<p>I've taken several practice tests. I almost always get 700. (650-750.) Is there any technique out there?
I've heard that if you narrow it down to two, pick the more moderate answer. However, I often find that the more moderate answer seems to slightly differ from the way I interpereted the story more than does the more extreme answer. This happens most often on the "Generalizations" questions--the ones where you have to find a generalization that would be agreed to by the authors of 2 different passages. Is there anything I can do besides contradict my interperetations and choose the answer that seems more likely to be correct than what I truly believe is correct? Maybe I'm not a great reader...
BTW, these tests are from the original Blue Book--the one that came out in 2005--so do you think the questions on more recent tests may have a little more objectivity?</p>
<p>Critical Reading is the hardest section to improve on, but improvement is possible nevertheless.</p>
<p>What I basically did when I was in your position, was continuing to take a lot of practice tests, and reading challenging books like Gravity’s Rainbow, Infinite Jest, Ulysses, etc. Although looking back, I may have fared better if I chose to read stuff I was actually interested in, like my pop-math book.</p>
<p>The SAT is different from how English classes gauge your reading ability in that there is no subjectivity. The questions aren’t “open to different interpretations,” that is–there is only one right answer, and while there may appear to be other right answers, they’re merely the ETS trying to trick you. It is a “reasoning test” in that you have to use your reasoning ability to decipher through the trickery, and find what is objectively the only “interpretation.”</p>
<p>I hope what I typed helps you in your endeavor. I’d wish you “good luck,” but luck is for chumps who can’t get by without good old fashioned hard work.</p>
<p>Thankyou for responding. I do sometimes lose sight of the fact that there is only one correct answer. I get caught up in the diversions simply because I lack comprehension skills I guess. (This is something I’ve really improved on though thus far; I got a 57 on the PSAT CR last year as a freshman.) I will definitely read some challenging books this summer. I’m also going to take AP Lang next year; hopefully that will help me–I’ve heard it can be a significant boost to CR.</p>