<p>I took the ACT in feb. and did not do well. I didn't have enough time on two sections, but I felt like the questions were really easy. Recently I registered for the April ACT and I've gotten an ACT prep book. I took a practice test and got 31 E 33 M 35 R and 28 S. On the reading section i went over about 2-3 min. and on the science section I went over the time limit as well. I know the questions are really easy, but I just feel really pressured for time. </p>
<p>Any suggestions on how to get through the reading and science sections faster and still do well?</p>
<p>For reading, I did the questions that refer to specific lines first—without reading the actual passage yet. I would read the specific lines and also the sentence before and after that line to get context. After doing all those questions, I'd quickly skim the passage and do the rest of the questions. </p>
<p>For science, I looked for questions that I could do right away (e.g. ones that refer to a specific chart/graph, etc) before actually reading the passage/data. Most of the science questions, you can get answers just by looking at the charts.</p>
<p>I took it only once, back in September, and I got a 35. I studied only from the real ACT book. I remember getting 28s on the practice science parts but I got a 34 on the science part on real test. Relax, you'll do fine!</p>
<p>The first time I took a practice test, I ran over in those sections too. Depending on how fast you read, sjones5's suggestion could be really helpful, but if you are a slow reader, you'll have to figure out your own way. Both of those sections are tight because there's so much reading to do. I recommend the Real ACT book. It might help to get more than one book. I didn't really study for the tests; instead I just took every test I could find and I ended up using three books. I got a 34 composite when I took the ACT (35 math, 34 english, 33 reading, 33 science). If you have lots of time delegated to studying, you should sit down and do all of the sections for Reading and Science. The more you practice, the faster you'll get at answering the questions. Plus, if you do enough, you'll get a general idea of the types of questions the ACT asks and the types of answers they're looking for.</p>
<p>alright thanks a lot. i guess i should study those 2 sections so I can become comfortable with the type of questions asked and how to find the answers more quickly. I'm definitely going to try that strategy and see if works for me. thanks</p>
<p>I think the best way to do well in science is to read the whole passage, glance over the graphs, then answer the questions (I got a 36 in science). You don't have to read the science paragraphs that precede the data as carefully as, say, SAT Critical Reading passages. Just go through them very quickly, but still understand what the experiment is about before you go to interpret the graphs. Look at data labels/axes in the graphs and understand them before going on to the questions. You could then probably answer each question in 20-30 seconds.</p>
<p>Just use the Real SAT book to practice and find out what works for you. Try different things until you find the strategy that is most effective for you.</p>
<p>I disagree with UHSdebater; I do not think reading the passages is helpful at all. But, we did both get 36s on that section, so I guess it's simply a personal thing. I never read one passage, just jumped straight into questions.</p>