<p>I have taken the act 5 or 6 times, and I'm taking it for the last time this Saturday. I keep making between 19-21, and to get scholarship I need my score up to a 25. If you know anything that will help please let me know!</p>
<p>Wait, you’re taking the test this Saturday? Was it rescheduled for you?</p>
<p>It’s hard to tell you how to improve without knowing where you stand, but I’d recommend you try to complete in the allotted time. Make sure that you fill in every blank on the answer document, even if you don’t know the answer. There is no penalty for guessing. Also, bring a watch with a timer (silent) so that you know how long you have. Remember that you have 45 minutes for section one (English), 60 minutes for section two (math), 35 minutes for section three (reading), and 35 minutes for section four (science).</p>
<p>Here’s some superficial tips on how to guess for the English section: If you have no idea on a question and omit is an option, that will likely be correct, and unless it sounds totally off, pick the answer with the least punctuation. If you’re not finishing the English test on time, then skip the questions that ask you to reorganize paragraphs in a passage or sentences in a paragraph, those take too long. </p>
<p>The math section goes from progressively easy to hard, don’t spend time double checking answers in the beginning of the test. You have 1 minute per question, but you should try to do the first ~35 questions in under 45 seconds each. </p>
<p>On the reading section, it helps if you do your strongest section first; for me, it is natural science. One of the most helpful tips for the reading section is to guess if you know that a question will take too long. It’s better to knowingly miss one question and be able to move on to the next passage than to get that question right but have to guess on every question on the next one. Some questions that are likely to take a long time are ones that ask you to eliminate choices. </p>
<p>The science passage is tricky, it will give you a ton of information, and you won’t need much of it. For example, it may give you a complex formula for something that you’ll never have a question on. Just make sure that you know what things mean, mark them if you have to. Make sure that you know what the X-axis and Y-axis on graphs are and try to indicate trends in them. (For example, if the X-axis goes up, does the Y axis go down?) You’re virtually guaranteed to have several questions that ask you that. Also, once you hit the conflicting viewpoints passage (indicative by being the only passage with 7 questions), skip it until the end. This one normally takes the longest. </p>
<p>Remember, the point of the test is to get as many right as possible. Sometimes you need to skip a question because you know that it will take too long, especially in reading or science. You’re far more likely to do better if you make an educated guess on a question rather than guess blindly, but you can only do so if you’ve seen the question! </p>
<p>Make sure that you get the standard amount of sleep the night before (approximately eight hours, but adjust it accordingly to how much you normally sleep). It’s almost better to under-sleep than it is to over-sleep. If you normally get 6 hours of sleep, don’t get 10. Also, eat breakfast if you can or your metabolism will allow for it. (I can’t eat breakfast, ever, it makes me feel sick for the rest of the day.) </p>
<p>The only way to improve greatly is to know the material better, the if you’re taking it on Saturday, you don’t have enough time to do that. You can study between now and then, but it’ll be hard to learn much new information. If you do choose to study, I recommend the grammar/usage/punctuation section of the English section, that’s the easiest to improve on in my opinion. </p>
<p>Go in with a determined mind and you will do well. You can do it, try to stay calm and finish all of the section. Good luck!</p>