Meaning of Literature

Introduction According to   Baym 2007 in the book, â€Å"The Norton anthology American literature: Beginnings to 1865†, literature is defined as written, spoken, or observable material that holds some meaning that can be interpolated or offer information, explanation about anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific work. Life on its very nature can be defined as part of literature; elements of literature that are observable in human social life include culture, language, symbols, signals, poetry, songs, and dances.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Meaning of Literature specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In academic circles, literature author’s messages are decoded by readers to get meaning and an in-depth understanding of what the writer wanted to convey using literary theory, using a mythological, sociological, psychological, or historical methodologies. Literature has relevance in human life as it communicate to individuals, societies, its universal and has an impact on human life (Baym, 2007). This paper takes a look at the meaning of literature; it will focus on the issues brought about in the book â€Å"â€Å"The Norton anthology American literature: Beginnings to 1865.† Newspapers and literature Newspapers and periodical can be classified as literature when considering that they address a certain topic in the social, economic, and political arena that talks about the human life, their community and has an impact on their life. Print news are information gotten from paper printed news that come out periodically; in the context of news, the most used print news articles are the newspapers that are produced daily reporting matter of the last 24 hours and sometimes offering some reviews to older news and information. Other than newspapers and other dailies, there are a number of weekly and monthly articles that are being produced reflecting on cert ain matters that transpired in the last week or month; in most cases the articles may be looking at certain aspect in the community say politics, economies, sports or other social happenings (Baym, 2007). The Back of a cereal box literature With changes in culture and generations, the world is facing a new wave of generation that seems to have little relevance to written literature or they are not willing to have written literature. Generation Y is fulfilling their surveillance needs in the most efficient manner in terms of access, costs, and availability; with the above characteristics, free news media has seen a niche market where it can sell its products and services. Free news media offer news in simplified form that is formatted to attract the attention of its target market who happens to be the youth in the current generation as they prepare to grow with the population to their old age. On the other hand, the print news media has maintained a conventional news presentation for mat that seems give preference to national and international news on different matter; they have the space and the time to offer in-depth analysis and sometime experts’ opinion on certain issues.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The format as adopted by print media is more informative than the one addressed by the free news media, however the current generation of youth seems not to be very concerned on quality but consider their personal interests when choosing the material they are going to use for information (Baym, 2007). The situation on the ground portrays that print news media no longer command an increasing market; however their demand is decreasing for the good of free news media. Why are some writings chosen to be in the book and others not When reading the article, (The norton anthology American literature ) book, we note that human beings have diverse cultu res and live in different areas in the globe; this has made them to talk, pronounce, have an accent and stress words differently. Linguistic anthropology concerns itself with the relationship between language and culture of human beings. There are various aspects of human life that language just like any other factor that influence the life of human being touches/ can be used to explain, these areas are participation, reflexivity, voice and chronoscope, circulation, identities, gender sexuality, ideology, text, and grammar. Language is a part and parcel of human life that is developed with ones knowledge or not. It was instilled by our parents after we were born, human beings will copy others in the socialization process; after they have copied them they get identity with the copied tribe or community. These aspects are deeply instilled in the human beings and he is not aware that they define each step that he makes . The kind of language that a person undertakes have a certain bac king from where the person comes from, it can define the back ground of the person; the strong points of interpolation are found in the selection of words, the tone as well and the volume that a person uses to express his needs. In communities that are racists the use of the language that is meant for the majority or the minority can place the individual on either side. One can be identified to belong to a certain race out of the use of works that he adopts and the accent that he is having on the particular language.