I’ve taken about 15 practice tests and reviewed my mistakes, but my critical reading score doesn’t seem to be improving much. It’s not because I’m running out of time. Vocabulary questions are fine for me, it’s just the passage-based questions that drop my score. I can never seem to go in the 600s, and my goal is in the 700s. For those who score in the 600s-800s, what suggestions do you have?
Thanks!
Well, you can try to order The Critical Reader by Erica Meltzer because there are some Cr tricks.
Is vocab a problem in the passages? If you aren’t yet in the 600’s, I’m certain vocab remains a problem for you.
It’s interesting because I usually miss 1 or 2 on the vocab section, but when I come across a question like “In line_, _ most nearly means…” i’m usually stuck in choosing between two choices. Sometimes, I know what all the answer choices mean, but I feel like two of the synonyms could fit.
I totally know how you feel. I was in your shoes at one point – I used to struggle with critical reading a lot. But for the January SAT, I ended up finished the reading sections early. I believe that practice makes perfect, like you said. You have to train yourself to skim the passages but also to understand the big picture of the passage. I really think that’s it.
Also, I recommend reading advanced works in general, like outside of the SAT realm. My AP English teacher made our class read “The New Yorker,” “Anna Karenina,” and “Gulliver’s Travels,” and “Vanity Fair,” and by the end of the year, we were all much better and quicker readers. Reading in general will help you to acquire speed and develop a good vocabulary (or even just get a flashcard box too).
I think the best way to improve on the SAT is just doing practice test, which is what I see you’ve been doing. It’s the only way really. If you want a good review book, I would use “The Princeton Review” - it’s the best one by far!
I took the January one too, and I finished everything in time (although i had to hurry for one section b/c i had only 5 mins left for one passage). I learned to avoid sub-vocalizing and improve my reading speed, but “understanding the big picture” is my biggest weakness. When I read books assigned in AP English, I often have to look up summaries online because I didn’t fully understand what I read. Also, my family speaks a different language at home and they’re not really good at speaking English, so I think that holds me back. Thank you for you suggestions; I’ll look into that Princeton Review book 