<p>How do you guys tackle these sections? I am worried about these sections and I want to know if any of you have any tricks or tips on how to approach these sections.</p>
<p>reading i take similar steps as i do on SAT i find the key is to read the wordings carefully (including the questions)</p>
<p>science is more about pacing + reading charts / graphs carefully (usually they are not proportional / what u would assume) </p>
<p>self practice is really important for the act in general...books will give u tips in terms of strategies n wutnot</p>
<p>the science section is very fickle. I have taken 3 ACT's this year, got a 30,31,32 composite. but, my science score fluctuated from a 31-29-34. Reading did the same: 32,33,29. My best advice:
for science, I read the main little blurb about what hte students are trying to find, and i skip to the questions, and go back 2 look for stuff. a MAJOR thing here: if the question says "according to table 3.2, what can you most reasonably infer?" MAKE SURE THAT 1. you are looking at 3.2, not 3.1 or 2.3 (sometimes there are mutltiple tables w/ similar properties, but htey are like diff trials or something). 2. it says fROM THIS TABLE what can u infer. it doenst say what can u infer from the whole passage. make sure u pay attention to what the individual chart shows.
Reading: skip the passage, go to questions and look back for the answers. make SURE, if it says "in lines 19-23 this..." make sure you are looking at 19-23, NOT 18-22 or 20-24. often, lines just outside what they tell u to look at can give you a different answer</p>
<p>How is the writing section taken in for the scores?
is the writing 30% of your english score and then averaged as 4 sections?</p>
<p>ahh something i can give you a concrete answer for.
the essay is not included in your "English" score.
you actually have a total of 7 scores on your test.
composite, english, math, reading, science, essay (out of 12), and "Writing": ill focus on essay, english, and writing.
English- 75 questions. the multiple choice section of the ACT you take first, which has grammar/usage mechanics, and rhetorical skills.
Essay- out of 12 points. the ESSAY you write- it is only the written out thing.
"Writing" (combined english/essay)- they take your essay, which is out of 12, and multiply the fraction (say, 10/12) by 3, so that it is on a 36 point thing, just like the other tests. (so then you have a 30/36 essay) then they take your english score, lets say, a 28, and they add the two together (28+30=58) and divide by 2 (essentially averaging the 2 numbers) and you get 29. Your "writing" score is therefore a 29.</p>
<p>The Essay score, and the "writing" score do NOT go into calculation for your composite.
the composite is this
English score + Math + reading + science = X
X divided by 4 = C
C is your composite
they give you writing and essay off to the side-because it isn't included in calc of composite (if it was, it would be in the main box w/ the otehr scores)</p>
<p>The main thing about the Science section is that you have to pace yourself. I took the test twice and both times I only got halfway through the section before running out of time. Some people have the same issue with reading but if you just scan the passage and than go right to the questions you should do o.k.</p>