<p>I started out in the low 500's and I've progressed in CR, until now I score in the high 500's to the low 600's range. It's been a bit of a plateau though, and I've seen no considerable improvement so far.</p>
<p>How do I propel myself into the 700's? It seems like a lost cause, and I'm beginning to lose hope.</p>
<p>Same here. Any tips guys?</p>
<p>One year ago I had a 50 in critical reading for the PSAT. Today, I scored a 65 on the PSAT so I’m on my way. Something that’s helped me is when I am reviewing my answers, I’m reviewing not only the ones I got wrong, but also the ones I got right. This puts me more into the mindset of how the test works.</p>
<p>I don’t know how reliable my advise is…
CR PSAT: 770
CR SAT: 780
(I never had to struggle to increase my CR score)</p>
<p>But, the big thing with me is this:
You need to leave your opinions, preconcieved notions, and EVERYTHING else out of the test. Everything and I mean Everything you need to answer all of the questions are on the test. If you find youself overanalyzing, or thinking about what YOU feel about a passage or question, stop and look at the passage.</p>
<p>Also, this might sound cliche, but if you have time read a lot of high-level books.
I never had to study SAT vocab, because I already new all of the words.</p>
<p>BMW: I had the exact same score now. And I would like to get it to 75+</p>
<p>My favorite tips are:</p>
<p>Be the Devil’s advocate. Getting down to two answers on CR sections and picking the wrong one was always where I lost points. But then I realized, when the College Board wrote this question, they had to have a specific reason why one of these answers isn’t right. There is always a reason somewhere in the text or in how the question is phrased. When I changed my thinking from, “Well, both of these answers could be right” to “This one is wrong because” I started getting a lot more right.</p>
<p>In English class, the teacher teaches you to read into the text, and try to get meaning from it that may or may not actually be there, it eventually just becomes about interpretations. With the SAT, it isn’t like that at all. Everything they ask about has to be concrete and be supported somewhere in the text. </p>
<p>I never really had a problem with the vocab section. Something I have gathered though is that it is rarely a toss-up between words. If you know what all the words mean, it is usually pretty clear what the right answer is. The trick is remembering vocab, and a helpful way to do this is to learn packs of related words together. For the SAT, you often don’t need to know the definition of a word. Even a vague inkling about what it means is often enough. By learning words in themed groups, you can cover more words, and although you won’t really know their definitions, you’ll remember which group they were from, and you eliminate them if they aren’t relevant.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I agree with PinkRocket so much. I think SAT passages are infinitely easier with at least little understaning of what they are talking about. For example, I would probably do better on a passage that is about music than on a passage that is about hair braiding skills because I have a decent understanding of music. I would enjoy reading the former one more, too. I think SAT is easier for people who know about many things in the world. 80% passage knowledge and at least 20%= successful CR section, IMO. I suggest reading magazines/newspapers on various topics. (politics, music, racial discrimination articles*, and biographies) However, it’s definitely doable with only the info from the passage. Just infinitely easier with outside info.</p>
<p>SirWankAlot,</p>
<p>Ill PM you with the secret</p>
<p>While I think you can study for the math section of the exam, by doing math problems, I think it is much harder to study for the CR part.</p>
<p>It is harder but its still possible to study to even an 800 ^</p>
<p>I read probably one book per YEAR, and I found the correct way to study for CR.
It involves practice and the knowledge of “reading an SAT passage”, eliminating obvious wrong answer choices, and DON’T OVERINTERPRET. After a lot of practice with this strategy, you can easily earn 700+
Absorb and understand where the passage is going before you read the entire thing, and read in increments(i mark the passage too).</p>
<p>Studying for vocab is pretty straightforward. Also make sure you nail each and every one of the vocab.</p>
<p>To add, CR improves with time. Do as many passages as you can. The tests are all the same. Read Economist/NY Times/ or even the Week.</p>
<p>That was how I improved on my CR. You might have a different strategy and that’s completely fine as long as it works. I’m just pointing out, “if the common strategy to attack the passage does not work for you, maybe you should try something different.” Not everyone works the same way. Some people lack some crucial general knowledge. (can you imagine reading a passage that is about jazz without knowing that it is a type of music?) Reading more about all kinds of things worked for me. I now range 750-800 on practice tests.</p>
<p>@indianguy94</p>
<p>Btw, I saw that you removed it, but I found “completely wrong” remark a bit too harsh. 
(crying in the corner…)</p>
<p>It wasnt to you</p>
<p>Oops. okay. Then that’s fine. :)</p>