<p>Hey all,</p>
<p>I'm struggling with ACT science.. When I don't care about time, I get 4-5 wrong. But when I time by the sections, I get 10 wrong... I usually get 35 or 36 on math, and I do not have a problem with English and Reading, but Science is troubling me so much. I don't think I have a problem reading Qs first and working on problems for Data Representations.. But I can't work on any of conflicting viewpoint section without reading the passage. But passages are often on what I do not know (I suck at science, by the way), and all the unusual concepts slow me down... I took 11 minutes on conflicting viewpoint and got 4 or 5 wrong out of 7 lol.. I did well on other sections.. So my questions are...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How do you deal with conflicting viewpoints? Do you read the passage first or questions? How do you manage to understand what you are reading if you read questions first, and how do you manage finish the section on time if you read passage first?</p></li>
<li><p>How do you save time when you see totally new concept that you have never seen or heard?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>By the way, the curve for science seems really harsh... 0 wrong is 36, 1 wrong is 34 and 4 wrongs are 29! So insane..</p>
<p>1: get main arguments of both scientists and use detail/ or use your knowledge
I skim through the passage
Skim passage and graph first
2: since the act does not ask you to know those info, get the big picture.</p>
<p>Thanks, Foreigner 12.
But the problem with 1 is, there are times when I don’t have any knowledge to use… And Conflicting viewpoint passage seemed like they go pretty in detail. Or is it just how I felt because I didn’t know the topic they were talking about? Thanks.</p>
<p>Don’t read the passages, read questions and skim for answer in passages. Also the curve is not that harsh. I guess it depends on the test but I answered the last 5 questions with C on the June ACT because I ran out of time and I got a 34.</p>
<p>Oh wow, so I guess information I saw on internet was wrong. (Or maybe you were damn lucky). Like 4 wrongs was 29 on the chart.</p>
<p>And yes, I said I tried reading questions first. But it does’t work well for conflicting viewpoints, because the questions seemed like requiring more detailed knowledge… You have to infer based on information, not chart or graph… If you did see questions first for conflicting viewpoints, how did you manage to understand what the questions were talking about?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, you have to get the information from the passages.
I recommend you to read one science article( from magazine or from Internet or whatever) everyday to increase your ability to understand science in a limited amount time.</p>
<p>I ordered my test booklet and answers back from the April test. I missed 6 questions, but I got a 31. I also second what Foreigner12 said.</p>
<p>@Foreiger12 I totally gotta try that. I’m a big humanities/social science person, so I don’t have reading them, even if they are very new and in detail… But for science, I think I just have revulsion at first, and that slows me hell down. I gotta get used to science texts… Thanks for the tip! Oh, and how long did you (or do you) take for a conflicting view point passage? </p>
<p>@Patton370 That sounds more relieving. I thought 29 for 4 wrongs were too harsh, and apparently, it wasn’t an accurate information.</p>
<p>Don’t over think it, you really don’t need to know the actual “science” behind it, I actually consider it more like critical reading. If you get stuck on a question, put C. There’s never enough time on the ACT, and if you think too long on one question you put the section in jeopardy. I’ve only taken it once, but I did read the passages and everything, not in depth, but you do need a BASIC understanding of what’s happening.</p>
<p>@humanities2014
I do not devote that much for the conflicting view passages. Nevertheless, I try to make no careless mistake.</p>
<p>I got a 35 on the Science. I skim the passage, write the main idea of each paragraph next to it (2-3 words), jump to the questions, then go back and find the answers.</p>
<p>1) Read with a purpose. Read to get the main gist of their arguments. This is no different from reading literature or prose. This comes with practice - see if you can read something fast and then adequately summarize what the author is trying to say in one sentence.
2) The ACT does not require advance knowledge of a concept. All the information you need is presented in front of you. Therefore, you just need to read actively, like I said. If you read with a purpose, then you should be able to glean enough information from the text to answer the question.</p>
<p>Foreigner12 – Do you have any suggestions of websites, magazines, or books that would have appropriate articles that I could read each day? My science score really needs to be improved. That sounds like a great idea, but I am not familiar with places where I could find these materials. Thanks!</p>
<p>Go on the google news and click on the science section. It’ll have multiple links to different sites on recent articles on science.</p>
<p>I got a 36 on the science
Just read everything super carefully</p>
<p>@smokymtngirl
Here is the list of websites that I use( I know that I love science too much. But I used to abhor science but started ro love it ,so hope you will be interested in science too)</p>
<p>National geographic
[Science</a> and Space Facts, Science and Space, Human Body, Health, Earth, Human Disease - National Geographic](<a href=“Science”>Science)</p>
<p>NewYork Times
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.html</a></p>
<p>Newton( if you are willing to pay $9.99/year subscription fee)
<a href=“http://www.newton-science.com/[/url]”>http://www.newton-science.com/</a></p>
<p>Chemistry world
[Chemistry</a> news, reviews and opinion | Chemistry World](<a href=“http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/]Chemistry”>http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/)</p>
<p>Physics today
[Physics</a> Today](<a href=“http://www.physicstoday.org/]Physics”>http://www.physicstoday.org/)</p>
<p>I got. 34 and 35 taking it two times. My recommendation is save the conflicting views passage for last. Start with the graph analysis then go to the experiment questions. You’ll find these are generally very easy and you will be left with more than enough time for that last section. Practice skipping around like this and it will start to feel easy. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks so much Foreigner12 – I will start reading science! Science has never been my favorite subject – at least the lab sciences. I love environmental science and being outdoors learning about nature. Thanks again, this will be a tremendous help!</p>
<p>Wow, I got so many more answers than I expected. Thanks all! This helps me a lot.</p>
<p>And yoskis, I don’t have time to read everything super carefully. I need more specific advice than that. Who does’t know it’s the best when you read it super carefully… But the question is how to read super carefully in limited time. Thanks.</p>
<p>Since you don’t really understand science conceptually, I would recommend exercising your ability to understand science by reading lay science articles daily that explain how the author’s thought of their experiment and how they came to their conclusions, not ones that just explain the finding. Supplementing that with some practice ACT sections should help you–purchase the official ACT book and the Baron’s 6 ACT Practice Tests Book: [Barron's</a> 6 ACT Practice Tests: James D. Giovannini, Patsy J. Prince M.Ed.: 9780764147227: Amazon.com: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-6-ACT-Practice-Tests/dp/0764147226/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376079829&sr=8-1&keywords=barrons+six+act+practice+test]Barron’s”>http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-6-ACT-Practice-Tests/dp/0764147226/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376079829&sr=8-1&keywords=barrons+six+act+practice+test) if you haven’t already.</p>
<p>Hope this helps</p>