<p>Pygmalion. I second what Tarhunt says. Additionally, I gather from the fact that you're an international student and from some of the phrasing in your post that English is not your first language. So when you're reading English lit, your mind may be working on the basic meaning of the words rather than underlying meaning, which of course is going to make it much harder for you. Are you good at textual analysis in your first language? </p>
<p>As far as improving, my first suggestion is to keep reading in English as much as possible. The more fluent you become, the more you will be able to find the underlying meaning. You will learn more idiomatic phrases which might not make sense at first reading.</p>
<p>Secondly, as you read, carry on an inner dialog with the book. Ask questions all the time: why is it set at this place? why did the character do that? this item keeps getting mentioned; what's it's significance? etc etc. Thinking actively about what's happening and why will help you go beyond the surface of the book.</p>
<p>All of Tarhunt's suggestions are great, too.</p>
<p>tarhunt, sparknotes is not only for lazy us students. i read the actual books that are required for class but use sparknotes if i am having trouble understanding something. not to say that you are completely wrong; many, many students DO use sparknotes as a shortcut. haha, my english teacher told us a story of a senior who told her, at the end of the year, that he only used sparknotes for al the years he was in her class. too bad for him - he told her before report cards were sent out!</p>
<p>Wow, I didn't expect so many useful tips. I really appreciate that ;)</p>
<p>@garland: Your're absolutely right about the underlying meaning of words. In several novels, the meaning of the passages is further obscured by the considerable numbers of new words. I feel dowright bad whenever I can't make out what the author is on about. Hum, I realize that it'll take a lot of doing for me to fully grasp the meaning of a novel/story. Just a side question: does my English in my post above sound so much forced, unnatural or the like ? Does it sound absurd to you ? :(
And yes, English isn't my first language. In fact, it's just one of the compulsory subjects there. Vietnamese is my mother tounge after all :D</p>
<p>Pygmalion--overall, your English is strong. This is one sentence which did stand out, though:</p>
<p>"Thus, I have purchased a good few English highly recommended novels and pored them over". </p>
<p>It would be "a few good highly recommended English novels" and "pored over them."</p>
<p>Last semester I had a Korean student in my English class, possibly the brightest student in there. Spent many times as much time as some others reading to get all the correct meanings and understand vocabulary, but by the end of the semester, was writing the best papers in the class! Keep working hard! You will continue to see improvement.</p>
<p>Pygmalion, while being able to pick out themes and such is a good skill and helps you to fully understand what an author is saying, you shouldn't worry about it for the SAT essay (if that's all you are concerned with at the moment). You don't need to write about literature. You can write about history, current events, personal experiences, pretty much anything as long as it applies. You can even make stuff up. They don't care. You could even use the name of a famous book, and make up what the theme is. People have done all of these things (maybe not the last one :-)) and gotten great scores. That said, reading books will definitely help with your command of the language, which will help your score. But I wouldn't worry about figuring out the themes for the SAT.</p>
<p>Pygmalion, I don't know if this woudl be possible or even a good idea, but it was something that came to mind as I was reading your post: could you get ahold of a few novels both in English and translated into your native language? Then, read a chapter in English, followed by the same chapter in Vietnamese. I think reading a few books this way might help you grasp better some of the subtle points the author raises.
PS Good luck. Your English is great and I am sure your comprehension will improve with practice.</p>
<p>Where The Red Fern Grows
James and the Giant Peach
Goodnight Moon
Harry Potter and the __________</p>