<p>I just received January's score report and i ended up with a 570 M 490 CR and 500 WR. My essay got a 12 (I am great at writing) but my MC was in the low 40s. I feel that every answer in the writing can possibly be right. Is there any way I can improve the WR score quick? I heard it is the easiest to improve. Also, my CR score!?!? I have an A+ in AP Language and had an A in english throughout high school. Same with Math, I am in Trig right now acing just like every other math class I have taken. This is a complete shocker for me considering my gpa is a 4.0125. Please give me advice on raising these to the 2000 range by September?!?! I am a dedicated student willing to work until I achieve my goals.</p>
<p>Hmmm… grammar. You are like the complete opposite of me. I have like a 3.65 gpa (slacker much) and SAT 2110, 8 on the essay. I also thought Writing was really hard, just you really have to grammatically analyze every sentence. Also for CR, just pick the answer which is most objectively supported by the passage. Also the SAT is not at all like school, it’s more of a thinking test than a knowledge test. You actually don’t have to know much (with grammar being an exception) to ace it, you just have to think.</p>
<p>This is my daughter’s weakest subject. She has improved to get near perfect on WR.
How did she do it?
She carried with her 3X5 cards of questions that she missed and reviewed when she had some time.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat. It’s actually quite weird. I took a CB previous test three days before the Jan SAT, and scored a 760 in W. I consistently score above 700 in all practice tests for writing, but somehow I got a 560 Jan results? I’m really astonished, and I also feel as if I got mostly everything right. I think I might’ve missed possibly 2-3, but my score report says otherwise. I also have an A+ in AP Lang. Haha. I don’t know where to begin. Time to start studying/practicing again >_<</p>
<p>On* not in the same boat. Wow. I feel like an idiot. Can’t get any worse than looking at my score report.</p>
<p>In my opinion, W isn’t actually related to English classes/AP Lang. That’s more of CR. You spend very little time in English class reviewing grammar conventions. English class is more of analysis/discussion/essays.</p>
<p>So I guess my advice to you is to practice. Read sentences aloud in your head. Do they sound grammatically correct to you? I find that very few errors slip by if you read the sentence aloud. Would you say it the exact way they’ve written in?</p>
<ul>
<li>If it doesn’t sound grammatically correct, it’s a grammar error.</li>
<li>If it doesn’t sound right or feels kinda wordy, it’s a style error.</li>
</ul>
<p>There’s only so much you can learn from studying all the grammatical lessons in the SAT books. The next hurdle is to be able to feel for errors.</p>
<p>(And before you ask, yes, I did get 800 W, but not on this test.)</p>
<p>If you don’t take advantage of this already, start now: On the CR section, when it gives you the location of the word or phrase by line number, jump straight to it and answer the question, don’t even read the passage. You usually won’t need to read the passage until you get to the last 2 questions, which ask about mood or tone or what not. </p>
<p>Credentials: 750 CR on my first try; no studying.</p>
<p>Writing - Initially, simply read and understand the grammar rules frequently tested on the SAT from as many good sources as possible. I strongly recommend Silverturtle’s Guide, Sparknotes and any other reference book you have (BB is useless here). After you have completely absorbed the rules and the common errors tested, start practising AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, so you can learn how to APPLY the theory and rules you read. The Blue Book is invaluable for practice. You can also use other books. This is what I did, and I found the W section SO easy, there was virtually no question type which I had not seen earlier. Got a 790 with 80/80 MCs on the Jan 2012 SAT.
Critical Reading - Nothing can help you more than practice. This might sound trite, but it’s true. Start with the BB. Read ALL of their answer explanations, ALL of them. This will give you an idea of what answers they expect, and soon you’ll be able to think the way the CR section wants you to. Work through as many official collegeboard resources for CR as you can - old tests, the online test, BB tests.
While working through the CR section, this is what I did - I quickly looked at the line numbers in the Qs ( I didn’t read the Qs before the passage though, makes me lose focus), marked those lines, and then began to read. When I came to a marked line, I answered the corresponding Q. And the one absolute rule I followed was LOOK FOR EVIDENCE IN THE PASSAGE. Each correct answer WILL be supported by some small evidence in the passage; it might be just a word or two. Also, beware of extreme choices involving words like ‘always’ and ‘never’, and look out for distorted choices - where the option seems correct initially, but a word or small detail in the later part of the choice makes it wrong.
Also, I am of the opinion that reading SAT vocabulary lists is completely worth the effort, even if you already have a good vocabulary; it definitely paid off in my case. Direct Hits is the best choice, but I also found the Sparknotes 250 VERY useful (and it’s free! ). Since you have MUCh more time than I had, you can also go for the Sparknotes 1000 word list.
Btw, I got an 800 in CR.
Hope this helps! :)</p>
<p>“Horrible SAT Score!!?!?”</p>
<p>No, not horrible at all. Just a little above average.</p>
<p>I work with kids from low socio-economic backgrounds on college admissions who would kill for your scores — and that’s after taking an SAT prep course. The thing is, many of the kids I’ve worked with – admittedly all hard workers with good GPAs and a record of involvement in the school community – have gotten into good colleges and have graduated or are on track for graduation. </p>
<p>My reaction is to the title of your thread; it is admittedly a pet peeve of mine on CC. A 1500 on the three-part SAT is the national average. Anything over 1800 is pretty darned good IMO. I applaud the OP for his competitive spirit and intent to acieve the goal of a 2000 score on the SAT. However, there is no need for him to feel he’s failure if his scores only go up to 1750 and there is no need to belittle (even if unintentional) the achievements of kids who, despite the odds, are able to score above the 50th percentile, if only by a small margin.</p>
<p>DH1 & DH2 definetely helped D2. She was never a reader but improve 200+ points from sophomore to junior year.</p>