The Critical Reader, Fifth Edition: The Complete Guide to SAT Reading

As someone who has been mentoring and tutoring students for over 10 years, I can confidently say this is one of the best resource for SAT reading prep on the market. The Critical Reader systematically breaks down every question type the College Board loves to throw at students, from those deceptively simple vocabulary-in-context questions to the inferential tone and attitude ones that feel like they require psychic abilities (but don't since the answer is always in the text). The explanations are detailed and logical, making it easy for students to understand why an answer is correct rather than just memorizing patterns. What I appreciate most is how the book trains students to think like the test makers – an approach I’ve seen consistently raise reading scores, especially for students targeting a 1500-1600. The practice questions are well constructed and mirror the SAT’s phrasing and logic, providing realistic training instead of generic reading drills. Overall, if you’re aiming for a top score and are willing to put in the work, this is the prep book I recommend to everyone that asks – it’s as close to an SAT reading cheat code as you’re going to get.

Erica Meltzer books for sat are real good. My kids prefer this style and has benefited from it.

Really good prep for the English I went up 40 points using this book very little I am hoping next exam i will have gained over 100 bringing my English to 750 plus

As an SAT tutor for nearly three years, I’ve seen firsthand how the test has evolved—especially with its shift to a digital format. This book is an excellent resource for students making the transition, especially those who have previously taken the ACT or other written college entrance exams.One of the standout features is the variety of "complete the text," "author’s main idea," and "main purpose" questions, which cater to students at different skill levels. The annotation tools are a game-changer, helping students break down passages quickly and effectively—an essential skill for time management on test day!If you're looking for a practical, well-structured guide to mastering the new digital SAT, this book is a fantastic choice. Highly recommend for students and fellow tutors alike!

Great book for SAT tutors and students! Up to date info, practice exams, plus advice for preparing to test. Each student needs an individual copy! No photocopies allowed due to copyright laws.🧑‍🎓👨‍🎓

TL;DR: Fantastic resource from an author with a long history of creating the gold standard in SAT and ACT verbal prep books.As the owner of an SAT tutoring company here in San Diego (and as a long-time SAT tutor), I eagerly anticipated this book: the new Digital SAT is markedly different from the current SAT, and until now, there has been a dearth of appropriate instructional material. The test will be here before you know it: the October 2023 PSAT will have the new Digital test format, and American students will take the new test in March of 2024. (International students will have the new version in March of 2023.)I was therefore glad to see that Erica Meltzer had released a new version of her famous (in independent tutoring circles) SAT Reading guide - a version designed to prepare students for the new types of questions on the Digital test.The new test has questions that, among other things, more directly test vocabulary, the function of sentences, and how to undermine or strengthen arguments. More logical skills are involved. For that reason, it's essential that serious students practice with these new question types. The College Board's new "Bluebook" app currently has 4 full length Digital SAT practice tests that reflect these new questions, but as always, students will benefit not only from thoughtful practice but from insight into how to spot these new questions, how they behave, and how to best solve them. Students will benefit from using this book before they use the College Board practice material, so they understand what's coming.This book thoroughly explains these new Reading questions with Meltzer's signature rigor, comprehensiveness, and detailed, down-to-earth explanations. Though each question type has a limited number of practice questions (around 5-12), quality is MUCH more important than quantity when it comes to verbal SAT practice, and Meltzer does a superlative job mimicking the real test's patterns, quirks, and rules. She clearly took great pains to make this guide realistic. Conversely, I NEVER recommend verbal practice material from bigger companies like Kaplan and The Princeton Review - at those companies, the level of rigor in terms of duplicating the real SAT's nuances is breathtakingly lax (they've been coasting off of their brand names for decades).So for the motivated student, this book is a valuable tool to understand -- precisely -- what is going on with each new SAT Reading question type and to understand the most effective way to get each type of question right. We'll be using the book in our practice to prepare our private SAT tutoring clients.

Our daughter is an avid reader with excellent english reading/writing skills. With her PSAT scores, it was clear that she would need a guide to understand SAT exam format and expectation. She then went through this workbook just like any other book and then another read only on topics recommendation came from practice test. This helped her to score 750+ in english section.

The Critical Reader, Fifth Edition is hands down the most thorough and effective SAT Reading guide out there. Erica Meltzer breaks down every question type with clear explanations, practical strategies, and insights that actually make sense. The focus on understanding how the test writers think is a game-changer.The passages and drills are extremely well-crafted and reflect the difficulty level of the real SAT. It not only helped me improve my accuracy, but also boosted my confidence when tackling tricky reading questions. If you’re serious about getting a top score in SAT Reading, this book is essential.