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Meaning of Literature specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example the blacks in the United States of America have some words like â€Å"nigger† that have meaning to them and identify them from the larger group. When one is dealing with such a person, you don’t have to ask the tribe or the social setting that he comes from all you need is to listen to hi m talk. The general argument is that by listening to the way a person talks, what works he is stressing and which letters he seems not to pronounce in his reading, one can know the cultural background of the Individual. Stressing some works and relaxing some give different meaning to the same work; this may be giving it verb status or noun. For example by stressing the word produce- mostly said with a raising voice, it may mean the act of producing; thus a verb, when the same is said politely, it means the outcome thus a noun. As one is brought up, through early socialization, the choice of word is learnt and it is interpolated differently by different groups. Other aspects are biologically instilled in the human beings. What are the editors looking for in writing for it to be included as â€Å"literature†? When writing the book the writer seems to be looking for the following human characters that can be derived through literature understanding. Identity Human beings do not live alone but they are social beings. They are there for the each other in times of need and build these relationships by expressing their own feeling and opinions this is done by the use of understandable language. They must communicate to the recipient in the language that he is going to understand. Communication becomes effective when the language that the two parties are using is well understood by them; this is the use of language. Language goes further than the oral talks but involve written information, body language, and electronic transfer of information. It is the language that we use that makes the world to have â€Å"sense† everything that is in the world gets a meaning when language is used to express its use. Problems only get a solution when the solvers can use the correct language. The innovations that is a good resultant aspect of education has its root in language; these spans from the general understanding of things as they are to specific analysis of a pa rticular case. Taking a traditional case, in each society there is culture that holds its people together, one of the major components of culture is language; this is because the language that is adopted by a particular society is unique in its own ways . Identity can be defined as the stable and fixed aspects of selfhood: things that you check off on census forms such as; Race or ethnicity, Nationality, Social class and Gender. The way someone uses his language is of importance to show his or her identity.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In African countries for example those people who belong to high class talk a different set of English, the way that they pronounce names is different from the other members, all over those people who are living in towns are associated with quality English and other languages, this is a tool that can be used to give the class its own status and class. Those from the village and rural area talk broken English. When language is the tool that is used to identify ethnicity, there are two sides of looking at it. One is that a person identifies himself as from a certain tribe or learns that the others are not of the same ethnicity. The choice of words that we use in the daily conversation gives the impression of what kind of a background that one has; the fact that some communities use some words to express different issues can be learnt. According to Ali G story, there are two sets of languages; they are vernacular and Standard English. When one is using either, the weight that the infor mation is going to be carried by is different. If we take the case of America, the black Americans and the Native Americans, if a black can talk vernacular the information that he converging is not seen as serious as the case would have been if he used Standard English. Standard English is seen to have few diversion of the original information and thus the message brought forward by it is seen as more serious. One who talks Standard English is seen as a Native American and thus the treatments will be as so. Standard English is then a show of sincerity and used to convey serious messages. When a combination of vernacular and Standard English is used, it gives the impression of areas that need more emphasis than others and them that can be taken lightly. The identity of the message identifies the sender’s feeling and identity at large. When the issue of ethnicity comes into picture, in most cases one does not need to say whether he is black or white since the skin color can tel l. Traditionally the skin was good enough to identify the ethnicity of the person concerned. The Asians and the Chinese have unique physical appearance that one only needs to look at them and you can tell the ethnicity. However, there are some countries that the colour cannot form basis of identity. One of this is the Hutus and Tutsi of Rwanda. During the Rwanda massacre fight, the tool that they used to identify ones tribe was only the language. This is so because