<p>For those who suck at the CR sections like me, I recently learned a strategy that is perfect (well for me and possibly for you). For proof, on the SAT I would barely score a 500, and I, now, would get somewhere between 600-620. Your whole goal on the SAT is to answer questions correctly, and this is difficult if you’re going by the traditional approach of reading–read the passage first and then answer the questions. It’s like shooting a basketball in the dark; you have no idea what you’re looking for. Once you shoot the ball, you turn on the lights, and you notice that you have shot the basketball in the complete opposite direction of the hoop–this is the traditional approach. On the other hand, you, learning from your past experiences, look for the hoop when the lights are on and position yourself so you can make the shot. The lights are off. You shoot. You score. Now that’s how you should approach the CR section.</p>
<p>Okay, I know you don’t want to do any in depth analysis of my metaphor, so I’ll explicitly give you the strategy. First thing you do is read the blurb for context (duh). If you haven’t been doing this, then this might be a problem. Second, take advantage of the chronological order of the questions. The first question will most of the time deal will the beginning of the passage; the last question, the end of the passage. Most of the time the question will explicitly tell you where to look for the answer. Think about what the question is asking you to look for; this is analogous to finding the hoop with the lights on. Now you begin to read up to that/those line(s) while thinking of the question. Be sure to underline or note any specific details or words that can help you answer the question. Given the context of the question, you have to answer the question in your head before looking at the possible answers. The answers can deceive and trick you into choosing an incorrect answer. Then locate the answer you thought of in the answer choices, and guess what? It’s there just in some sophisticated way of expressing it, but trust me, it is there.</p>
<p>Be sure to skip the general questions (ones without line numbers) until the very end because by then you will have read and understood the passage and should be capable of correctly answering those questions. Also, the whole process that was explained above can be used for the short and dual passages as well.</p>
<p>Me, being very logical, failed at the reading sections because I thought there was no systematic way to find answers. I always thought they required inferences that had small correlations to the passage. Unlike math, where there are formulas or logical steps to receive the answers. However, I found out this is very untrue. The critical reading section is very logical (even if it’s kind of implicit). I’m pretty sure if you’re reading this to improve your score you’re going to hate this phrase, “the answer is in the text,” because I hated it too. Obviously, the passage is not going to spell out “the answer is C!” The passage does, however, give clues on what the answer is. It’s like how in the math section they give the volume of a cylinder and you’re trying to find its height. The clue is you have to use volume equation to find the height. The clues for CR are the words around the answer. What do they connote? What do they denote? What patterns are present? What logical reason did the author use these words? What is it explicitly saying? What is it implicitly saying? Then by combining the answers to these questions, you can come up with the correct answer.</p>
<p>So while you’re going through my strategy (if you choose to do so) think of those questions above while reading for the answer. After a while, you will soon realize why you have a red mark across your face. It’s because the answer was smacking you right on the face the whole time. </p>
<p>I’m probably not the most certified person to give this advice since my scores range between 600-620 for CR, but I feel that my insight can help others approach and view the CR sections with a new light.</p>