What study materials/method have you used to improve your SAT reading and English score above 700?

Test Preparation
1

Can you share the experience what study materials or method to improve your SAT reading and English score above 700? Thank you for your answer.

2

Here are some comments I have made previously that might be of use.

"3-5 questions wrong is pretty solid. There are a couple things you should consider/try.

  1. Do you tend to get questions wrong on particular types of passages (science passages, fiction passages, great conversations, etc.)? If so, the problem is more likely comprehension related, in which case you should practice reading similar passages. At your level you should probably look at non-SAT passages in addition to SAT passages. For instance, if you tend to do worse on great conversation passages, read some Hobbes, Locke, Mill, Burke, and other social and political thinkers who wrote in English (contemporary translations of writers who wrote in other languages will be easier). Make sure you read closely. Try to understand every sentence and every detail. Look up words that are unfamiliar. Spend time figuring out what the text is saying.

  2. Look for other trends in your wrong answers. Are they on particular types of questions (e.g. interpreting data, finding supporting evidence for the previous question, vocab)? If so find a better strategy for dealing with those sorts of questions.

  3. Don’t just look at questions you got wrong. Also, look at questions that you were unsure of. Look for trends among these as well. When looking for trends it is helpful to write down the various questions you got wrong. Eyeballing is generally less precise.

  4. Make sure you understand why each answer is right or wrong, especially on the questions you got wrong. Looking for explicit, clear-cut reasons will help you understand how to answer questions better. The reason may have to do with the phrasing of the question or with evidence in the passage.

  5. Consider having a good tutor help you a bit (in full discretion I am a tutor). Sometimes it is hard for students to figure out how to get over that final hump. Going from 5 questions wrong to 0 questions wrong is much harder than going from 15 questions wrong to 10 questions wrong."

Also this.

"Read slowly so you can answer quickly. I recommend that all my students read the passage carefully before answering the questions. If you understand the passage well, you will be able to answer the questions more quickly. You will know where to look for evidence and therefore you will be able to find the evidence more quickly. You will also be able to answer the questions with greater confidence. Also, if you just skim the passage and then look for evidence you might find evidence supporting that answer, but you might also miss contradictory evidence that rules out that answer. You will also miss a lot of details and nuance if you merely skim.

In my experience, students who understand the passage really well, get all the questions on that passage right. When students get questions wrong, it is generally because they didn’t understand the passage (or at least a part of it) very well. You won’t be able to answer the questions correctly if you don’t understand the passage.

I should note that students generally think they understand passages better than they actually do. Reading ability is generally what holds students back.

I find this method works quite well, but it takes practice. When I work with students on reading, we spend most of our time dissecting passages. I try to make sure students understand each sentence and how it fits into the passage as a whole. I try to make sure that they understand the significance of various details. Always ask yourself what the author is saying or what is going on. This takes time, but students get faster at it with more practice and become more perceptive readers in the process."

3

My son used a book recommended here. I will have to look for it. He brought his score up from 690 (no prep) to 760 in the reading. He used Kahn too.

4

It was the Complete Guide to reading SAT by Erica Metzler. Bought on Amazon.

5

DS used Erica Meltzer’s book on grammar and reading.

6

What book is recommended here? Can you specify it?

7

There is a book for high scoring kids (above 600) trying to improve their math scores. I got it for my daughter and she just made a 770 on the math section.
I don’t remember the name of it, but you can search for high scoring math SAT on Amazon and it should come up.