they have similar physical appearances, they could talk the others language; but the way they pronounced some names made the difference and eventually lead to the identity that A belongs to this tribe and B the other. In the situation of computer based interaction; the exchangers of information are not at close vicinity of each other but they can identify their ethnicity by the language that they use in the interaction. There is the issue of national homogenize languages that a particular country may adopt, anyone who is coming in the country either as a visitor or a passer-by may not be aware of the language, when he communicate, then one can identify that he is of a different ethnicity. In most ethnic settings the old people are more versed with the language of the particular society, their selection of words is different from that of the youth which is influenced by education and modern time’s interactions. For example in Africa, there are diverse tribes that each has a different culture; the old population that mostly live in the rural areas and are less learnt, the youth stay in town centres that they have different tribes, their language is thus diluted by the interactions and the education that they have taken. When an old person who is from the village or a young people from the village is talking, the kind of language that he is going to use will be highly influenced by the traditional settings; this may be in the broken English or French (the learnt foreign language) or will have a deep understanding of the local language. With this one can easily identify the age and the social setting in terms of location that this person belongs to. Language and Participation When people are interacting with each other, their interaction is facilitated by communication among them; for an effective communication then the need for language cannot be over emphasized. There is need to express ones ideas in an appropriate way; in participation, may it be in games or activities, the players must understand each other, the language that they will use is of essence. Different situations call for different languages, the language that is used in a game situation is different from the one that is used in a job place. The language that the youth use is different from the one that the old use; this happens when they are talking to themselves or talking to others of different age groups. If one cannot express his or her ideas in the right way, he may not be resourceful as the situation demands. How well a group understands each other determines how productive they will be, when they use appropriate language they do it to benefit their members and most probably to keep off the opponents. An example of this is in football, the coach always have different language that can only be understood by the team that he is coaching and thus the opponents won’t know what instructions has been given. In military settings, there is unique language that is used to convey different aspects, the commands are given in a language that will only make sense to them but the enemy won’t understand. As a war tactic, the use of a word to mean completely different from the ordinary meaning; this is meant to confuse the enemy. In the entertainment sector, the language that is used to portray certain issues is the one that made the situation fun, the way that the conversation is developed and presented to the audience is in a humorous way; this is another way that the selection of language and the use of the right language are seen in practice. In children games there are repetitions of statements to make them attractive to them, the choice of the kind of word that will be used is different from the one that is going to be chosen for adolescents, the children language is that that promotes job and glorifies children playing; the one for adolescent is one that is educative. In the job place, the language that employees are supposed to use when addressing customers is different from the one that they use when addressing their fellow work mates. The language for customers has a soothing element aimed at building a strong brand name. The respect that the employees use on their seniors can be detected in the language that they use. When an individual is confronted by two conditions that require him to make a decision, the kind of language that he is going to use will determine the weight that the answer to the solution will be. When a parent is bringing up a ch ild, he uses different language in terms of tones, structure and the volume that he uses to ensure that the child is shaped in the way that the parent want. In this stage the child is taught on what to say if he is a man and what to say in the case of a woman, this reinforces the differences that are perceived to be prevailing between the male and female in the society. This means that as one undertakes the daily cores, there is a force i.e. language that can be used to define him. The parents always have a good time in reinforcing the language that they give their children to a point that even if the child decides to get another secondary language, it is affected by the original parent’s language. Gender Gender simply means being female or male; it is thus not used to refer to women only. In the subject of linguistic anthropology, the effect that language has played in the area of gender has been