<p>hi cc community
I am her seeking your help in critical reading Iam not a native speaker so i have trouble with this sec. I want to increase my score, i used to get 400-420 but after i worked really hard and expected to increase my score it turned out that i just got 450 :( so any ideas . I finished the barrons 800 words and the direct hits too. is memorizing suffix and prefix helpful?ESP that i scored 9/19 on the sentence completion</p>
<p>Keep working at it. Forget the shortcuts suggested by trying to memorize lists of words as it is the least effective way to progress. Get a BIG stack of old tests and READ the sections with a dictionary on hand. Check the answers as you go and do this until you start to understand what is tested and how it works. </p>
<p>Remember that there are NO shortcuts nor magical tools. You need to spend the time in a proactive way. And, again and again, wasting your time slaving over lists of words is not the solution.</p>
<p>Actually, memorizing 3000-5000 words (or more) will get you close to 600 even if you’re an abysmal reader. It’s not much of a “shortcut,” but it’s the closest thing there is for low-fluency test takers in CR.</p>
<p>Why not suggesting to memorize the entire Webster? Working through a dozen old tests proactively is bound to yield superior results than mindlessly TRYING to memorize moronic lists. </p>
<p>The test is more than a silly vocabulary test.</p>
<p>xiggi is right. you’ll be fine if you get through DH+RR word list. those words are already in the barron’s words list. so, you’ll need to work on test taking skills read more.</p>
<p>There are several options:
- If you’re not applying to college this year, don’t worry too much. There will be a new version of SAT next year. Expect it to be better. I think CR will be partly alleviated, because looking intensely at the computer screen for a long time isn’t good.
- Go for ACT. The reading is not as tricky as SAT’s, at the expense of more science stuff. Your nickname gives the impression that SAT is literally haunting you.
- Buy 501 critical reading. Spend around 4 hours a day working on it.</p>
<p>I went for option 3 btw.</p>
<p>Working through old tests is also strongly recommended, of course, but without vocab–esp. for low fluency international students–it won’t yield significant results. I see it with 200 students a year: when kids can’t understand passages, the problem is usually vocab. Now, studying vocab sucks, but it doesn’t have to be “mindless.” I recommend Leitner Box (a variation of spaced repetition) method, some functionality of which is programmed into Quizlet’s “Learn” mode.</p>
<p>(I also argue that the CR exam is still little more than a glorified vocab test. After all, it features: 19 sentcoms, each of which has at leat 5 vocab words, some of which have 10, and some of which have vocab words as the “clues” in the sentences; several vocab-in-context questions, some of which use vocab words for their clues in the passages; and many questions asking about sentences whose meaning cannot be adequately parsed without vocab knowledge.)</p>
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<p>I’m not aware of any announcement that the SAT revision will take effect next year. Do you have a citation? I expect nothing until at least 2015 and more likely 2016.</p>
<p>My bad–I see 2015 now, but it’s unclear whether that will be Jan/March/May/June of 2015 or Oct/Nov/Dec of 2015.</p>
<p>Marvin, since we are discussing CR, it might not be such a bad idea to read what I wrote with attention. Keywords are … Dictionary on hand and proactively. I could have added “in context” for good measure. </p>
<p>People are often confused when it comes to the process of learning vocabulary.</p>
<p>If you want to compete with other foreigners vying for top western universities…then score in the 700’s on everything.</p>
<p>…other than that…forget any chances of being accepted.</p>
<p>…You also have to get a satisfactory score on the TOEFL and IELTS that shows you can keep up with the rest of English speakers in a high octane classroom.</p>
<p>You can nail the SATs and ACTs but bomb your other exams.</p>
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<p>No need for patronizing tones, young buck. I did read it, and (respectfully–your work on CC has helped a lot of people!) I still disagree. I’ve found that when most students use dictionaries as they read they do not retain much of what they find there and they have trouble maintaining the kind of flow and focus conducive to good reading. (Not to mention the trouble many students have with dictionaries’ definitions, many of which err on the side of comprehensiveness.)</p>
<p>This is not a thorough-going rejection, though. I’m willing to believe there are other methods that work for some people. But it’s a fact (to me–I have 11 years of data and observation. I’m not sharing that with you and of course you have no obligation to agree; I don’t require consensus) that memorizing thousands of well-chosen vocab words works and does so relatively fast. I’ve tried many ways with many students, and–reluctantly, I’ll add, since I don’t want people to have to go through the boring process of vocab memorization!–nothing has proven as effective.</p>
<p>Solving practice tests is also important, of course, but without serious attention to vocab (and far more vocab than 20-30 practice tests can offer), things like 1-year 500–>750 jumps just aren’t going to happen. Conversely, I’ve seen that improvement arc with kids who have followed a 75:25 vocab:solving ratio. It’s rare, for sure, but it happens.</p>
<p>(The other wonderful thing about vocab is that one can absolutely do it on one’s own, without any kind of teacher or expertise! All it takes is determination and some time.)</p>
<p>Thank u @xiggi
U r the best ur advice worked i am currently scoring 520-550 iam improving 
And thx to everyone else :)</p>
<p>@satpanic I suffer a lot from CR too. 
Seriously, like A LOT. I was just like you last year. (I’m also an international student.) Are there any method to improve from a 600? I’m constantly scoring 570-610 but couldn’t score more than that. My goal is at least 650 in October please help! It’s driving me mad that I can’t really seem to break the 600 point.</p>
The new SAT will be without Essay and launched in March 2016
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Do not resurrect old threads, especially ones where the answer will no longer help the OP. This thread is 2 years old, so I assume s/he is already in college. Closing. @Dawn001