Strong in writing, but weak in CR?

erikklass
Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:34:52 +0000

If you are currently working on your own or with a tutor, you may find that Writing scores go up first, Math a little later, and Critical Reading last.

Why? Because a huge part of the Writing section is covered by just 20 grammar rules. Most good books cover these early on. There are many more Math topics to cover (than Writing topics), but they are still more “quantifiable” than anything in the CR section. Once you’re covered algebra and related tricks (picking numbers, working backwards, etc.), your score usually climbs. This usually happens around the half-way point of a tutoring program.

Which leaves us with Critical Reading. Learning hundreds of vocabulary words takes time, as does developing an approach to the passages. And don’t forget the gradual development of a student’s reading skills (for those students who have not spent hours reading boring reading passages prior to the SAT–which is almost everyone).

My advice: find a good book or tutor (if you have not yet), and start working. Be confident that if you persevere by working on dozens of passages and memorizing hundreds of words, toward the end of the program you should see your Critical Reading scores improve.

Good luck!

-Erik Klass is the author of The Ultimate SAT Tutorial