put in place. The language that the male use is different from the one that wom en use; the way that men stress, the tone that they use, the facial expression continues to affirm their dominance in the society. They are likely to use harsh voice. On the other hand, it is the use of the same language that women demand for their recognition and respect from the men dominated world. For example, a man is more likely to say a â€Å"NO†, to ensure that the woman fears and respects the man; with so doing then the domination of the man in the family continues. In such a situation if the woman is in real need of something done, then the language that she will use can make the man change the previous â€Å"NO†, she may use words like â€Å"Woooiyee my lovely husband please†. With this selection of words and the voicing that the woman is going to use, the husband can find himself compelling with the demands of the woman. When one has given his views and the way that he responds to different questions is the main subject that one’s belief is id entified as feminism or anti feminism. When a woman is issuing evidence in court; the selection of the words will make the difference; a woman combines emotional feeling to the situation and this may influence the decision of the court. A man’s evidence on the other hand is not taken with much weight since his voice is more standard and monotonous, the fact that he is a male gives him the disadvantage. The saying goes â€Å"Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus†; this means that they understand life differently. The meaning of a word makes different to the woman and man. When a man stresses a word, he does it to produce a certain meaning; some communities also have some words that are meant for men; in some communities it is regarded as taboo to even utter some words. This continues to enforce the gender differences. In rape cases, one of the reasons that have been put forward is that women do not report them; on the defence women have argued that they feel shy of ex pressing themselves. They have no words to explain what happened. On the other hand, in the small sub sexuality culture that human beings have; there is the language that is adopted and used into them, the gays, the lesbians and the heterosexuals have a different way in which they talk. There is the choice of words they use that make them stand out of the rest. If one does not understand the language, it is more likely that in the context of these people he might not understand what they are saying. This language is seen as internationally recognized and thus the continuity of certain sexuality is thus affected. For example a heterosexual man will use a soothing language when he is talking to a woman of whom he has sexual interests in; the woman on the other hand may use body language or by some sounds to give/ communicate that she has become aroused or interested in the man. This may be different in a gay sexuality. One communicate to others regarding his sexuality through the lang uage that he is going to portray when among the group, the language is the voices, the choice of words, the area that he is going to stress, body language and the contribution that he is going to make in general discussion. To send a signal of what I am in the social setting will be understood by those whom we practice similar sexuality. Whether it is in the area of gender or sexuality what language is aiming to give is the identity of a person. Those who want to be identified as women, men, homosexuals or gays are done by the language that we adopt. In Heterosexuality the woman in most cases is regarded as the weaker sex and is not expected to express / declare her sexual interest to a man, however, there are body language and other forms of communication that she can express her interests. Men on the other hand are seen as the one who has the sexuality advantage; the move he made and the selection of words that he uses communicate his interests. By this belief that the woman shoul d not have the authority of expressing what she feels, then it continues to reinforce men dominance in the society. Gender differences are seen again with this. There is a funny situation that is portrayed by heterosexual people, the power of a woman to say a direct no to sexual advances is mostly misunderstood; when a man approach a woman, and the woman is not willing to have sex, by her saying â€Å"no† is interpolated as a way of asking the man to beg and put more effort. The word â€Å"no† said by a woman is interpolated to mean somehow there is consent; on the other hand, a â€Å"yes† to sexual advances is interpreted to show a weak woman sexually. With this belief rape cases pose a great challenge to prove that the woman really was not willing, if the woman said no, then it can be miss- interpolated that she actually was saying yes in another way; if she was saying yes, then there was no rape. At the same time, it is expected that the woman should provoke a man before sexual advances has been made; prove is on the woman to show that actually he did not provoke the man. This has been an area of controversy in court cases; the feminisms advocate for word to word interpreted. In cases of homosexual, when a sexual advance has been made, the â€Å"she-man† is expected to use an understandable language to show his consent; a mere saying of â€Å"no† may