Tips for Improving Your SAT Reading Writing or ACT Reading and English Scores

A parent recently asked me, “How do we get our kids to study when there’s… resistance?”  The question didn’t surprise me.  In fact, this year I’ve noticed more resistance to the sometimes tedious work of studying than ever before.  So, I expressed empathy but added, “when students’ scores plateau, they’re sometimes motivated to do more.”  I then shared one student’s frustration at a stubbornly persistent 1430.  I asked him if he’d done the three SAT English practice tips I’ll describe below.  He confessed he had not. 

I then told him that another student had made a daily habit of these “mundane” SAT English practice tips. That teen raised his own Reading and Writing (aka SAT Verbal or SAT English) score by 130 points – from 660 to 790 – in ten weeks. Naturally, the first student then reluctantly resolved to undertake the SAT English practice tips. 

I’m not sure where your child falls on this motivation spectrum.  Nevertheless, here are the three SAT English practice tips that helped another student to raise his total score from the 1160 to 1540!  (P.S. With just one exception I’ll note below, ACT English and Reading scores would benefit from these tips, too!)

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Daily SAT English Practice Tip 1: Build Your Vocabulary

Because students today read less often and less varied texts than they used to, their vocabularies are smaller.  At the same time, the College Board has re-introduced “Sentence Completions.”  Today they’re called “words-in-context” questions.  But understanding the “context” can only get you so far – especially on the harder second module of the SAT.  Since direct vocabulary knowledge* comprises almost 20% of the two Reading and Writing sections, anyone wanting more SAT English practice should start with building their lexicon.**

My preferred method for boosting vocab during SAT English practice?  Students: Subscribe to SAT VOCABULARY and ROOTS2WORDS; define and write each word in your own sentence in Section 1 of a three-subject notebook.  Do the same for all new words encountered in school, daily reading (see below), and ACT / SAT problems.  Endeavor to use the words in daily conversation as much as possible.  (**You can add “lexicon” as the first word on your list!) Parents: I recommend subscribing to both newsletters, as well, so you can integrate the words into family meal conversations.

(*The Reading and Writing sections of the SAT [like the Reading and English sections of the ACT] also indirectly assess vocabulary.  The greater a student’s lexicon, for instance, the more likely they’ll be able to understand paragraphs intended to gauge reading comprehension.)

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Daily SAT English Practice Tip 2: Bolster Your Reading Comprehension

The four Enhanced ACT passages remain long (about 700-900 words each), while the College Board last year adopted 25-150 word passages. Yet, students still struggle with identifying the main idea on both tests.  I’ve blogged before about the importance of reading a wide variety of texts for ACT Reading and SAT English practice. 

As a minimum ACT or SAT English practice, read one article per day from the four reading lists here. Choose a different publication or section every day.  This variety will bolster your confidence and skills comprehending a variety of subject matter and tones.  Because the College Board added poetry to the digital SAT, students prepping for this test should also subscribe to and read the poem-of-the-day. Write out the article or poem title, periodical, date of publication, and main idea in Section 2 of a three-subject tutoring notebook. 

To turbo charge your SAT English practice, read a book unlike the one you’ve been assigned in English class.  In section 3 of your three-subject notebook, record chapters’ main ideas (for nonfiction) or plot summary (for fiction).  The student who went from a 660 to a 790 started reading for one hour each day.  Within one month, he reported reading SAT passages more quickly and easily.

Daily SAT English Practice Tip 3: Master Grammar Fundamentals and Vocabulary

Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s most common grammatical challenge is the comma splice.  (If you haven’t been in school for a while, a comma splice connects two clauses that could stand alone as sentences with a comma.  For example: “I went to the beach, you went to the movies.”) So, naturally, the College Board and ACT love to test today’s students on this punctuation problem!

My first SAT English practice recommendation, therefore, is to complete Erica Meltzer’s fine SAT Grammar (or ACT English).  Students who want a deeper dive into grammar can also complete the excellent workbook On Usage, written by a former teacher from Horace Mann School (where I also taught for five years).

But without mastering these principles, all your SAT English practice will be for naught.  Go the extra mile: create flash cards for the principles in each chapter of SAT Grammar (or ACT English) and your vocabulary words. Quiz yourself on the principles and words until you know them – cold.  Is it tedious?  A little.  Does it work?  Mos def.

Conclusion: Daily SAT English Practice for the Next Six Weeks

Six weeks from now, hundreds of thousands of high school juniors (and many sophomores) will take the PSAT.  Throughout the fall, millions more juniors and seniors will take the SAT.  If they complete each of these SAT English practice tips every day between today and test date, I guarantee their SAT Reading and Writing scores will increase. 

Got a different SAT English practice tip you’d like to share?  Drop it in the Comments below.

Have questions on these SAT English practices, my SAT tutoring services, or something else related to the journey towards college?  Feel free to email me.

Till then, happy reading, studying, and lexicon-building!