<p>@minhoforever I never used a private tutor and was able to increase my PSAT score of 188 to a 2170 and then eventually to a 2250. Actually I used only one SAT Blue book but I was extremely dedicated to the score I wanted. I studied that book inside and out but I never took a full length practice test. I studied sections, first attacking the hardest section for me, grading them, and realizing why I got them wrong. I studied about every other day for two weeks, two hours each time, and then two weeks before I studied everyday, two hours each time again. For critical reading I was able to improve my score by reading. I know, sounds ridiculous, but it worked! I was able to achieve a 740 in CR by cracking open classic novels that had tons of big words in them. My suggestions would be Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Mark Twain. NO SHAKESPEARE! These authors incorporate great vocabulary and when I stumbled on a word I didn’t know, I just looked it up! Also, it’s important to study the context of the sentence. You have to ask yourself questions such as What are they trying to say? What is the sentence dealing with? What is the tone of the sentence? If you have to fill in two words and one work works but the other could but isn’t the best word, then it isn’t the option. Good luck!!</p>