hold the same weight as that said by a heterosexual woman, however if the no is with a commanding voice it is regarded as a holding no. In this society, the she-man has the responsibility of attracting the partner, despite the heterosexual counterfeits; they are empowered to approach their partner. The kind of grammar that one uses is influenced by the language that he uses. American grammar is different from English grammar. Grammar is a product of how a person has been taught as far as the use of language is concerned. In American English for instance they have some words th at don’t have a â€Å"u† the pronunciation of these words is without the â€Å"u†. The same word is written differently in Queens English, they are for example â€Å"honor†- this is the American version and â€Å"honour† the Queen’s English version, another way is in the use of â€Å"S† and â€Å"Z†. In the American English, there is the use of â€Å"Z† in areas that the Queens English uses an â€Å"s†. An example of this is socialization this is in American English and Socialisation in Queens English. If one is reading a text that is written by two people one an American and the other by a Briton, then by looking into such areas, then one can know who is who, this show the role that the use of language can help in identifying the identity of an individual, the need for a physical intersection is not required since language can communicate this. There are also some words that mean the same but the way that they ar e spelled in different settings are different, this is not only in the omission of a certain letter or the use of a letter in place of another, but it means a total new name. An example of this is the word interpolation in American English and interplatation in Queens English. Both the above words mean to have a deeper analysis. Interpolation is not found in Queens English Dictionary and the same case with interplatation. When one is identified to belong to a certain setting the possibility of favours or racism treatment will be experienced. The use of Shrub language of some names can also be another area that language can be used to show identity. Some areas pronounce the same word with a shrub accent while others do not. An example of this is the pronunciation of the word â€Å"issue† to an American it is pronounced as â€Å"isiu† and to a Briton it is an ‘ishuu†. When one is conversing, it becomes very easy to realize the nationality of the person by the way he is going to pronounce this name   (Baym, 2007). Conclusion Literature is any written material describing certain social, economic, and political environment of the issue that can be conveyed orally, through facial expressions, writings, acting, body language, symbols and signs. Every human, physical, historical, and social activity forms part of literature, thus literature continues to grow and take shape every moment in time. Language is part literature that used to define human personalities, nationality, tribe, beliefs, and opinions among other. It can be used to reinforce some believes in the society, these beliefs include gender existence, the dominance of men, sexuality, and racialism. Reference Baym, N.(2007). The Norton Anthology American Literature: Beginnings to 1865. New York: W W Norton Co Inc. This essay on Meaning of Literature was written and submitted by user S1lverSable to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

What Is a Good SAT Subject Test Score

What Is a Good SAT Subject Test Score SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What's a good Subject Test score? This might soundlike a straightforward question, but it's actually a little more complicated. What makes a good score varies by SAT Subject Test as the number of test takers differs from test to test. For instance, in 2017 more than 140,000 students took the Math Level II Test, more than 48,000 students took the Literature Test, and only 453 took the Modern Hebrew Test. As you'll see below, most good scores for SAT Subject Tests are in the 700s, but there are other factors to consider as you set your target scores. Let's take a look at the average scores and percentiles so you can know what a good score is for each individual SAT Subject Test. While we'll be looking at statistics and college requirements to answer this question, it's also important you learn to define what "good" means to you. Ultimately, with effort and preparation, you should be proud of the Subject Test scores you achieve! What Are the Average SAT Subject Test Scores? Good SAT Subject Test scores tend to be a fair deal higher than good scores on the general SAT since high academic achievers tend to take the Subject Tests. The following chart shows the 2018 averages for each SAT Subject Test. For a full breakdown of what these average scores mean, check out this article. SAT Subject Test Mean Score Chemistry 666 Chinese with Listening 760 Ecological Biology 618 French 628 French with Listening 668 German 620 German with Listening 618 Italian 666 Japanese with Listening 703 Korean with Listening 761 Latin 626 Literature 607 Math Level I 605 Math Level II 693 Modern Hebrew 612 Molecular Biology 650 Physics 667 Spanish 647 Spanish with Listening 662 U.S. History 640 World History 622 Source: The College Board See how the average score for Korean with Listening is an incredibly high 761? The average for Math Level