<p>Ok so I know there are many of us who make A's and are in the top percentile of our class, but then we just can't get a good ACT score. Does anybody who raised their ACT score dramatically have any tips to share?</p>
<p>the math tests on the same topics every time, it’s predictable
don’t get bogged down in too much info on reading or science
know the grammar rules for english
know what you’re getting wrong so you don’t keep making the same mistake
review your algebra and geometry, especially if you’re in a higher math class
beware of time, when you practice, give yourself less time than they give you on the real thing</p>
<p>source: went from 29 on practice test to 34 real thing</p>
<p>Thanks! I never though about giving myself less time when I practiced. That’s a good idea.</p>
<p><em>English</em>
-Do all the grammar error questions first
-If it sounds wrong, it’s probably wrong
-Watch out for redundancy; the ACT is all about conveying meaning in the fewest words possible (for example “the girl walked silently, making no sound” is redundant and therefore WRONG)
-NO CHANGE is the correct answer approximately 25% of the time, so don’t be afraid to choose it often</p>
<p><em>Math</em>
-Skip anything that looks unfamiliar to you and come back if you have time
-Make sure you understand SOHCAHTOA (trig)
-Use practice tests to get familiar with when to “plug in” answers to solve questions backwards
-Don’t spend too much time on one problem
-Familiarize yourself with concepts like diagonals, area of polygons, definitions, etc.
-Don’t use your calculator as a crutch! Many problems can be solved faster in the head
-Pay close attention to order of operations when punching into the calculator</p>
<p><em>Reading</em>
-The answer isn’t what you personally feel, it’s what can be inferred from the text. If you pick an answer, make sure you can point to a part of the text that supports that answer.
-Do the passages that interest you the most first. Some people enjoy reading the scientific essay, while some people would rather not. Most people will get through the passages they enjoy a lot faster.
-If you often run out of time in the reading section, do all the questions that are fact related first.
-Definitely keep an eye on the clock or your watch (easier, but MAKE SURE IT IS NOT THE TYPE THAT MAKES NOISE). I would give myself ~7 minutes for each of the four passages, and use the last few minutes to go back to questions I skipped. It’s easy to spend way too much time on one passage and have only a few minutes for the remaining ones.
-Go with your gut.</p>
<p><em>Science</em>
-Again, pay attention to the clock. Don’t spend more than five or so minutes on each passage.
-Don’t read the background material unless you need it to answer a question. Only one of the passages (usually involves “fighting scientists” or several students with different hypotheses") requires you read the background material.
-Don’t get hung up on complicated vocab/terms. Often time they’re of little importance and will only slow you down
-Make sure you know how to read a graph and charts.
-Pay attention to units
-Read labels carefully, as it’s very easy to be looking at the wrong data</p>
<p><em>General Tips</em>
-Do timed practice tests before taking the actual ACT. Get used to how much time you have per question, and where you need to speed up or have time to slow down.
-Pick one letter on test day to fill in for all questions you don’t get to. You have a 25% chance of being right, whereas filling in random bubbles will often net you very few correct guesses.
-Bring some dull pencils. It’s a lot easier to bubble in faster with a dull pencil.
-Bring a good eraser. I recommend the white rectangular ones.
-Bring water and a good snack like beef jerky or a granola bar.
-Use the bathroom beforehand, since there’s nothing worse than being distracted by your bladder during a timed test!</p>
<p>There are a ton more tips, but that’s what I can think of right now from my own experiences. I have taken the ACT twice and got a 35/35/36/35 on my 2nd one. I aced the reading section both times. Good luck to all test takers! Practice is the key to doing well :)</p>
<p>Wow thanks! Those were awesome tips</p>
<p>hville:</p>
<p>Good summary on tips. What strategy you followed on bubbling? Did you bubble question by question or some different method. Please explain. </p>
<p>Also why it is better to pick one letter for questions you didn’t get to? why not pick at random letters? </p>
<p>when do you start bubbling the questions you did not answer? when the proctor call out 5 mins left or 2 mins left? you want to spend as much time as possible trying to figure out correct answer.</p>
<p>I bubbled question by question. Otherwise you risk running out of time to bubble at the end.</p>
<p>Here’s an example for the same letter thing. Say you had four questions where you didn’t know the answer. If you filled in B for all of them, statistically speaking at least one of the questions has the answer B. If you filled a random bubble for each question, you only have a 25% chance of being right on each individual question. It’s kind of hard to explain the odds but basically there’s a very good chance you’d pick the wrong answer for each question. Obviously this isn’t a fool proof method though.</p>
<p>For each section I’d usually have from 3-5 questions that I skipped. If I didn’t have time to look back at the questions I would fill in my letter of the day in the last minute or so. If I had extra time after completing all of the questions I did know (usually only in English and math, for me) I would go back and try to solve my skipped questions, or at least eliminate some of the answer options.</p>
<p>How about bubbling a page at a time (3-4 questions) so you are not constantly going back and forth between the answer sheet and test booklet? I understand you do not want to bubble the whole section at the end as that is too risky. Any one has any tips on bubbling technique that’s much more efficient.</p>
<p>In my experience, the bubbling shouldn’t take that long. If you’re that worried about it, you could practice bubbling when you do your practice tests.</p>
<p>The easiest gains can be had from knowing the grammar rules solid, and being lockdown tight on algebra and geometry. Science and reading comprehension are both practically the same to me: look for the answer in the information provided.</p>
<p>I don’t want to say too much, because so many good tips have already been given, especially the time management tip of practicing using less time than the actual test, so you feel like you have “plenty of time” when you take the real thing.</p>
<p>Also, I last took the ACT in 1992 and didn’t do any preparation for it, so hville7’s tips are probably a lot more recent and relevant :D</p>