<p>I'm pretty p*ssed about my recent, SAT 2 Lit score (690), and I'm just as confused since I got a 770 on the recent SAT critical reading on a practice exam a week ago. Is it simply that much harder? Or is stuff like poetry just something you have to be naturally good at to get a 750+?</p>
<p>I'm basically lost on what to do (Im plannign to retake in October).... I know I obviously should study, but I dont know how to go about doing so.</p>
<p>hello? ><. Its like all the sat 2 lit people just disappeared from colllegeconfidential.</p>
<p>It’s significantly harder and more similar to AP English Lit than to Critical Reading from what I’ve heard, I’m taking it in June and am hoping to do well but it’s the SAT II with the lowest average score (590) so it’s certainly difficult.</p>
<p>Your 770 was on a practice exam. Who knows if that was timed correctly, proctored correctly, graded correctly, or if you just got lucky? Real scores count. Practice scores don’t really.</p>
<p>@bodangles I took it at testing center where you take the full length test, and of course, a supervisor makes sure each section is timed. The 770 wasnt a mere coincidence either, since on 2 of the tests I took, the CR scores were 750 on the 1st one, then 770 two weeks after that.</p>
<p>any advice? (please)?</p>
<p>Well I haven’t taken the actual lit exam but have taken practice tests and can assert that this lit exam is way harder then the Critical Reading section on the SAT. </p>
<p>I believe one of the main differences lies in the works that you are actually analyzing. The Critical Reading section on the SAT does have some fiction but I believe it is usually a majority nonfiction which some can argue is more straight forward to analyze.</p>
<p>The Literature subject test is entirely fiction and analyzing fiction under the time restraints they give is pretty difficult.</p>
<p>They are completely different topics imo (made harder by the poetry) and honestly I think it just depends on the test. For instance on the critical reading section, I had no problem getting 800 and was surprised when it happened twice. However, the first time I took the lit exam, I got a 630, nothing to brag about. The second time I took it in June it came out as a 760. </p>
<p>I did the same thing to prepare each time - do a couple of practice tests on college board and read some tips about lit online a few days leading up to the test. (Had other tests that day so didn’t overly prepare for lit) However, imo the second time’s passages were less obscure and easier to understand. Also, I understood the time constraints for lit much better, it is very fast paced and I think that’s the hardest part about the test - pacing yourself. The curve is also difficult, but that is the nature of the test as it is the most widely taken test.</p>
<p>What I would do is just look up a thread on college confidential, I don’t remember what the name was exactly, but it gave great tips on scoring well on the lit exam. One golden rule to stick by: any answer you pick MUST be able to be supported by the text. Just because an answer sounds like a really smart english professor type answer, if it is not supported by the text, you can cross it out immediately. Good luck!</p>
<p>P.S. I wouldn’t spend an overly obsessive amount of time studying as it is so unpredictable. Have backup sat2s you’d be willing to take and spend time on if it doesn’t work out. You seem like a smart guy! A 770 is really impressive, so study a bit, look up tips, and the rest is left up to chance! If you are a lifelong reader, then lit will be easier for you than most people :)</p>