<p>Hey, I've heard that Lit is supposed to be one of the hardest SAT II's, and having the most difficulty with CR among the sections in the SAT I, I'm scared. :( I'm still an incoming Junior though, so I've got time to prepare. What's the best way to do this? I've had trouble with CR, but I've worked my score up to around a 720 and hoping for even more. (given that, what score should I probably expect/shoot for?)</p>
<ul>
<li>I read a lot, should I just read more? Mostly read the news though (The Economist, NY Times, the New Yorker)</li>
<li>Any specific test prep books to recommend? Barrons, PR, Kaplan, etc.... which one?</li>
<li>Maybe I should just take another test since this is so difficult? I need 3 SAT IIs for the colleges I'm applying to and think I can expect 800s in SAT II World History (took it this month) and US History. I'm a humanities/social sciences guy--any suggestions on alternatives from SAT II Lit?</li>
</ul>
<p>I walked in to take the May SAT II, took it cold (had to), and thought the exam was ridiculously easy, because at that time it was very similar to the AP Eng Lang (extremely warped format and style of questions). Attempted to answer everything, because “it was so obvious!” (I know…I know, but it was uncanny how similar the style of questions were, so I approached them the same way). Thought I got an 800 - walked out with a 640.</p>
<p>Took one Kaplan test the night before the June one (sigh…school…), but I studied the style of the questions and answers very carefully, both what I got correct and incorrect, and looked for patterns. In my case, I jumped the gun on the “exception” questions too early. Also, during that one practice test, I timed for 50 instead of 60 minutes. Went to sleep, had a good nights rest…and woke up to a much harder exam that defeated the May test in difficulty, but which equaled the Kaplan in the style of the exam. Was more conservative in blanks and left around 4 under pressure. </p>
<p>Woke up today at 4 am, and got a 750.</p>
<p>I read the New Yorker, Salon, Economist, watch Colbert - all of that style of “stuff” if it means anything to you. I would just suggest Kaplan though, and don’t buy it. Instead, borrow it from a friend or the library, and please don’t sweat about it too much. Not worth it, and would most likely damage your score.</p>
<p>I think in style it is similar to the SAT I critical reading. The exception is the readings are a bit more dense. I think that it is the kind of thing where doing practice tests might help because it gets you thinking in the mode of the test. I got a CR reading score of 790 and then a Lit score of 770 so I think there is a strong relationship between the two test. I did take AP English Lit this year so that likely had an impact on my score as well. I did not think it was an easy test and when I left I thought I did well but really was not sure.</p>
<p>I will honestly say I had no time to prep because I took three AP tests in the two weeks prior to the exam. I actually had to take the AP Euro on Thursday because of a conflict on the original time. I was a bit over testing by the time of the SAT IIs so I just took Math II and Lit and did not do the Physics I had planned I was just over the test thing and decided I could do it in October.</p>
<p>All I can say is not to panic. I thought the test was a total disaster - I honestly would have canceled my score if the other tests I’d taken that day hadn’t gone moderately well.
During the test, when I realized how many answers I was unsure about, I freaked out. A lot. I’m sure that this impacted my score; by the end of the test, I was shaking.
I ended up getting a 770, so it couldn’t have been as bad as I thought. I did absolutely no prep, and agree that there’s a strong correlation between CR score and this (I got an 800).
Your first intuitions are probably right; that’s all I can say.</p>
<p>As far as recommending books goes, I read almost nothing except Oscar Wilde. :P</p>
<p>Kaplan’s practice tests are helpful. (Don’t take Barron’s tests for Lit; they are unrealistic in terms of the format and the score.) Take them to get used to the conditions of the actual test. If you’ve got six months or more before your test, reading extensively might help raise your score; otherwise, focus on honing your analyzing-which-one-is-Collegeboard’s-right-answer skills.</p>