<p>Hi.
I have been on a trip and the act just snuck up on me. I have never looked at the act at all, but I am a pretty smart guy. Unfortunately, I am terrible on the SAT (I just got a 2050). How can I use all of Sunday (when I get back) and the about an hour everyday of the week after school to get the best possible prep for the act. What should I focus on with so little time? I am hoping for a 32+, but tell me if you feel this is not possible and I will not take the test.
Thanks so much!</p>
<p>I also own the official act test book.</p>
<p>in that short period of time, your biggest gains can come from the English and Math sections. Go over all your formulas, ( which increases your speed) . Go over punctuation rules, remember to be concise, etc. USe as many old tests as possible and work through the harder math problems and the English problems. FOr Reading I would do severl sections TIMED to make sure you are reading quickyl enough. Make sure to mark each paragraph with a word or 2 that summarizes it, so you can quickly find the answers. On reading, if you get down to 2 choices, then see what is WRONG with one of the choices instead f what is right. It is usually one work that disqualifies it as a correct answer…good luck</p>
<p>You should take one timed practice test from the Red Book each day from now on (3 days).
Then, check all your answers carefully, in order to find weak points. Of course, give priority to those you got wrong, but also check the ones you got right to see if you got them right for the right reason. The Red Book is very good because it gives you detailed explanations for all the alternatives, right and wrong ones! Try to spend at least a third of the time you spent on the test to review your answers.
If you haven’t done the “Preparing for the ACT booklet” tests yet, those may be used for additional training. If you can consistently get above 32 on these official practice tests, it’s likely that you will reach this goal on the actual exam. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks guys. I think that I only have the preparing book and not the “red book”. Is the act a test that requires prep to really do well like the sat or is the main issue just timing?</p>
<p>^Kind of both: The main issue is time and the test does require some preparation to learn how to deal with it (though, I’m tempted to say, considerably less than the SAT does). Again, the best way to find out how much preparation is needed is to take a (timed) official practice test so that you can actually feel the difficulties that time cointraints pose to you.</p>
<p>kaplan’s act, and barron’s 36. they’re the best.</p>
<p>I just started preparing for the upcoming ACT a couple days ago, and I’m using the Kaplan ACT book. Like others have said, probably the most important thing to do is become acquainted with the test with several practice runs, since the ACT format is starkly different from that of the SAT. Good luck!</p>