How to go from a 1980 to 2200?

<p>I was thinking about taking the SAT in March or so, and have been scoring around 1980. Sometimes I get a 2060 and sometimes I get a 1940, but generally it is around a 1980. My math scores are around 700, and my writing is 700-750, but my reading has always been around 600 and after a long time's work it went up by around 60 points to a 660. How can I make that big jump?</p>

<p>I had a 600 in CR too. Time management is the key. Also develop tactics to answering those questions. Underlining/circling/etc. will increase your score by a lot. Those and a lot of practice, of course.</p>

<p>Go through faster so you can check back through all the answers at the end.</p>

<p>I had a 48 in CR in my PSAT freshman yr. Now, I have a 69, in my junior year. The main things that helped me were just learning vocab. I looked through all previous tests that I had done and took the words I didn’t know and memorized their meanings. As for Reading Comprehension, to improve - I read a lot of books - not Harry Potter or any gripping fiction novels, but the dry, classic novels that are recommended reads in AP Lit - books by Steinbeck, Great Gatsby, Scarlet Letter, etc. This helps a lot indirectly. No matter how much time it takes for you to read, no matter how boring the book is, read it. Read every word of it. Slowly, you will start increasing your reading speed and start to comprehend passages much better. Good Luck!</p>

<p>I generally do finish before the time ends so I don’t think thats the problem. It’s just that in reading I am always confused between the two choices that are the most likely to be the answer and sometimes pick the wrong one. I think I might start trying some more range of tricks though like circling and stuff and keep learning more vocab and reading. But does anybody have any idea on how to pick the right answer from when theres two choices left?</p>

<p>@patel: if you’re down to two that are similar in meaning, make sure you’re not picking extreme answer choices (always, only, never) or prescriptive ones (must, should). Think like a lawyer: could there be an exception? Always go with the safest, best-supported answer. It also helps if you have the answer to the question in your mind before you look at the answer choices. Also, if you’re saying “That <em>could</em> be true if…” then you’re straying from the text. STICK TO THE TEXT.</p>

<p>got it thanks @charlucas</p>

<p>@charlucas I couldn’t agree with that more. I had issues when I first started practicing figuring out between two answers. The trick is to ALWAYS look at the text! The reading section is mostly about breaking down the passage, translating it into some other words, and then restating it. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll realize that most of the time, they’re just saying exactly the same thing with different (sometimes difficult) words. Ask yourself “Where in the passage is this supported?” Check a line above, a paragraph above, read a sentence after if you have to, but most if not all questions can be answered via systematically reviewing the text.</p>

<p>I tried taking your advice Zerlang and Charlucas, and it actually does help. It sounds like there are more specific answers and general answers to some questions too, and that the more general questions are the answer. Do you know what I mean?</p>

<p>My son got a 212 on the PSAT and two weeks later a 1980 on the SAT.</p>

<p>He just got his answers and form number back for the SAT, so he will spend time analyzing what happened especially in the math. He got an 80 on the PSAT in math but a 710 on the SAT in math.</p>

<p>I also told him regarding passages, to look at the first line of the passage, and the last line of the passage. They usually pick passages exactly, so the first and last lines should help you answer the question better than trying to read 10 or 20 lines and wasting time.</p>