I looks like a more reasonable 605. So a "good" score would be higher than average, maybe even in the top 25% of test takers, or top 5% if you're shooting for the Ivy League. Based on these averages, a score of 700 could mean completely different things depending on the test. It would be a strong score on the Literature test but only slightly above average on Math Level II. And on the Korean with Listening test, a 700 would be way below average. Now that you have a sense of the average scores for each test and why they matter for your percentile,let's look at the most recent score percentiles. What Are the SAT Subject Test Score Percentiles? Along with getting a score somewhere between 200 and 800, you also get a score percentile, which compares you with other students who took the test. Scoring in the 80th percentile, for example, means you scored higher than 80% of students. The charts below show how scores translated to percentiles for test takers in 2018. All information is taken from the College Board. Literature, History, and Math Subject Tests Score Literature U.S. History World History Math Level I Math Level II Score 800 99 97 96 99 79 800 790 98 95 94 98 75 790 780 96 93 92 98 71 780 770 94 90 90 96 67 770 760 93 87 87 95 63 760 750 91 83 85 92 60 750 740 88 80 83 89 57 740 730 85 76 80 86 54 730 720 82 72 76 82 50 720 710 79 68 74 78 48 710 700 75 64 71 74 45 700 690 71 60 68 71 42 690 680 67 56 64 68 39 680 670 65 52 61 65 37 670 660 60 49 58 61 34 660 650 56 46 55 57 31 650 640 53 42 52 54 28 640 630 49 39 49 51 26 630 Science Subject Tests Score Biology E Biology M Chemistry Physics Score 800 97 94 90 87 800 790 96 91 87 84 790 780 95 89 83 81 780 770 92 86 80 77 770 760 91 82 76 74 760 750 88 79 72 70 750 740 86 75 68 67 740 730 83 72 64 63 730 720 80 68 60 60 720 710 77 64 57 57 710 700 74 61 54 53 700 690 70 57 50 50 690 680 67 53 47 47 680 670 63 50 44 43 670 660 60 46 41 41 660 650 55 42 38 38 650 640 52 39 35 35 640 Language With Listening Subject Tests Score Chinese French German Japanese Korean Spanish Score 800 62 80 96 88 62 94 800 790 46 78 96 75 47 91 790 780 35 76 92 68 36 86 780 770 30 73 90 63 30 82 770 760 25 70 88 55 25 78 760 750 22 66 83 50 21 74 750 740 20 64 80 46 18 69 740 730 17 61 76 43 16 66 730 720 15 57 73 40 13 62 720 710 14 55 70 35 12 58 710 700 12 53 66 33 11 55 700 690 11 49 63 32 10 51 690 680 10 47 60 29 9 46 680 670 9 44 57 27 8 43 670 660 8 40 54 25 7 40 660 650 7 38 52 24 6 38 650 Language (Without Listening) Subject Tests Score French German Modern Hebrew Italian Latin Spanish Score 800 87 93 85 88 94 92 800 790 86 88 81 81 92 90 790 780 84 85 77 77 90 87 780 770 81 82 75 72 89 84 770 760 79 81 74 69 86 80 760 750 77 76 71 64 82 77 750 740 74 73 70 61 81 74 740 730 72 71 68 57 77 70 730 720 69 67 66 54 74 67 720 710 67 66 66 52 70 64 710 700 65 63 63 49 67 60 700 690 62 60 62 46 66 57 690 680 60 59 60 43 62 54 680 670 58 56 59 40 60 50 670 660 55 53 57 38 57 47 660 650 53 51 55 36 54 44 650 640 50 49 53 33 51 41 640 630 47 47 51 31 49 38 630 As you can see, there's a lot of variation in percentiles among SAT Subject Tests. That's what makes answering the question of what's a good SAT Subject Test score a bit more complicated. Some tests are considered easier than others, and percentiles can be more competitive depending on the population of test takers. Based on this data, here are my suggestions for good and excellent scores for each test. These are the scores you should aim for if you want to achieve the 70th percentile or above, 80th percentile or above, or 90th percentile or above. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Good and Excellent SAT Subject Test Scores The last way to identify a great SAT Subject Test score is to find out which score you need in order to hit a certain percentile. Below, we've compiled all of the scores needed to reach the 70th, 80th, and 90th percentiles on each Subject Test: Subject Test 70th %ile+ 80th %ile+ 90th %ile+ Chemistry 740-750 770 800 Chinese with Listening 800 800 800 Ecological Biology 690 720 750-760 French 720-730 760-770 800 French with Listening 760 800 800 German 720-730 750-760 790-800 German with Listening 710 740 770 Italian 760-770 780-790 800 Japanese with Listening 780-790 790-800 800 Korean with Listening 800 800 800 Latin 710 730-740 780 Literature 680-690 710-720 740-750 Math Level I 680-690 710-720 740-750 Math Level II 770-780 800 800 Modern Hebrew 740 780-790 800 Molecular Biology 720-730 750-760 780-790 Physics 750 770-780 800 Spanish 730 760 790 Spanish with Listening 740-750 760-770 780-790 U.S. History 710-720 740 770 World History 690-700 730 770 Source: The College Board Some tests, such as Math Level II, Chemistry, Physics, Chinese with Listening, French, French with Listening, Italian, Japanese with Listening, Korean with Listening, and Modern Hebrew, require near-perfect scores to get a high percentile! Don't feel overwhelmed by this, though. A lot of these tests have high averages and low standard deviations, meaning that most well-prepared students are able to get a high score near or above the average. If these subjects are your strong suit, then you are statistically likely to be able to achieve a very high score. On the flip side, if you're not so strong in math, chemistry, physics, or these other subjects, keep in mind that the grading curve is very competitive- you'll