How I Increased My SAT Score by Simply Reading For Pleasure Everyday
As a junior in high school, I was a part of the first class to take the new SAT which was introduced in March of 2016. One of the biggest changes that caught my eye was that the reading section was now a singular, massive 65 minute section instead of the usual multiple 20-25 minute, much more manageable sections. I was shocked and to be completely honest, really scared. Something about reading for more than an hour straight didn’t sit well with me, and I knew I had to come up with a solution to address it.
My solution was that for the three months leading up to my exam, I would read for pleasure everyday for 65 minutes straight. During this time, I would mirror testing conditions and not check my phone, get up and grab a snack, go to the bathroom, or do anything that would break my concentration or be deemed inappropriate during the actual test. In this way, I would hopefully build the endurance necessary to get through one of the hardest sections on the SAT.
What I needed to do first, however, was acquire some books to read. I would say that English was one of my better subjects in school, but I rarely made the time to read for pleasure outside of class. I knew it would be hard to force myself to read everyday, so I had to not only find books to read but more specifically, books that I would enjoy reading. What I settled on when I went to my local Barnes & Nobles, as someone who is really into movies, was that I would seek out prominent books that had been adapted into feature films.
With a stack of books to read, I set out on my goal to read for pleasure every single day. I distinctly remember it was extremely tough to get through the 65 minutes without getting distracted. Even if I was able to stay off my phone, my brain simply couldn’t function for that long. I soon began to realize that this would be a slow but hopefully rewarding process by the end. Like training for a marathon, it would be something I would have to slowly build towards.
Fast forward to the actual exam, and the results were astounding. I remember actually looking forward to the reading section, no longer intimidated by long, complex passages or the daunting time limit. My eyes would effortlessly glide down the page—a testament to my increased reading speed—but my comprehension had increased as well. I could discern the main points and glean the pertinent information I needed to answer the questions quicker and more accurately. When my scores came back, I ended up getting a 780 on the reading/writing section, a score I was obviously very happy with.
So how exactly did reading for pleasure help me? I would say that it definitely made me comfortable reading long passages and comfortable reading difficult passages and that this likely contributed to my score increase. That being said, do I recommend reading for pleasure as your only practice for the reading section? Not necessarily. I would still focus on taking practice tests and sections, getting used to question and answer types, and the like. However, do I think reading for pleasure is an excellent addition to studying for the exam that can yield big results? Absolutely. Now grab a book and start reading!
Speaking of reading, here’s a list of book recommendations for you to kickstart your summer!
The Martian by Andy Weir
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Emma by Jane Austen
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
– Mentor Joshua
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