<pre><code>So I've taken a lot of SAT practice tests, and I've done a good job in each section but the CR. I'm awful at it, and I struggle to break through 600. I've realized a few problems I've had while taking this portion of the test. I'm good at sentence completion, but the passage based reading kills me. I can't answer the questions quick enough (It's my toughest section, I have to really think hard about some of the questions) ,and I often end up not finishing the last 3 or 4. Not only that, but when I look over my incorrect answer explanations, it turns out my answer was sometimes blatantly wrong. In short, I struggle with this material. A lot.
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<p>I've taken test after test, and I still haven't really made the improvement I've wanted to. </p>
<p>Hey I’m not the only one! haha I feel you here…Critical reading is definatly the hardest section in my opinion. The best thing to do is practice and go online and search “sample critical reading sat problems.” You will see a pattern in the questions and it will become a lot easier. Thats what I’m currently doing now and its helping substantially. I started out getting 520s now I’m getting 600-650 range. Hope it helps and good luck! </p>
<p>I’ve improved by reading the questions FIRST then the passage SECOND so while I’m reading, I’m thinking about the questions, making the questions a little bit easier. (sometimes this doesn’t work)</p>
<p>If you search the SAT threads, you’ll find a lot of useful hints, like the Silver Turtle’s guide. There are no short cuts to CR, other than reading a lot, of classics, newspapers, and magazines. The CR skills are developed over a long period of time. It actually starts in Kindergarten, but we can’t turn the clock back. At least not yet.</p>
<p>^ I totally agree with this. That is the only reason why I got an 800 on the critical reading section this past November, which was easily one of the most difficult reading sections college board has put out.</p>
<p>@rhapsody17 I read, but I’m never a voracious reader by any means ( I was when I was little, but never kept up that habit). However, thank you for suggesting the guide by silverturtle, I’m reading through it now!</p>
<p>Make sure that you know all the vocab used in the passage questions, especially the author’s tone words.
You might also want to experiment with how you’re approaching the problems too- try skipping problems if you can’t immediately find the answer or recall it, or if you’re not doing it already, reading the beginning and the end and summarizing what you know/author’s position (it’s really helpful for the double passage). Also, don’t read the whole passage and answer- read chunks and go back and forth between the questions and the passage so you don’t forget details. Using these strategies got me an 800 on CR. Good luck!</p>
<p>Make sure that you understand what you are reading. If you don’t, go back and read it again. I like to read the passage before I answer questions. </p>
<p>Do you index the passages before reading? A lot of questions give specific lines to refer to, so if you go through the questions quickly, you can mark where they are in the text. Then you can answer those questions as you read, and answer other questions, like main idea and etc. at the end. </p>
<p>I think most people index passages, so that probably isn’t helpful. </p>
<p>but anyway, I think the thing is honestly to avoid gimmicks; these silly marking schemes and other processes can never match up to just understanding the passage</p>