<p>Can you give any advice on how to raise my current score of 650 in the reading and 580 in writing. My vocabulary is extensive, which makes me mad because they removed analogies. Passages cause me the most trouble in the reading, and the writing is just plain nasty for me....</p>
<p>Well, looking at my PSAT score for writing skills, I got an equivalent 590. The reason being mostly that I was never formally taught any grammatical rules, even through high school. And, my school not being very college-oriented, nor my father very experienced with the SAT or the American college process in general, I didn't really know how to interpret a 590.</p>
<p>All of that in mind, one day I just decided to read a few grammar/writing books. I was reading a lot of nonfiction/practical stuff at the time, so it wasn't without precedent. The books I read: The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need, Strunk and White, Adios Strunk and White, On Writing Well, Grammatically Correct.</p>
<p>Come May, I took the SAT without much prepping (again, at the time I never correlated my grammar/writing learning with relating to the SAT); I got a 680 (9 essay) in Writing. Afterward, I read through McGraw-Hill's writing section and did all of the sections. I didn't really learn much new, having read the grammar books, but it was good practice and made me more familiar with the SAT style questions. I took it again, getting a 730 (10 essay). And just this month, I got a 740 with no prepping for the writing section. I had an 11 essay this time, but unfortunately I must have missed 3/4 multiple choice instead of 2, as with last time.</p>
<p>So, to improve your writing score, I would say: Read at least Grammatically Correct and Strunk and Whitethis book in particular is a classic and a must for most college students; then, if possible, work through McGraw-Hill's practice sections as they're excellent; finally, and most importantly, go through the Blue Book and do the writing sections. Go through and see why you got the ones you got wrong. I never did this, and it's why I always miss at least 2 or 3 each test. My informal grammar learning put me at that level, but, had I practiced, I wouldn't have missed any. It depends on at which level you want to be.</p>
<p>To anyone thinking I may have gone overboard with the writing section: With the unfortunate quality of my school, I've recently been pushed to become a more independent learner, which for me means reading a lot of great non-fiction and becoming more competent with things in which I had felt weak. At this point, I am happy to have filled in those gaps in my knowledge that I now feel to have been perhaps slightly embarrassing, if not expected.</p>
<p>To Ragnarok: Good luck with your studying; if you are truly passionate about learning and bettering yourself and not just seeking a high SAT score, then in the end it'll all work out. I am just presenting you with what worked for me, and with what also may work for you.</p>
<p>writing is the easiest score to raise, in my opinion.. if you go over the collegeboard's blue book of SATs, you can have more practice with finding gramatical errors within the sentences.. really- if you just memorize what to check for (parallelism, subject-verb agreement, passiveness, pronoun ambiguity, etc) it gets really easy..</p>
<p>the reading sections are all about practice and i think luckiness too on the test day. i think its easier to not read the whole passage, just look for the answers.. but then again thats my way, you might find it easier to read the passage.</p>
<p>Thanks. </p>
<p>I really do not care about the SAT (I have never prepped for it), but colleges do and my 780 math section alone won't cut it in many schools that I desire. I love to learn and do a lot of independent study such as martial arts, art, cooking, etc. I read a lot in my free time as well, but since I have never had a competent English teacher my reading and writing is mediocre at best hence my 650/580 scores.</p>
<p>800 CR :) 700 W :(</p>
<p>Honestly, the only advice I have, especially for the long passages is ENJOY them! I really like reading and I started laughing (quickly muffled- so chuckled) in middle of one of the SAT passages because the passage was mildly funny (don't remember what it was though). Everyone gave me weird looks afterwards. </p>
<p>I love the SAT. :( I wish I could do it again... :(</p>
<p>I agree with Paraiso...You have to enjoy the passage to get the right answers.</p>
<p>agreed. enjoy the reading, and try learning from the passages (most of the topics are pretty interesting) though not to the extent of laughing aloud ;)</p>
<p>If you have extra cash, the online sat course that collegeboard offers is really good. It basically gives you a rough estimate of what your essay score would be, which was pretty accurate at least for me.</p>
<p>800V, 800 W (680 M, but let's not go there :))...
Writing section is just grammar--THE easiest to prep for. Get an old SAT2 Writing workbook (Kaplan is good), learn some grammar from it, and do some practice tests...you're set. It's just practice.
Now for CR...READ the whole passage first. THEN do the questions. The only way I know to prep for this is to read the newspaper, the Economist, whatever. Sorry :(</p>
<p>Writing:</p>
<p>It's pretty simple: write, write, write! ask your teachers to look at some practice essays you wrote. As for grammar -- study The Elements of Style and maybe just go buy a grammar book and work through it.</p>
<p>CR:
Keep studying vocab. Learn them in context and use them in your everyday speech. As for the passages, read widely. Newspapers, magazines, novels, etc. This list may help you to pick stuff out:</p>
<p><a href="http://als.lib.wi.us/Collegebound.html%5B/url%5D">http://als.lib.wi.us/Collegebound.html</a></p>