Help Raise my Score?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>Well, I just gave my first self-evaluation test. It was the Diagnostics Test in Barron's How to Prepare 2008.</p>

<p>Anyway, I'm getting about 2000-2100 -- which I think is pretty decent as I still have almost two months to October 4th. Here are my individual scores:</p>

<p>Math: 650-700 (Only stupid mistakes)
CR: 650-700 (Due to boredom and confusion in the longer passages)
Writing: 650-700 (But just one more raw score point from the 700-750 mark)
I have no clue about the Essay, I just don't think I can grade myself unbiasedly. I believe it'll be 8-10/12, but I'll post it here so you guys can evaluate it.</p>

<p>So my question is: How can I improve my score to say... 2300+ ?</p>

<p>I know how to improve my Math score, but I'm confused about the Essay and the Reading and Writing sections.</p>

<p>For reading and vocabulary (memorize about 10-20 new words per day), I've been reading a few novels. Read Sherlock Holmes collection a few weeks back; currently reading Great Expectations -- which is seriously complex. I doubt I've ever seen a more complicated and vocabulary rich book. I've read it half-way, and I plan to finish it by 10 days.
I'm thinking of reading either Oliver Twist or Huckleberry Finn next.Any thoughts?</p>

<p>For the essay, I really DON'T KNOW how to write. Sometimes, the prompt seems like a dream come true. I know everything about the topic and don't even need to think before writing. Other times, I know nothing of it... or I simply don't care. That's when I get stuck. It may take me as long as ten minutes before I can start writing - which reduces my score by about 2-3 points.</p>

<p>What do I do to improve my essay score?</p>

<p>Lastly, I've got Barron's, Kaplan's, Barron's 2400, Kaplan's Math WB, Barron's WR and CR WBs, the PR, and of course the Blue Book from CB. I've also got one or two books on vocabulary.</p>

<p>I'm not asking for any more books, all I want to know is in what order and how should I prepare with them?</p>

<p>And is one or two practice tests per week sufficient or not?</p>

<p>Any other help would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks for hearing me out!</p>

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<p>Look on the CollegeBoard website and read all the essays. Try to figure out why they got the scores they did. It takes practice to not get so stuck on what to write. It should only take a few minutes for you to come up with your response with evidence to back it up. Then you can devote the rest of the time to outlining and writing your response. Also, reading newspapers and magazine articles helps a lot on reading comprehension, for obvious reasons.</p>

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<p>take a BB test. I took the diagnostic test you took and had a 1640… then i took a BB test and had an 1890.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I know that Barron’s is usually tougher than the actual test. For my Math IIC, my highest on one of Barron’s was about 720 – but I managed to get a 770 on the actual thing. I still like to go with Barron’s; prepare me for the worst, and doesn’t get my hopes up. That’s just the way I like it.</p>

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Hmmm… could I have a link? Or are you talking about the part of the site you have to pay for, that online course prep thing?</p>

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<p>[SAT</a> The Essay](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools)</p>

<p>All you had to do was look it up on Google. What I really meant was read the sample essays for each of the scores, not all the essays.</p>

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<p>Uttaresh,
I’m not sure what kinds of issues (besides boredom) you’re having with reading comp so I don’t think I can help you with that.
For the essay, here’s what I recommend.
Some prompts seem like nightmares but there are commonalities between all of them-- they’re either yes or no, or choose. Choose a thesis that’s less vague than the prompt, but specific enough to get three points for. And for the yes or no, of course just the easier one to do.
I recommend choosing your examples before you go into the essay. SAT readers probably love literary examples, and you seem quite knowledgeable about a few books. Pick 3 good, literary books that are full of themes. Own them. That way, instead of thinking about which book you have to use, all you have to think about is which occurrence in that book is relevant to the question. Trust me, if they’re good books, at least 2 out of the 3 will give you good examples.
The same goes with history, or even personal experience. When I took the test, I used an occurrence in Louis XIV’s life for every practice essay I had. Then I used it on the real test, and I didn’t sweat thinking of what to write. For current events, have a running list memorized. The more examples you memorize the less time it will be thinking on the test.</p>

<p>Even if this wasn’t a direct answer to your question, I hoped it helped!</p>

<p>John</p>

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<p>Thanks for the input! :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Examples do give me plenty of trouble. Sometimes, I can find more than adequate examples from literature, history, AND personal experience. However… like in the TV prompt [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/551873-rate-my-essay-please.html]here[/url”>Rate my Essay please! - SAT Preparation - College Confidential Forums]here[/url</a>], history and literature fail me. That’s what I’m most worried about. What if I CAN’T find any examples? What do I do then? Do I make them up? 25 minutes doesn’t seem long enough for a quality essay. :frowning: </p>

<p>Finally, I have another question: Should I first study for the SAT using Barron’s How to Prepare 2008 or Barron’s 2400?
I realize Barron’s 2400 is more difficult, but this way, I can be prepared for the worst right from the start. Or should I do it later to just polish my skills?</p>

<p>Merci!</p>

<p>PS - Can I use simple words form French to make me sound smarter in the SAT? :D</p>

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<p>You can; I don’t recommend it. I don’t think it will improve your score whatsoever.</p>