be competing with students likely bound for top engineering and technical schools, such as Caltech and MIT (or native speakers for any of the language tests). Reflect on your academic strengths and subject mastery to determine whether one of these tests is right for you. As I mentioned earlier, good SAT Subject Test scores are higher than good scores on the general SAT. As you can see, to score in the 70th percentile or higher, you'll have to get in the 700s for almost allsubject tests. There is one more consideration when determining good scores on the SAT Subject Tests: the colleges you're applying to. Your percentiles are comparing you with all students who took the test- but not all of these students are applying to the same colleges as you. Therefore, it's helpful to get a sense of what the average Subject Test scores are for your colleges specifically. What scores do they expect to see? Do admitted students usually score in the low 700s or high 700s? Will the school overlook a low percentile on a Subject Test if it knows the curve for that test was particularly competitive? Let's consider these questions a little more in-depth. Uncovering your college's requirements might take a bit of detective work. What SAT Subject Test Scores Do Your Colleges Want? As with all the other parts of your application, you want to know what your colleges are looking for. What SAT scores do you need? What do they consider a strong GPA? Unfortunately, colleges can be pretty evasive when it comes to giving you answers to these types of questions. Instead, they stress that it's a holistic process andthat admissions officers are looking at all elements of your application to get a sense of who you are as a person. While this is all well and good and you wouldn't want your candidacy to be boiled down only to facts and figures, it still leaves you a bit stuck when it comes to the SAT and SAT Subject Tests. The first step you can take is toresearch the admissions websites of your colleges. Simply Google the name of the college along with "SAT Subject Tests" or "average SAT Subject Test scores" and you might find exactly what you're looking for. If this is a dead end, you could try calling admissions officers and asking if they will share this data (or at least their recommendations). If you're concerned about bothering them, don't be! Lots of admissions officers have tons of valuable information and are happy to share. Plus,demonstrating that you have a vested interest in the college- for example,by speaking with people on campus, visiting the school, or even just putting your name on mailing lists- will further strengthen your application. With the college process, there's nothing helpful about playing hard to get. Put yourself out there! If your sights are set on the Ivy League, check out our article on the Subject Test scores and requirements for the Ivy League. Finally, let's step outside statistics and requirements and consider your own personal goals. Did you celebrate 3/14 this year? Show off your affinity for math by scoring high on the Math Subject Test. How to Customize Your Target SAT Subject Test Scores What are your personal goals for the SAT Subject Tests? Have you memorized the first 100 digits of pi, or are you always the one who calculates the tip at dinner? If you consider yourself a math whiz, then it might be very important for you to score highly on the Math Subject Test. When I was in high school, I absolutely loved English class. Reading and analyzing books revealed new ways of thinking about the world and human relationships. Even when it was hard work, it was work I wanted to do. This doesn't mean I was naturally able to score a perfect score on the Literature Subject Test, though. That test used a much different way of demonstrating subject mastery than my normal classwork did, especially considering its strict time limits. But I felt driven to score well, so I studied practice questions and trained myself to read passages and answer questions under tight time limits. By reflecting on your strengths and interests, as well as by taking practice tests and scoring them yourself, you can develop your own sense of what a good Subject Test score is for you. Once you've set your target scores, tape them to your wall so you can see them every day. Sharing your goals with friends, study buddies, or family members is another good way to stay focused. Once you've set your goals based on this information and your colleges' expectations, you can start preparing for the SAT Subject Tests you've chosen.The College Board offers a helpful breakdown of each Subject Test in addition to practice questions. You can also check out our other resources below to answer any other questions you have about the Subject Tests or SAT. What's Next? You know what makes for good scores on the SAT Subject Tests, but have you decided which ones you're going to take? Check out our expert guide on which Subject Tests you should take. Are you also studying for the SAT? Just as with the Subject Tests, you'll want to set score goals for yourself and work toward achieving them. Read here about good scores, bad scores, and excellent scores on the SAT. If you're considering the ACT instead, this article breaks down the scoring system and helps you set your target ACT scores. Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below: