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Duke University
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UCLA
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Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

Boosting my SAT Reading score?

I'm aiming for a high SAT Reading score but I feel like I'm not improving much. What strategies do you all recommend to see some real progress in this section?

5 months ago

Boosting your SAT Reading score involves a combination of building core skills and utilizing effective strategies. Here are some recommendations to help you make progress:

1. Read extensively: The more regularly you read, the more your comprehension and vocabulary skills will improve. Choose a diverse range of topics, particularly from non-fiction sources like articles, essays, and opinion pieces. This will help you become familiar with various styles and arguments, making it easier to understand passages on the SAT.

2. Focus on vocabulary: A strong vocabulary is essential for effectively understanding and analyzing SAT Reading passages. Practice learning new words, noting their meanings, and using them in your daily conversations or writing. Studying word roots, prefixes, and suffixes can also aid in understanding unfamiliar words.

3. Practice active reading: To better understand and retain what you read, you need to engage with the text. As you read, ask yourself questions about the passage, like what the main idea is, what the author's perspective might be, and what evidence supports the claims being made. Making a mental summary as you go can help keep you focused and facilitate comprehension.

4. Annotate the passage: As you read, jot down brief notes or underline important lines and parts of the passage. This will help you maintain focus and maintain a mental roadmap of the passage, making it easier to answer questions.

5. Prioritize main ideas and conclusions: Questions often focus on the overall gist of the passage and the author's conclusions. Make sure to identify the main point and the author's purpose as you read through the text. This will help you tackle both specific and general questions.

6. Use process of elimination: When tackling multiple-choice questions, eliminate obviously incorrect or irrelevant answer choices first, then focus on the remaining ones to make an informed decision. This will increase your chances of selecting the correct answer.

7. Practice, practice, practice: Lastly, the more you practice answering SAT Reading questions, the more familiar you'll become with the format and different types of passages. Use official College Board practice tests, Khan Academy, or other reputable resources to practice under timed conditions to simulate the test-taking environment. Review your wrong answers to understand your weaknesses and improve your skills.

By incorporating these strategies into your test preparation, you'll build a solid foundation for the SAT Reading section and improve your chances of achieving a high score. Stay focused and dedicated, and you should see progress over time. Good luck!

5 months ago

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