How can I improve my SAT reading score before August? (specifically my reading comprehension)

Answered

The SAT is a standardized test. This means there will always be ONE correct answer. It will be explicitly or implicitly stated within the text, so that no one can ever argue for a different answer. Most of the time you can eliminate answers because of just one word that makes it wrong.

Some specific tips that drastically raised my Reading score were (remember these are just narrowing tips they are not guaranteed to get you the question right)

- avoiding choosing answers that had very resolute words. Such as but not limited to "Never, always, must"

- The answer is too specific or too general (for example - if its a main idea question don't pick an answer that only relates to half of the paragraphs of the text)

- The answer uses specific words from the text, are usually wrong because they tend to put very slight twists on their meaning to trap students

- If two answers seem to both work, the more extreme one is almost always wrong.

These are all tips that I used and was able to raise my reading from 600 to 760 in 3 months. The best way to raise your score is simply practicing. As you solve more and more problems, you'll become more skilled at finding these little patterns throughout the reading section.

Good luck on your SATs!