I think my main problem is understanding what the questions are asking me. I can’t seem to focus on what I’m supposed to be answering for the questions on the reading and science section. All of a sudden I will realize what the answer is and It seems obvious, even for the harder passages, but this is VERY time consuming. Any suggestions?
Math and English are totally fine for me. I score high on these portions but reading and science are really dragging my score down.
Science: go straight to the questions, except for conflicting viewpoints passages. Most questions can be answered just from the data provided. The other passages are pretty useless unless the question asks about something you can’t see on a table or graph, then skim for key words. This forces you to focus.
Reading: many people find it helpful, again, to go to the questions first, except what you are doing this time is reading the questions so you know what to focus on in the passage. Focus on keywords in a question. Underline them, so thet when you see similar words in the passage it hopefully triggers your memory. Often, there are line numbers given in questions. Mark the question number by that line. When you get to that line in the passage, stop and answer the question. Once you have read the questions, begin reading the passage. This method works best on science passages and others that have a lot of concrete detail. It does take practice, but the majority of my students find it very helpful.
The key to reading any passage is to read carefully. Really focus, and underline, circle, bracket, or whatever you need to do to highlight what you feel might be relevant. The goal is to be able to quickly find the info again.
Finally, do two or three tests untimed. Really pay attention to wording of both questions and answers. Many students get caught out by negatively phrased questions on the ACT such as “which of the following is LEAST likely…” and so on. Once you are more familiar with it, introduce timing again, section by section. Good luck.
Thank you