Why so many CR threads? Short breakdown - how to find CR success

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>Let me start off by saying, THIS SECTION IS EXTREMELY EASY</p>

<p>Freshmen year PSAT I scored a 46 on my CR. November junior year SAT I scored a 780.</p>

<p>Reading high level books is a waste of time. Sure, I read my history books, but I spent most of my time between that freshmen PSAT and junior SAT playing league of legends. I never read books as a kid, middle schooler, or even high schooler really. If you are looking for high level books to push yourself for CR, you are wasting your time. You might as well write the alphabet on your wall.</p>

<p>PEOPLE WAY OVERCOMPLICATE THIS SECTION. Success on CR simply comes down to understanding what the passage is saying, understanding what the question is asking, and understanding what the answers say. To do this, you need to be able to decipher the complex vocabulary the CB uses. Often times, understanding the entire question and quickly getting to an answer depends on knowing what a specific adjective means so you can get the mood/tone of the passage. Without understanding these few words, the passage might as well mean something totally different.</p>

<p>And to do this, you need to have a massive vocabulary. Pick up Direct Hits and memorize every word, not just the head lines. Look in the little passages for words you don’t understand. Get a dictionary app and whenever you see a word you don’t know, find out what it means. Then, learn all the vocab in the SAT blue book. If you do that, you should have increased your vocabulary by about 3,000 words - all of which are pertinent to the SAT.</p>

<p>After doing this, you should realize that the passages are extremely easy to understand. Once you know the weird adjectives and understand what answers really mean, the section should be black and white. You will also likely not miss any of the vocab questions, thus leading you to score only a -3 to -5 raw and score over 750. </p>

<p>For those who didn’t read - this section boils down to your vocab. Just like any language, you need to know the words to understand what is being communicated. The same goes for the SAT CR. You may think you understand the entire passage, but it is the one word you don’t understand that will cause you to miss an additional question each time you read a passage, thus leading to a dramatically different score.</p>

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<p>I couldn’t disagree more. I’ll copy a response to this approach I’ve posted elsewhere.</p>

<p>This may have worked for the person who posted it, but its a terrible approach for the general population. First, most people cannot memorize 3,000 words. Next, often secondary or even tertiary definitions are tested so memorizing the primary definition often won’t help even if the specific word is on the test. Finally, most people need to get familiar with the test regardless of their vocab. Most people would get many CR questions wrong even if they could use a dictionary. Its more important, and definitely more efficient, to get familiarity with how questions are asked and what type of answers are usually correct.</p>

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<p>You have to know the vocab but the more reading you do, the better you get at reading faster and it improves your comprehension. This is of course a long term thing. For shorter time frames (say if you have 3 months to prepare), learn the vocab using any of the above mentioned books or lists on web, and practice and practice the CR section. Once you got some vocab under your belt, go for the 10 bb tests, all the current and past official practice tests and if that is not enough go for the college board online course tests. Practice in timed conditions. !</p>