<p>Critcal reading, is by far, the worst section ever on all three of the exams- PSAT, SAT, ACT. I just dont know how to fix it and do better! Ughhhh, im so frustrated. Someone have any ideas as to how i can improve?? HELP!!!!! HELP!!! PLEASE HELP!!!</p>
<p>Uhh, just learn how to read, mate. Seriously, just read the passages, understand what they're saying, and answer the questions...</p>
<p>memorize the dictionary</p>
<p>gee thanks pkswmr!</p>
<p>I detect subtle sarcasm...anyways...practice, practice, practice!!!</p>
<p>Everyone on CC advocates reading for the CR section. Logically that makes sense...reading for reading...but that's like saying you should read Beowulf in order to prepare for your Hamlet test coming up...</p>
<p>My advice is to practice reading the passages (from CB tests mind you) over and over again. Read the passage (don't time) until you can practically recite it. Then answer the questions and see how you do. Do this with other tests until you can fully understand what the passage is about the first time around. I promise you that you will be much happier when you start answering questions correct instead of repeatedly answering questions wrong or reading Time Magazine or something ridiculous like that.</p>
<p>I'd like to hear if everyone else thinks I'm an idiot or a genius...usually one or the other ;)</p>
<p>What sam41990 says is all good. The "Read-lots-of-books" strategy is very long-term, and reading that long-lost book you got from your grandma 4 years ago won't improve your score. At all. You need to continuously read a variety of books for a long time. After that, you'll start to see gradual improvement.</p>
<p>The strategy Sam mentioned is good, however, I'm a stronger believer in a similar strategy. I think it's best to take tons and tons of practice exams, with a focus on the CR section. The first few can be untimed, but then you should start to time yourself. You'll find that after reading many SAT passages, you'll develop a sensitivity for useful information within these passages. </p>
<p>As for the sentence completion section, I'm also a firm believer in practice. The SAT frequently employs similar words for the questions. Also, after seeing 5000 sentence completion questions, you develop a sensitivity for what to watch out for in the sentences, and for clues as to what the right answer might be. </p>
<p>But, seriously, don't take my word for it. A strategy that works for one person might not work for another, at all. In fact, there are strategies that don't work for anyone, but I'd rather not walk down that alley, in this post. It's not just "Stop sleeping and eating, read for 10 hours a day, memorize vocabulary for another 10 hours, discuss what you've learned with anyone who will listen for four hours, lather, rinse, repeat." </p>
<p>So, yeah, you are a genius. Except, you lose points for winking. Geniuses don't wink.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, I forgot about sentence completions. I would advise memorizing a short list (about 800 to 1000 words) in order to get a good understanding of what SAT vocabulary is like. If you have time try to complete a 3000 world list. Vocabulary is approx. 1/3 of the Critical Reading Section which is the difference between a 800 and a 600. There's a automated flash card program at <a href="http://www.psdinc.org%5B/url%5D">www.psdinc.org</a> that's cheap and has thousands of SAT words on it. The program saves time because you don't have to write the words on flash cards or pieces of paper.</p>
<p>Barron's Critcal Reading Book is EXCELLENT for practice on Sentence Completions. They have 240 grueling problems but it is well worth it at the end. Vocabulary helps a lot but understanding how the test makers think is also very important.</p>
<p>BTW, geniuses can do whatever they want...WINK...WINK...WINK ;) lol</p>
<p>you need to take a lot of practice tests, not just read a lot....</p>
<p>but reading a lot REALLY helps.
I didn't have to study at all for the CR or writing.</p>
<p>^^
Nah I think you read a lot because you like it and thus the CR wasn't as hard for you because you sorta liked it. Do you get what I mean? I don't read a lot yet I didn't find it hard getting an 800 in CR. For writing you just memorize the rules.</p>
<p>Also, hardworker, did you learn a different language growing up? If so, that could be part of your problem.</p>
<p>Do you hate reading in general? What do you plan to study in college?</p>
<p>well thanks for all the replies, i truly appreciate it. its not that i dont like reading, because i really do. but for some reason, the critical reading questions are getting to me, i dunno if its just the way they word it or what. from now on, i set a goal, im gonna try to do at least two reading practice exams every day. and thanks for that vocab software sam41900...., ill definitely take a look at that. thanks again for all ur replies!</p>
<p>FredFredBurger: I've never thought about it that way. You could be right, though. However, I believe that it's all highly subjective. Someone who doesn't read at all could just be naturally adept at things like CR, while someone who reads a lot could be inept at analyzing what they read. I, personally, read a lot, and I attribute my CR and Writing scores to this. That brings me to another point. I don't know if this has happened to anyone else, but I don't need to memorize grammar rules or anything like that, because I can simply read a sentence and know that something is wrong with it, just because it doesn't sound right. I believe that this, too, is due to reading a lot.</p>
<p>I don't think it is fool-proof to rely on reading experience to guide grammar choices. Many published journals and books, even the classics, display deviances from standard written English.</p>
<p>I'm not, by any means, saying that it's fool-proof. However, it worked for me, and Writing is the easiest section of the SAT, for me.</p>
<p>My own theory, which I put on a different post, is that reading produces cubic or exponential increases in vocab and reading skills. That's why you feel like it doesn't help you at all over the short-term: because exponential increases are very, very slow at the beginning, but over the long term they are enormous. It's like that fourth grade math problem: "Would you rather get $30,000, or get $.01 the first day, and $.02 the second day, and $.04 the third day, and $.08 the fourth day, and so on for a month?"</p>
<p>The sad news is that--in my experience--reading doesn't help you that much if you don't start until four months before you have to take the test. At that point, you really are most helped by doing as many CB practice tests as you can get your hands on.</p>
<p>What strategies hav you actually tried so far?</p>