<p><em>AroW</em>:</p>
<p>Reading comprehension is a whole different type of intelligence. It is the people who are good at the math-sceince + the humanities-social sciences that are truly intelligent. These are the people that can succeed at anything.</p>
<p>I got in the higher 700s on the verbal section and all I did was:</p>
<p>Word Smart
10 Real SATs</p>
<p>That's it. I like to read, but not classics and I usually never read the newspaper.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree pentasa.</p>
<p>I got a 790 and didn't do any prep. Reading helps, but it depends on what you read and how you read it.</p>
<p>what is word smart?</p>
<p>Word Smart is useless now, but it had a lot of words that appeared on the SAT test (good for analogies and sent. comp.)</p>
<p>The SAT is blatantly easy, and even more so since the elimination of analogies. It doesn't take a genius to do well on this test.</p>
<p>I missed exactly one question on the PSAT (total), and it was a CR that I analyzed to death. (I still remember my exact train of thought, though that is totally beside the point.) My SAT verbal score in Jan. was an 800.</p>
<p>Anyway, OF COURSE reading helps, if you have always been doing it and you have always been understanding it and asking people about words and passages you don't understand and playing English professor at lunch. That's the key, not the vocab. </p>
<p>The vocabulary is hit-or-miss. Dickens isn't better than Tolkien who isn't better than Garth Nix. (Fact, I have learned more SAT words [ie, those that actually showed up on every test I have taken] from Orson Scott Card than anyone else.)</p>
<p>Reading is only good if you talk about it. Read the same book as your best friend and then discuss it, but not English-class style. Don't look for metaphors; just talk. THAT boosts your CR ability through the roof, especially if you have a Devil's Advocate friend like me!</p>
<p>The OP's claims are laughable. There is not enough time in a lifetime for someone to read all the classics. And it sounds like he wouldn't know what the classics are anyway, so who's he to judge the girl.</p>
<p>Reading definitely helps....i bet that girl that he was talking about just has to take a couple of practice tests</p>
<p>reading helps. don't comfort yourself with stories like these and say "no prep is best prep."</p>
<p>Different people respond to different methods of preparation in different ways. Let's close this argument and say "reading can't hurt."</p>
<p>The best part of this thread is the title. It's like saying "LATE BREAKING NEWS JUST OUT"
:)</p>
<p>Hahaha. 70% of all classics? Wow! Did you count all the classics in the history of mankind and then asked the girl to write down every single book she's ever read and multiplied?</p>
<p>And do define classic for me. </p>
<p>P.S: That girl ain't the archetype of the human kind. There are also lots of other factors. You suck as a statistician.</p>
<p>Ok, one person you know reads yet still doesn't do well on verbal.</p>
<p>Are you trying to draw a national trend just from this one person you know?</p>
<p>hahahaha ...... </p>
<ol>
<li>I do know what classic means... </li>
<li>If you couldnt figure out when i said she read 70% classic books, I was being sarcastic.</li>
<li>No, she struggled. I bet she would score lower than me on verbal and I barely read.</li>
<li>So my point is reading stuff that will show up on the SAT is better to read than wasting precious time reading other stuff in trying to improve SAT verbal.</li>
</ol>
<p>i hope this clarifies the situation a little bit.</p>
<p>and no this girl is 15 btw</p>
<p>This is all absurd. Reading helps. It's as simple as that. Have you ever considered that perhaps this girl isn't all that naturally intelligent or that perhaps she doesn't have a particular affinity for language (this occurs rather frequently...people aren't always skilled in the subjects they enjoy)? There are people who could read a two-three books a week for 10 years and still only manage a 620-650 verbal. But I guarantee that had they not done all that reading, their verbal score would have been lower (probably in the 400's). And there are people who've read two-three non-school books in their entire life, who go into the test and score a 750. But these differences can be attributed to natural verbal ability. There is one thing I can say with certainty though. Someone who has read consistently throughout their life is more likely to score well on the SAT verbal. I have been a lifelong reader, and when I took the SAT (last year), I scored a 770 on the verbal section with virtually no prep. I highly doubt I'd have done this well had I not developed a habit of reading. I really wish this debate would end, since it's an excercise in futility. I do not view short-term reading as the best way to prep for the SAT verbal. You need to have read diligently for a number of years in my opinion. That said, I do think that reading is the easiest way to prepare for the SAT's, since you don't do it consciously. I did not, at 8 years old, think to myself as I was reading Where the Red Fern Grows, "Gee, this help me on the SAT".</p>
<p>By the way bondonfire, have you considered the fact that reading might be good... for life? I mean, "wasting precious time" doesn't exactly describe reading. I hold no respect for anyone who isn't familiar with the great works of literature and finds reading a waste.</p>
<p>By the way, maybe you should look at readers in a more difficult test, like the AP English language exam. When you're reading a passage written by Queen Elizabeth and you haven't touched a piece of literature from before 1990, you're finished.</p>
<p>ok so heres my situation: im a freshman and scored a 500 verbal in December SAT..... last week i took 2 Practice PSAT tests and scored a 56 and a 57 on critical reading.</p>
<p>i really want to improve my verbal because thats the only area in which im struggling. (720 writing and a 680 math)</p>
<p>I havent been a life-long reader but since now I know the importance of it, im trying my best to improve my reading skills especially for the SAT as of now. I know it will come in handy later when take the MCAT. I have 2 years to improve this low verbal score to a 670-720. Can this be done and by how much reading everyday? thanks.</p>