<p>My advice: don't study at all, look through a review book on the night before the test, and take the SAT as it was meant to be taken (with no special preparation). :)</p>
<p>I took the SAT two years ago without reading a single classic book (though I read modern books). I got 510. I took the SAT again last november after reading about 25 classic books and got a 720. </p>
<p>Reading classics is comprehensively good: your AP Literature and Composition, SAT Verbal, and SAT II Literature scores will go up.</p>
<p>the last book i read outside of schools was the last harry potter (the blue one), and i still got a 720 lol.</p>
<p>reading deff helps for the sat, because you learn words without sitting down to study them, it just comes in the context of what youre reading. i would say do a mix of classic reading and stuff that you want to read for pleasure</p>
<p>ok SAT ADDICT....first off if you are still active on this thread then I suggest that you listen to what people said on this thread about just reading what you like and welll if you REALLY DON'T want to do that....(and you stilll want to get a high score just to get into a good college <-- highly unlikely by the way) then if you do get into a good college (hypothetically ofc) then tehy are gonna make you read MORE...so if you hate reading....might wanna get your prioties STRAIGHT.</p>
<p>peace</p>
<p>forget reading (I mean, read what you like, etc, don't "study" classical books") for me, when I read a book and a word I don't know comes up I barely even notice it anymore, my mind just skips it, so that wouldn't help me.</p>
<p>just practice the questions as much as you can, and you have plenty of time for that</p>
<p>just agreeing with everyone else.. you definitely don't need to read classic books to improve... i haven't read many books this year, yet my CR went up from a 610 to a 700 from studying the sat a few hours a week.
besides, it's just one test. colleges understand this. even if you don't do well, you can get into great colleges. one of my friends got a SAT score in the 1200s, and got into Harvard, UPenn, Stanford, and most UCs... she's valedictorian of the '05 class, and takes leadership positions in her ecs. she's asian, and affirmative action doesn't apply to her. her college essays, interviews, and recommendations were fantastic, and probably did make her application stand out.
good luck!</p>
<p>I'm sorry but I really don't think reading classic literature will help with the SAT since most of the passages are random passages about ship-building or god knows what, and are worded in a very modern and familiar way. I'd say just read the SAT passages</p>
<p>Read, Science and Nature or something. It seems to me there are more modern and somewhat technical passages than classic literature passages.</p>
<p>Oh yes, philosophy helps, if only to help you understand the underlying nature of the passages. e.g. a passage may be talking about a new scientific discovery on the surface but it is really pointing out something about the use of jargon in society. That happens a lot, it seems.</p>
<p>Blah The Da Vinci code and many of those espionage and conspiracy novels are fun to read but they are written in a mediorcre fashion. You should read the classics. Jane Eyre, The Jungle, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, Animal Farm, 1984, The Great Gatsby, Aesops Fables etc. These will improve the writing section because they use proper sentence structure and you will become more familiar with it. Also read the NY Times.</p>
<p>fools... whos busting on classics?? thats all i eva read!</p>
<p>20 thousand leagues, gullivers, les miserables, oliver, great expectations... (what i have right now for tomorrow)</p>
<p>Incidentally, I second Les Miserables. Its one of my favorites.</p>
<p>Read historical fiction - it's more interesting than straight history so you'll enjoy it more, plus the writing is usually a little loftier so you'll learn new words. Some suggestions:</p>
<p>Jesse James by T. J. Stiles (also will help with APUSH)
Mary Queen of Scots and the Isles by Margaret George
The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George</p>
<p>then just go to the library or bookstore and start looking for historical fiction.</p>
<p>if you don't like reading, you shouldn't try reading classics just to improve your verbal score.
study vocab instead...in two years, you'll be a guru..and if you want to improve for sat verbal and are going to read anyway, just read sat passages.
i'm serious...don't waste time reading classics that you don't want to if you want to improve on verbal. read the actual sat passages instead, even the ones from old tests back in the 90's (-_-..i feel so old)</p>
<p>lol put 2 years of misery in to improve your score a bit? hah, thats really sad, but sure if you want to do that.</p>
<p>"oh cumon man. I never liked reading and now whenever I read, I do it so i can get higher verbal. Plus, I dont <em>like</em> to read the classics, i just do it cause people say they're good for you."</p>
<p>Ahh when I hear people say things like this it concerns me. Do we really live in a world where people read classics not for the pleasure but just so that they can improve their SAT scores? I wonder how the authors of these novels would feel if they knew. </p>
<p>There is no secret to getting a 2400. I know we're all about instant gratification but I really don't think anything but practice and hard work will get you where you want to be. Reading will help a bit but perhaps even more so if you had started at a young age. Don't read just for the sake of reading. Spend your time more wisely. </p>
<p>On a side note...it's usually best not to do something just because someone else says it's "good for you." Know yourself...find out what's good for you on your own. It won't always be the same thing that's good for someone else.</p>
<p>Um.. there is no "secret" or a magic 2400 formula. I got 1600 SAT I and 800 SAT II Writing by doing practice tests over and over again. I didn't really memorize vocab or anything. Practice makes perfect.</p>
<p>wow -- perfect score -- that's crazyyyyyyyyy</p>
<p>I'm not really that proud of my score. Only reason I got perfect score was because I did around 20 practice tests. If you become dedicated for about 2 months before the test (2 tests each weekend) I bet any one of you could pull off a score in the 2300-2400 range.</p>
<p>Does anyone always find that every critical reading passage contains like some story regarding some underrepresentative minority and other stories with little subliminal moral messages? I'm just rambling.</p>