<p>Hey guys,
I'm having a huge trouble with my critical reading section. I've been doing practice tests regularly and been reviewing each mistake I made, but I see no improvement. Moreover, I also have trouble finishing it on time, coz when the time is called up, I usually leave like 4 questions unanswered in one section. So it adds up to like 8-12. Plus, I make lots of mistakes on the ones I did. That's a huge loss of points. So, I'd be very grateful if you guys would share your advice and the ways you attack critical reading section.</p>
<p>Read this guide, its really helpful.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/750399-how-attack-sat-critical-reading-section-effectively.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/750399-how-attack-sat-critical-reading-section-effectively.html</a></p>
<p>Hope this helps! :)</p>
<p>I’ve already read it and applied all the strategies but still no improvement. Thanks, though.</p>
<p>try this [The</a> SAT Reading Comprehension: Basic Principles - FamilyEducation.com](<a href=“SAT Critical Reading Tips”>SAT Critical Reading Tips) </p>
<p>it helped me alot in my practice tests, I was getting high 500s to low 600s then i started getting low to mid 700s</p>
<p>For the short reading passages, the ones with 2 questions, I would read the questions first then read the passage. Since there are only two questions to deal with, your mind is boggled down with trying to remember them and comprehend the passage when reading.</p>
<p>When it comes to answering reading passage questions, always try to come up with your own answer. This was the tip that really helped me. I was constantly getting questions wrong because I had fallen for the SAT trap ( the true but not relevant to the question). So by coming up with my own answer first and then looking at the given answers to see which comes close to mine, I began to see a marked improvement in my score.</p>
<p>For tips on how to read the passages and on answering the different types of questions use [SAT:</a> Improve SAT Score with SparkNotes: The Long of It](<a href=“SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides”>SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides)</p>
<p>This is another invaluable resource that I used. This along with my previous link are responsible for my increase in my practice test scores. I did the Nov SAT so I’m waiting on my official results. I did the SAT for the first time in Jan, CR was 570. Last practice test before SAT, CR was 740</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>] relax
[</em>] take a deep breath
[li] let your mind do the thinking, seriously just read the passages like you are reading for pleasure and answering the questions will be like automatically circling bubbles[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>@ DMA017. Thank you very much! I find your advice very useful:) I guess my problem is like I read passages too closely and get lost in details, spending most of my time on them. But if I skip and rush through those passages, it seems to me that I’m skipping important information. I guess I gotta learn to let go. I usually score between 570-610 on practice tests. But I want to bring it up to 700. I also used Sparknotes; I found the math section most useful and reading section was mostly about strategies like skimming and scanning, etc. But those strategies kinda don’t work for me. Though, I really like your first link and will try to apply them. Thanks so much:)</p>
<p>@ Sheepgetkilled. I think doing SAT CR is not the same as reading for pleasure. Though, it may put less pressure on you while reading if you engage yourself into it, but I guess it is likely to waste time, coz’ you will pay too much attention on details that aren’t asked. Thanks, though, for your advice.</p>
<p>Critical Reading has always been my strongest…though I’m not sure why. What I usually do for the long passages is I read paragraph by paragraph and then answer the questions that pertain to that section. Does that make sense?
Usually the first few questions are about the passage as a whole, so I circle those and wait until I’ve answered the other questions. After that, the questions are pretty much in order, so I don’t see a point in reading the passage multiple times when I can just answer as I go.</p>
<p>It’s good to remember that the more extreme answers (e.g. “The author is trying to convey that he VEHEMENTLY HATES such-and-such…”) are almost always wrong.
When they ask you to define a word, it’s also good to remember that they almost never are looking for the most common definition.
When they refer to a specific set of lines, remember to read a few lines before and a few lines after the segment, because the answer is usually right there in the passage.</p>
<p>I didn’t use any critical reading techniques/strategies except for the ones mentioned above, and I got a 770 the first time and an 800 the second time around.</p>
<p>@bluecanary. Lucky you 
Unfortunately, I don’t have any strong side. All three sections score up to 600 at best. So I can’t concentrate on only one particular section thoroughly like other people do 
Some people say it’s hard to bring up your score from 1800+. And this is where I’m at right now.
Yes, I do the same on passages. I read by paragraph by paragraph. But if it’s a long para, I usually read the lines the question asks and one or two sentences up and down those lines. I came to know after a lot of practice that the answers of the inference questions lie in one or two sentences up and down those lines. I always look at the questions first and then read the lines and then the choices. And then there’s always 2 possible choices, so I have to refer back to the passage to know which one is correct. Sometimes I find the correct answer, sometimes don’t, referring back to it. The questions are also very misleading and mean. So I guess I usually fall into the trap of CB.
Also, I usually have to rush through the last few questions of the passage or leave them unanswered because no time is left.
Thank you very much for sharing the way you deal with CR :).</p>
<p>Skim, skim, skim. Think about it this way: a large majority of the SAT questions are line-specific, where they give you the line/paragraph/section they want you to go. If you skim through the article the first time, any important information you might have missed you can always go back and recover from reading the specific lines you need to a second or third time.</p>
<p>A lot of times, a lot of the details are unnecessary. Sometimes, all you’ll need out of a section you’re spending five minutes on might be the tone or one vocab word!</p>
<p>@purpleacorn. ok thank you :)</p>