ACT ways to improve

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
1

Hi I took my ACT through the school due to a thing that my school forced all juniors to take it.
My scores were:
24 English
35 Mathematics
29 Reading
32 Science
30 Composite

as you all can see my English and reading is what really brought me down are there any tips and things I can do to increase these scores. Thank you.

2

Wow, rock and roll on the math and science - that’s awesome.

Some English patterns I’ve noticed from the red book:

  1. Half the time, on a question testing comma use, the choice with no commas is correct. Comma rules tested are basic (independent clauses, extra info, appositive phrase, etc.)
  2. Semicolons can only be used if what comes before and after it is a complete sentence.
  3. If three choices have transition words and the fourth doesn't, it's usually that one.
  4. You should DELETE when given the option about 2/3 of the time (but this has too many exceptions to be a hard-and-fast rule, I'd say).
  5. When asked if a certain sentence should be included, answers lean no (due to it not being relevant). If something should be included, it needs to be exactly pertinent to what's going on.
  6. If asked, "What would this phrase delete if removed?," it's pretty much going to lose something - or they wouldn't waste a question on it.
  7. The title of the essay can sometimes help give a clue toward writer's goal questions, though those seem to be easier (almost basic reading comprehension).

Personal strategies:

  1. I read the entire thing and stop when I come to an underlined portion. I just started doing this and it helps me gain a sense of tone.
  2. I always save sentence placement questions ("The writer decided he wanted to include this sentence; where does it go?") until the very end. I skip it immediately and move forward. No point wasting time on those if, say, the last five questions on the whole thing lean toward straight grammar.

Reading is the hardest to prep for. Sadly, perhaps not the answer you’d want to hear, it’s practice, practice, practice. I’d really like the ACT to follow the College Board’s lead and release a red book deluxe with ten practice tests from more recent years.

3

@mrmath Very nice tips that I will be using for the upcoming ACT this July 6th :slight_smile:

4

I got a 35 on my ACT, and 34 on English subsection which was my lowest.

Fortunately for you, English is the easiest (I think) section to improve on. Check this website out (http://www.thecriticalreader.com/complete-act-punctuation-rules/) and practice at least a section every day.

Once you get the hang of it, the pattern of error becomes very clear like a thorn on the side.

5

thank you @viphan and @mrmath i appreciate the tips :slight_smile: