<p>^I heard about the insanely harsh CR curve for January 2013. That is painful!</p>
<p>Anyway, here is what I have to say as someone who was fortunate enough to achieve an 800 on Critical Reading:</p>
<p>The Critical Reading section is probably the most difficult section to improve upon out of all the sections, even for those whose first language is English. While different methods work for different people, I can give you some tips that worked for me:</p>
<p>-Do many practice tests and make sure to go over your mistakes. Obtain a copy of the College Board’s Official SAT Study Guide if you have not already done so. It contains tips, exercises, and information about each section of the test. Most importantly, it has 10 official practice tests. As you keep doing practice tests, you will eventually get used to the questions and passages, and your reasoning and inference skills will noticeably improve.</p>
<p>-This may seem rather obvious, but if an answer cannot be found in the passage, then it is not correct. Make sure that you can support your answers with information from the passage. This is advice that everyone thinks he/she knows but ultimately disregards during the test.</p>
<p>-I always read the entire passage first, then answer the questions. With double passages, I always read both passages completely before answering the questions. Reading the passage(s) first will prime you for the questions, as you will probably understand the context of the questions better after reading the passage(s).</p>
<p>-Vocabulary/Sentence Completions: This section is one that people either love or hate, a section that can either provide 19 free points or damage one’s score. If you have a lot of time, then READ. Read advanced articles and novels and see if you can pick up some of the vocabulary. If you do not have much time, you could resort to word lists (like Barron’s), but there is absolutely no guarantee that the words you study will appear on the test. You should also study word roots, which can potentially be very useful in deducing the meaning of a word from its parts (e.g.: circumlocute: circum=around, loc=talk, circumlocute=to talk around the main point or use too many words to get to your point.) Do not underestimate the usefulness of word roots; they can serve as crucial guides in otherwise hopeless situations.</p>
<p>-Sentence completions may not necessarily test your knowledge of esoteric words (like esoteric), but instead may test your ability to notice a word in different parts of speech and/or contexts. For example, “affect” can be a verb or a noun; as a verb, its meaning corresponds to “influence”, but as a noun, it is an emotional air or manner.</p>
<p>To be honest, I do not even read much (bad habit; you should read as much as you can), and when I do, I usually read textbooks. I just went all out doing practice tests, and I eventually got used to the passages and questions. Like sg12909 said, CR takes practice.</p>