading comp question.</p>
<p>@YZamyatin,</p>
<p>first of all, Mountain climbing is very good exercise. And studies suggest there is a direct link between exercise and cognitive ability - so in theory, mountain climbing could improve one’s sat scores. </p>
<p>secondly, while I agree that accuracy undoubtedly trumps difficulty - that does not mean that Barron’s is completely useless; it will still help you. (more than reading random books and essays will, as many CC’ers suggest)</p>
<p>definitely stick with the blue book if you haven’t exhausted it already, but if you find yourself needing more material - i’d say grabbing another practice book is the best way to go. Either that or go mountain climbing.</p>
<p>Well, I find it perfect for me. It over prepares me for the actual SAT. Though, I use the blue book when I need more practice tests.</p>
<p>I didn’t get an 800 but I got a 750…without studying. Sorry, that was unhelpful. <em>leaves</em></p>
<p>No but really, here’s what I would say:</p>
<p>Are you a fast reader or a slow reader? Do you read books/articles/magazines/etc in your free time? Being able to read fast and comprehend what you’re reading is very important. Some people say CR is the hardest section because it’s the “you have it or you don’t” section. You can improve math by reviewing geometry properties and writing by re-remembering the grammar rules you learned in 4th grade, but reading’s different…</p>
<p>So:</p>
<p>Sentence Completion: process of elimination and word roots
Passages: If you’re a fast reader, read the entire passage. If you’re a slow reader, read the questions first and work your way through. The questions are chronological.</p>
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<p>It prepares you for a different exam, one you will never take.</p>
<p>Non College Board passages and questions are fundamentally different than the real thing. The Blue Book and online program alone offer 20 full length exams. Then there are official practice test back to 2005. You can ask your high school or upperclassmen for old PSAT booklets. Also, there is nothing wrong with using pre-2005 SAT reading passages which are available in old official guides at the library or used book store. By the time you get through those 100+ sections you are better off starting over at the beginning than using counterfeit materials from a test-prep company.</p>
<p>“It prepares you for a different exam, one you will never take.” What do you mean? I’m pretty sure I have the Barron SAT book.</p>
<p>For vocabulary, I basically read books (Direct Hits and Vocabulary Cartoons were my favorites!) and then sort of tested myself on words from time to time. I don’t really like them, but flash cards are helpful too.
For passages, I started reading more ‘sophisticated’ magazines and books to get more comfortable with them. I also did a lot of practice tests, mainly from the blue book/college board/past SAT tests and by the end of it, I felt at ease during the CR sections.
I’ve never used Barron’s so I have absolutely no idea how ‘hard’ it is. I’ve only heard that it always over prepares you for all the standardized tests. </p>
<p>I hope this helped!</p>