ratmkino

I've taken several practice tests. I almost always get 700. (650-750.) Is there any technique out there?
I've heard that if you narrow it down to two, pick the more moderate answer. However, I often find that the more moderate answer seems to slightly differ from the way I interpereted the story more than does the more extreme answer. This happens most often on the "Generalizations" questions--the ones where you have to find a generalization that would be agreed to by the authors of 2 different passages. Is there anything I can do besides contradict my interperetations and choose the answer that seems more likely to be correct than what I truly believe is correct? Maybe I'm not a great reader...
BTW, these tests are from the original Blue Book--the one that came out in 2005--so do you think the questions on more recent tests may have a little more objectivity?

Progressivism

Critical Reading is the hardest section to improve on, but improvement is possible nevertheless.

What I basically did when I was in your position, was continuing to take a lot of practice tests, and reading challenging books like Gravity's Rainbow, Infinite Jest, Ulysses, etc. Although looking back, I may have fared better if I chose to read stuff I was actually interested in, like my pop-math book.

The SAT is different from how English classes gauge your reading ability in that there is no subjectivity. The questions aren't "open to different interpretations," that is--there is only one right answer, and while there may appear to be other right answers, they're merely the ETS trying to trick you. It is a "reasoning test" in that you have to use your reasoning ability to decipher through the trickery, and find what is objectively the only "interpretation."

I hope what I typed helps you in your endeavor. I'd wish you "good luck," but luck is for chumps who can't get by without good old fashioned hard work.

ratmkino

Thankyou for responding. I do sometimes lose sight of the fact that there is only one correct answer. I get caught up in the diversions simply because I lack comprehension skills I guess. (This is something I've really improved on though thus far; I got a 57 on the PSAT CR last year as a freshman.) I will definitely read some challenging books this summer. I'm also going to take AP Lang next year; hopefully that will help me--I've heard it can be a significant boost to CR.