<p>I am not an avid reader who read things for pleasure very often. Nevertheless, I still manage to do fairly well (A) in my English and Writing Classes.</p>
<p>Even though my SAT Critical Reading score is currently very low (high 500s-low 600s), I wanted to know if reading throughout my early years was ESSENTIAL to a boost in a critical reading score–or does it just help?</p>
<p>It helps, though not essential. I hated reading and only read when I had an essay/report to do, and I ended up with a 700 reading…</p>
<p>It isn’t exactly essential, but it does help a ton. Almost all my friends that have been big readers and has read a lot since they were young have 700+ SAT Critical Reading scores. Of course if you’re not an avid reader you can still score decently high. The key advantage that someone who reads a lot has is that they tend to read much faster and are more familiar with words and the English language.</p>
<p>No, absolutely not.
Reading would definitely help though. I have friends who started reading stuff like The Odyssey in second grade, and they read a ton. They are basically walking encyclopedias and are geniuses when it comes to English (and getting CR scores in the 700s has been a breeze for them since 9th grade).</p>
<p>You don’t need it though. If you want to read, go for it, but don’t try to force yourself.</p>
<p>I speak from experience. When I was in elementary school, I went to school, came home, and watched 6+ hours of Pokemon/Digimon/Yu-Gi-Oh. When I went into middle school, I went on an online gaming site 24/7… that and I played way too many video games (eg pokemon over and over again LOL)… also, I have watched more korean/japanese/taiwanese dramas and reality shows than anyone I have ever met so… yeah. I do read OCCASIONALLY, but… yeah. Anyways.</p>
<p>On my first PSAT, I got a CR scaled score of a 470-530 (it was a number in the low 500s at least). After that, I took some practice SATs and kept getting constant 500s. </p>
<p>I just memorized a plethora of highfalutin vocabulary words (memorization is less monotonous if you skim a vocab list throughout the day instead of sit down for 1+ hour memorizing), took more practice tests, read /a little bit/ more (only books I like though. For the past few weeks I’ve been reading a couple books about economics, social sciences, and dystopian society. I only read around 50 pages a day though). I got my CR score up to the 700s, and on the the last practice SAT test that I took, I got a 2400.</p>
<p>Sure, I guess it might help. But it isn’t essential. I read a lot in elementary school but not so much in middle school and high school and got a 760 on CR.</p>
<p>I would argue that reading extensively from a young age can very much lead to better scores down the road.</p>
<p>Without studying much at all, I scored 800 on the SAT and GRE verbal sections. I attribute that to my long-term reading habits. The test is, after all, measuring your understanding of the language and its uses. The more you use the language part of your brain, the more it develops.</p>
<p>Moreover, beyond test scores that get used once or twice in my life, my reading habits have made me a literate, highly-knowledgeable adult. That is an advantage which lasts a lifetime.</p>
<p>I think it is tremendously helpful. Essential? No.</p>
<p>The reason that reading is important is that only by reading will you really understand the use of English words in context. Vocabulary lists aren’t really good enough.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your advice!</p>
<p>@gomdorri – I’ve been prepping for the SAT for some time now (8th grade special program entrance SAT exam, too), and feel like CR is stuck and has lost hope. Now a HS sophomore, my score is in the high 500/low 600–is there still hope if I start plugging away at it for a 700+?</p>
<p>I’ve been prepping for the SAT for some time now (8th grade special program entrance SAT exam, too), and feel like CR is stuck and has lost hope. Now a HS sophomore, my score is in the high 500/low 600–is there still hope if I start plugging away at it for a 700+?
^ Definitely!
I was scoring in your range until this summer to be honest. I just recently managed to get my CR score up. I’m an upcoming junior and I never really cared to prepare for the SAT until now (but I’m the same age as you; my parents made me skip a grade to save money LOL). Don’t give up. If it helps, try reading the news and short stories (I’d recommend Harrison Bergeron). Also, maybe try reading a couple of books. Don’t force yourself to read, but if you have free time and don’t have anything better to do, just read a couple pages a night. </p>
<p>And remember to keep taking practice tests and memorize vocabulary (from time to time, try to use vocab words in your conversations so you can practice context/etc). What I learned is that the more I read, memorize, and analyze, the easier the CR section becomes. </p>
<p>Also read noitaraperp’s critical reading guide (it’s a forum on CC, just google it).</p>
<p>Often, the answer to the CR can be found almost word for word in the passage. Part of your problem may be the way you take the test.</p>
<p>Before, I used to take the CR section without reading the passage unless part of it came up in a question… bad idea. When you take practice tests, skim the questions very BRIEFLY and quickly go through and underline/mark the parts that are mentioned specifically in the questions (eg “boorish” most nearly means, in lines 25-40 the author… etc). Then read over the whole passage as thoroughly (but quickly) as you can. </p>
<p>I find really random ways to increase my reading speed (you have no idea how much facebook and CC helped for that LOL) without missing information. After awhile, I realized that most of the answers to the CR section are mentioned in the passage. When I was scoring in the 500s/600s, I constantly missed the obvious parts in the passage and as a result, over-analyzed and came up with really obscure conclusions that, to me at the time, seemed plausible. So… read carefully.</p>