<p>I'm consistently scoring between 560 and 640. i dont know how to improve. i tried so many problems and tried to find patterns, but i cant seem to. does anyone know how i can improve cr section significantly by this April? i have to take the test that month. help is really appreciated.......</p>
<p>i think concentration and thinking clearly is the most important. if you get too caught up in the pacing or the interpretation then you won't get a good score. Also, you should consider and think about all the answers before answering. however, dont try to convince yourself something is right by reading too much into it. if the answer doesnt really stand out after you understood the passage pretty well, then its probably wrong. </p>
<p>At least thats the case for me.</p>
<p>Totally agree with mkevb1 about the whole concentration and thinking clearly part. But then the question becomes how do you do that? I still dont know..., I guess it just comes down to luck, just hope that on the day of the test your brain is clear and ready to go. But until you find a strategy that works, just practice practice practice.</p>
<p>the way it clears and becomes calm for me is when i miss a whole lot of questions in one section like +10. Then, i become depressed and realize i can't flow through cr like math, so i do better on the next cr section.</p>
<p>the kind of readings that i get confused at is like government, women's rights movement, all that kind of stuff. i guess if i dont enjoy it i cant do well... but its so hard to concentrate on that kind of reading. also, i sometimes cant find the specific paragraphs where i can find the answers. by the time i do, i spent too much time.</p>
<p>Step 1 Read enough of the passage to figure out the authors Big idea and get a sense of the tone.
Step 2 Analyze the question
Step 3 Go back into the passage to locate the answer to a specific question.
Step 4 Put the answer into your own words
Step 5 Skim the answer choices to find the one similar to your answer</p>
<p>For longer and more tiring passages: </p>
<ol>
<li>Focus on the author. Think what he would be thinking.</li>
<li>Dont try to memorize the details. You can refer to them later.</li>
<li>Read the first one-third of the passage because this is where most of the info is located</li>
<li>Note the topics</li>
<li>Sum it all up</li>
</ol>
<p>Hope this helps</p>
<p>I was having a similar problem which was screwing me during the SAT panic-fest. My first Critical Reading Score was a 670 (and want to be an English major, for Chrissakes!) but I later scored a 740. This didn't happen by accident. Here's are my suggestions:</p>
<p>Attention span has a lot to do with your success success on the critical reading section. Sadly, we're not all in full control of it--I myself have a textbook case of ADHD, which makes things no easier (did I mention I want to be an English major!?)--plus the new three-hour and forty-five-minute SAT is specifically designed to grind down our ability to think and concentrate.</p>
<p>On test day:</p>
<p>Drink A LOT of coffee; go nuts with the stuff. It's a stimulant that has similar effects to Ritalin, and downing a quart of it won't hurt you if you do it once or twice. It certainly worked for me, and I suggest you try and see how helpful it is one of these weekends with a practice test.</p>
<p>Preparation:</p>
<p>Buy a review book--it could have whole SATs, or it could be one that specifically covers the critical reading section. The brand isn't particularly important--though I recommend starting with Princeton Review. They're all slightly different, and I therefore recommend going through as many books as you can before April rolls around, since they all have a slightly different since of the critical reading section. Go through two or three sections EVERY SINGLE WEEKDAY whenever you can. If you finish a book, go on down to Border's or Barnes & Noble and buy a different one.</p>
<p>Every single weekend, try and do a full-length SAT, math, critical reading and all. Don't feel discouraged if you score abysmally--no colleges are going to see.</p>
<p>My methods:</p>
<p>I read the opening paragraph of the passage, then I go immediately to the questions. Questions asking about the "primary purpose" or "main idea" of the passage I skip and leave to the end. The questions are usually chronological, and usually correspond to one or two paragraphs. This makes the answers especially easy to find. I avoid reading the whole passage first, because this takes time, and makes me forget things. The critical reading section is mostly information retrieval.</p>
<p>I'd post more, but I gotta go. These methods worked for me. Try them first--they may not work for you.</p>
<p>I agree with mkevb1 and Granfallooner.</p>
<p>My problem was always overanalyzing everything -- Don't read too much into the answer, because I was finding that two or three looked equally correct.</p>
<p>Read the entire passage, then go to the questions. You must read the entire question and each entire answer. I was finding that I would read half of the question, so I would miss it. </p>
<p>Improve your vocab -- the sentence completions can help you get major points quickly (plus they'll boost your confidence during the test) if you have a good vocabulary. Also, it will help with the passages -- the vocab in context questions and just understanding the passage itself. Sometimes even the questions on the passages will have difficult vocab -- like questions on tone.</p>
<p>Read -- newspapers, magazines, novels, etc. The more you read, the more practice you will get with vocab and the passages. </p>
<p>Definitely go buy a practice book and like Granfallooner said, try to do a few sections each day. Practice makes perfect. Don't worry about how you do. The week before I took the SAT, I was doing pretty poorly, but I ended up getting a high score on the real thing.</p>
<p>thx a lot for ur advices. im actually doing most of the things u guys are saying, cept its hard to remember all of em i guess.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Next piece of advice: Ginko Biloba and Green Tea. :)</p>