<p>I did fine in english (30) and math (33), but when it came to reading and science I just couldn't finish on time.</p>
<p>It's not that can't understand the questions or anything, I just can't finish it all within the time limit. I tried skimming but then I feel as if I haven't fully grasped the information given to me. Help?</p>
<p>I was in your exact situation at the end of my junior year. On my first ACT I got a 30/34 in English and Math with a 23/26 on Reading and Science. I started freaking out because I couldn't do well on Reading/Science, and my goal of getting into my first choice university was in jeopardy.</p>
<p>Someone on this site gave me the best advice I could have ever asked for on the reading section. This user said to pretend that what you're reading is the most interesting thing you've ever read in your life. So for 35 minutes only, nothing else in the world matters. Just focus only on the passage and read it very intently. If you focus well enough, you'll read the questions and either know them from memory or be able to quickly locate them in the passage. </p>
<p>When I first took the ACT, I became quickly frustrated by how much I didn't care about the passage in front of me. Get over how stupid or boring it is and just read it. Remember it's only 35 minutes of your life. I'm a pretty bad and slow reader, but pretending that I like the passage seriously helped raise my reading score from 23 to 30. A lot of people say that there's not enough time to finish this section, but that's really a myth. I believed that at first and was therefore unable to finish the reading section the first time I took the ACT. But in October and September I easily finished with 5 minutes left, and remember I'm even a slow reader.</p>
<p>There's plenty of time to finish the section. The questions are very straightforward, and at least in Sep/Oct did not require hardly any analysis. All the answers were in the passages. Remember that the test is not trying to trick you. Usually when there seems to be an obvious answer, it's the answer. The ACT is not trying to be deceptive like the SAT does. Additionally, if you're having trouble finishing, don't second guess your answers. Usually the first instinct is right and you chose it for a good reason. Not second guessing your answers will help you save time in the end.</p>
<p>So all in all, the reading section is in actuality very manageable. In fact, it is meant to be the easiest section on the exam. With a little more practice, I think you'll find that it's much easier than it seems right now. I know I eventually realized that through some extra practice.</p>
<p>For the science section, some people may tell you differently, but I say to go straight to the questions and refer to the passages for the answers. Time management is imperative on this section, and reading the passages will cause you to read way too much useless information and lose time.</p>
<p>On my last try in October I got</p>
<p>32 E
36 M
30 R
29 S
32 Composite</p>
<p>partially thanks to the advice that was given to me on this site. Remember that although you're English and Math scores are excellent, there is still much room for improvement in those sections as well as you can see from my first score compared to my last. As stupid as this site is, it has caused me to realize the intense competition that's out there. And it has motivated me to do better not only on the ACT, but many other things. I must thank CC for that. I probably wouldn't have improved my score like I did without it.</p>
<p>science is what I would call luck unless you actually have prior knowledge of the subjects tested OR you are unbelievably quick at analyzing info for at least 20 or so questions with time left to do other 20 in 35 minutes =.=</p>
<p>as for reading, I believe guitarman said it all:
it's only 35 minutes, so bust your a** on it because by the end of the test you'll feel much better knowing that you had concentrated reading the passages rather than that sinking feeling that you get when you know you got screwed over</p>
<p>I recommend kaplan and princeton review reading practice (kaplan is really long, so if you get the hang of those, it'll be great for your time management; PR is also a good one)</p>
<p>finally if you can believe it, sometimes they actually throw in an interesting reading section. For instance, the october passages were much easier in general to focus than the sept passages such as that one HOV and HOT (sept ACTers you know what I'm talking about =.=)</p>
<p>yeah, i took that sept one and i clearly remember that passage. it was pretty dumb.</p>