<p>…would you mind divulging some of your reading habits? For example, when reading a text, are there certain mental cues that you find are useful in terms of recalling information? Is there anything you do to improve reading sped and yet still retain efficiency? All in all, what do you think one can do to become a “better reader”, as I’ll subjectively define as one who can process a maximum amount of text in minimum time and yet retain close to, if not all, of the information. </p>
<p>Also, feel free to list your favorite books, magazine, poems, etc. My worst score on the SAT was in CR and I’d love some insight into what make the 800’ers “tick.”</p>
<p>Thank you in advance!</p>
<p>I think the biggest thing is that I’ve been reading avidly since I knew how to. I’d read anything I could get my hands on when I was little, and I still do. It doesn’t matter what you read, really, since I haven’t exactly gone through the classics - just read what you love and read a lot of it. When I do critical reading passages, I read through the passage in its entirety first, since I think that’s the best way to grasp the concepts/tone. I read really quickly as well, underlining anything I think looks important. Then I look at the questions and find the corresponding area in the passage, underlining/circling more key info if I don’t feel like I’m getting it immediately. A lot of it though is just narrowing down the answer choices to the two best, and then deciding which fits better out of the two, since oftentimes more than one is technically right. I think the main reason I do well on critical reading is because I’m just a really good guesser and can eliminate choices fairly accurately.</p>
<p>Like I said, I’ll read anything put in front of me pretty much, but some of my favorite authors are James Patterson (for easy thriller fiction reads), Jeffrey Archer, and Jodi Picoult. I love dystopias (e.g. 1984, Brave New World, even the trashy teen dystopian romances), science fiction, fantasy. I still read books geared towards teens as much as I read ones written for an adult audience. Thought catalog (thoughtcatalog.com) is a lot of fun to browse through as well, they have some really interesting articles.</p>
<p>And I got an 800 SAT and 36 ACT critical reading, so I guess I’m doing something right somewhere!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that I had any tips for reading other than just read as much as you can. You get better with practice. When you do read, don’t just take the words for face value, try and dissect them and figure out the tone of the passage and look for literary devices. Try and get your hands on as many practice tests as you can, and when you finish them and check your answers, go back to try and find what you did wrong. This isn’t a detailed plan or anything, but hopefully it will help. </p>
<p>I got a 36 on Reading on the ACT and 36 Composite, so hopefully that gives my claim some credibility.</p>
<p>I agree with the others who have said that reading as much as possible is definitely beneficial. When I have a CR passage, I generally go straight to the questions and underline all the sections that the questions are asking about. Then, I read through the passage; once I get to an underlined section, I try to see if I can answer the corresponding section. When looking over the questions (if you have time to check a section), if you’re stuck between two answers, re-read the passage/section and see which answer is easier to disprove. Often, it’s easier to distinguish answers that are “somewhat wrong” until you get to a correct one than it is to immediately know which one is right.</p>
<p>I’ve never taken the ACT, but if it helps, my SAT CR is the only section where I’ve consistently received 800s. (2400 composite was my best, though.)</p>
<p>good luck! (:</p>
<p>I got a 760 twice…might as well chip in.</p>
<p>To be honest I feel that I am naturally BAD at CR. But anyways here’s some stuff that I picked up.</p>
<p>Write as you read. Underline, circle vocab words that may be tested later on, and annotate. But don’t spend too much time writing. Also, pretend as if you are interested in the content as it will help you. When you see a question, anticipate an answer beforehand and then look at the choices. Remember to look back in the passage and re-read, re-read, re-read parts of the passage. Avoid strongly worded questions; after a while you’ll be able to instinctively knock out bad ones. If you would like some more help, just PM me.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks guys! I’m actually done with the SAT (going into college this fall) but am looking to improve my reading comprehension skills. </p>
<p>Any other fairly dense books that you all have enjoyed for a mental challenge? I’ve always found Walden to be fairly difficult.</p>