<p>I've read a lot of posts on CC and a lot of "seasoned" SAT takers believe that memorizing SAT vocab isn't that helpful. I usually miss one on the vocab part of the CR and like 2-4 on th reading sections, which is my major downfall. I really want to improve as my CR score isn't that hot (I'm like stuck in the 610-690 range) I really want to break 700, ideally go for 750. I've started reading a lot more, The New Yorker, National Geo., Great Gatsby, Aesop's Fables and one or two more. Am I on the right track? Should I stop with my Vocab practice (I do 15 words a day)?</p>
<p>I think -5 would be around a 760… not a 610-690</p>
<p>-5 is around 720-740 I think</p>
<p>No like I miss 4 in like every CR section, not overall lol, I would be quite pleased with 4 missed overall. So like around 12-15 in the whole thing. My last test I missed 14 overall.</p>
<p>If you’re getting nearly all of the sentence completion ones correct studying would be POINTLESS</p>
<p>Uh, either you memorize all the vocab words from one of those books like direct hits, etc ('ive never used, I don’t do the SAT), or take the ACT as an alternative. No vocab on that.</p>
<p>I read a lot and found CR difficult for a while. Direct Hits really helped me, as did looking up all the words I didn’t know instead of guessing by context. If vocabulary is your weakness, I think memorizing vocab and looking up unknown words is a great start. If the passages are difficult for you, though, I’m not sure how much reading periodicals or class books will help. What helped me most with the passages was just doing practice SAT tests and reviewing the answers until it clicked. I’m not sure if I became a better reader or learned how to think like the test, but I think the latter is more likely to be honest. Use the blue book and look up unknown vocab words in all your reading and you’ll make speedy progress.</p>
<p>Different kind of studying helps different students…but in my opinion if you’re only missing one sentence completion per section your problem is likely not vocabulary work. To me that indicates a grasp of vocabulary, but maybe you need to grasp a test strategy or realize that some words have second or third meanings. I wouldn’t completely stop the vocab learning (more words are always better!) but I would concentrate more on actually practicing SC and RC examples.</p>
<p>Just a tip, simply reading higher-level material in the last stretch of high school is not going to improve your score on its own. I always tell my students to read college-level material, but am consistently amused when people think WSJ and the Economist are like the ticket to an 800CR. That’s boring and most graduate students I know don’t even read that stuff regularly 
High scorers are people who read higher-level material for pleasure consistently, synthesize that information, and apply it to other situations. That’s what you need to be doing with your The New Yorker readings.</p>