Top 6 Strategies & Skills to Improve SAT Reading Scores

SAT reading test makes up 50% of the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW). A lot of students struggle with scoring a 700 or more on these. 

Receiving a perfect score is not an easy task. But on the other hand, is also not impossible. It will only require a bit of hard work and a lot of dedication and viola you will have your perfect score. 

Now along with the obvious hard work, you will also be required to change your test-taking strategies. Listed below are the top 6 strategies & skills to improve SAT reading scores.

1) Save Time on Reading Passages 

The most common problem that the students preparing for SATs come across is that while solving passages they run out of time before they can even read all of the questions. The main reason behind this problem is that the students usually read the passages too closely than required, this is a habit inculcated in them by their English teachers in their schools. 

But when it comes to the SAT, there are 10 questions per passage that hardly contains 80 lines, hence the questions rarely refer to one specific line, rather they talk about the point of the passage or the author’s tone. Here are some SAT reading tips that can help you to maximize your time

First skim through the passage just to get the gist of the article, highlight the parts from which you think the questions should be asked, do not try to understand every line. Try to finish the passage within 3 minutes. And after you have gone through the passage solve the questions.

Another way you can solve these passages is by going through the questions first, this way you would know what you have to look for within the passage and helps you to save the time of re-reading the passage again to look for answers.

If you cannot solve one question within 30 seconds it is better to leave that question and move on. Sticking to it will only demotivate you and also cost you time which you could have utilized to solve another question

You need to try out during your SAT reading practice and see which strategy works best for you the best.

2) Know-How to Eliminate The Wrong Answers 

SATs having multiple-choice questions is truly a blessing in disguise, even though you do not know the answer to the questions, the four options make it easier for you to answer if you just work a little smartly.

One usually sees that there is one right answer and one should know it, but the other way of seeing it is that there can be only one 100% right answer and the other three are 100% wrong answers which sometimes are quite obvious. 

Every single wrong answer can be eliminated because of its own reasons. Usually one of them would be completely unrelated to the question, others would be too specific than required or too broad. 

Every time you eliminate one question confidently, your probability of getting the right answer increases, and even if you have no idea how to answer the question some elimination and some guesswork will get you the right answer almost every time. And with the removal of the penalty for wrong answers, you can eliminate and guess to solve the questions without any worry.

3) Identify the Weakness areas in Reading & Boost them 

The reading passages evaluate of a whole lot of skills that we can actually imagine, these skills are:

1. Main Objective of Passage

2. Vocabulary in Context

3. Data Interpretation

4. Details

5. Inference

6. Analyzing Multiple Texts   

7. Function Author’s note

8. Evidence Support

Each of these skills requires different SAT reading practice and technique. One might be good at guessing the main objective of the passage but poor at data interpretation. What one must do is not to waste time on the areas you already know, rather try to identify the weak points, and try to boost them so that you are no longer weak in those areas. Notice the pattern of your mistakes and try to fix them up, practice those questions where you often make mistakes.

4) Take Advantages of Study Materials 

Study Materials are the most important that can help you with your SAT reading Score. The SAT passages are very specifically made in order to test your capabilities. While solving theses study materials carefully see the reasoning behind every answer, even if you have gotten them right. 

If you have marked the wrong answer, note down the reasoning behind the right answer along with the reasons why you marked the wrong answer. This will help you in realizing where you are lacking. If you want to improve your SAT score, relying on high-quality realistic reading sources can help you enormously. 

Be careful while selecting your reading materials as many of them are very poor quality. Choose the ones that are specifically made for the SAT preparation. While selecting the sources of your reading materials go through its reviews, if negative try to avoid such a source.

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5) Improve your Vocabulary

The SAT vocabulary is generally found to the most confusing topic for students. It is not clear as to how many words should be memorized, how much time should be spent on them without wasting it. And if you are of the belief that you can mug up and memorize all those 2000 SAT Vocab words available on the internet, you need to stop right there. Learning all of the Vocab words is as useless as learning French words for SAT. Here is what you need to do

First of all, you need to find a Vocab list that contains high-frequency vocabulary words that appear in SATs, you can find these in various free websites.

Make Flash Cards and use Waterfall method to study them. The Waterfall method is where you divide your flashcards into groups of Know its and Struggled and then read them until you are completely familiar with all of them.

Try to understand the context they are used in and try to guess the meaning, doing so will help you in eliminating all the wrong options, giving you the right answer.

6) Take Practice Tests Regularly  

Taking practice tests help you in reviewing where you are lacking, the little mistakes that you are not able to make out while your SAT reading practice gets highlighted here. These tests will also help you in efficiently managing your time, giving you an idea where most of your time gets wasted. In short, they are a great way of self-analysis and the bonus point is that giving mock tests makes you so familiar with the paper that they take your stress away when the D-day comes.

There is no shortcut to success. Remember to make a SAT study schedule and give ample amount of time to address your reading weakness. You can do it, do not stress. Keep these top 6 strategies & skills to improve SAT reading scores in mind. Hard work and smart studying can help you in obtaining those perfect score for your dream college.