Key to Critical Reading? How Can I go from 600-700+ in a Month?

<p>Im getting ready for the Oct. SAT, and was wondering what key really helps people score above 700 in reading. I am ready for the SC's, but passages, especially long ones, not so much. Some people just know that certain answers are correct, like there always seems to be two correct choices, but one is slightly wrong. How do you guys pick out the right answer for those questions very quickly and still have time to proofread. I can barely even finish the sections, and there are high scorers that finish and recheck... I have heard of some people going from 500s in reading to 700s by realizing a key mistake and key factor to scoring high.</p>

<p>Also how can I increase my overall score from 1930(630M,600CR,700WR) to above 2150(700,700,750WR) with four weeks. (DONT GIVE ME answers telling me its impossible, its certainly not).
I have</p>

<p>Blue Book
Official SAT 11 practice tests ONLINE course(The 69$ one)
Barrons 2400 2011
Direct Hits Core Vocab
Perfect 800 Math book
Princeton Review 2011 edition
Princeton Review 11 practice tests</p>

<p>WORDDD ^
bump tis thread</p>

<p>I’m in the same fix as you are, not being able to score above a 660 or so on the critical reading section.</p>

<p>In my case, expanding my vocabulary would likely increase my score by at least 20 or 30 points since I always miss around 3-4 questions on the sentence completion sections alone, though this fix may not work for you since you state that you already do well on sentence completion questions.</p>

<p>As far as attacking the long passages goes, always remember that the correct answer will be fully supported by the text. Even the second-best answer will have some flaw, though the problem, of course, is recognizing it. I assume that your problem is reading into the answers too much, as it is my biggest one by far, so it may help to think of each question as being wrong from the beginning and making your mission trying to prove each part of the answer.</p>

<p>Sorry I couldn’t be much help, but I hope my suggestions will nonetheless help boost your score.</p>

<p>You can only do so much in tackling long CR passages. Answering tough MC questions correctly, the ones that will get you into the mid-high 700 range, is really almost a natural ability for most high scoring test takers. It’s an intuition to choose the best answer over a Slightly worse answer. However, you can build that instinct through practice, practice and more practice.</p>

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<p>Here it is, your key, not only to CR but to the entire exam.</p>

<p>I liked cortana’s answer even though I usually disagree with anyone who says that CR is “a natural ability”. The way cortana said it was rather correct though, it is somewhat natural but you can build it.</p>

<p>Looking at your scores the first thing you want to start studying is math. Get Dr. Chungs (if you don’t want to buy it use the free preview on amazon, it gives you all the tips) and then just do a couple practice math sections in the BB. You can easily get a 100 point jump in math, especially if you uphold the Indian/Asian math stereotype. Next focus on writing, I personally used Sparknotes Seven Deadly Screw-Ups, but I think you should try Silverturtles guide. </p>

<p>You can improve the 200, but its dependent on how much work you put in.</p>