<p>I am taking the ACT this Saturday, June 11. I have been intensively preparing over the past 2 months. I've taken over 7 practice tests and have had over 20 hours of private tutoring. I took the ACT for the first time with absolutely no prep in February and got a 29. I am aiming for at least a 32. My practice test average is about a 31. However, when going over the questions I answered incorrectly with my tutor, 80% of them are careless errors. If I hadn't made those careless errors I would have gotten probably around a 34. There are usually only 2 or 3 questions per section that I don't actually know how to solve. Do any of you have any advice on how to avoid these careless errors? I know the obvious solution is to just read more carefully, but is there anything else anyone has tried that has worked? I really feel like if I eliminated those careless errors I would do really well. Thanks!</p>
<p>When you take the practice tests, are you using all of your available time? If you finish before you have to, make sure to check your answers. Also, especially for the math, write out your steps. In the reading/science section in particular, be sure to underline or put a star beside what you believe to be important information in the paragraphs/figures.</p>
<p>Also, what is the section you tend to have the lowest score in?</p>
<p>Good luck! I’m taking the test tomorrow as well… Gulp :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the response. And I consistently finish English with about 15 minutes left, but on my last practice test I got a 35 on that section haha. Math I sometimes finish 5 minutes early, but most of the time for Math, Reading, and Science I use all the time available. And oddly, there are no consistent trends in my scores. Depending on the practice test, I might get a 29 on Math and a 33 on Science, but the next one 33 on Math and 30 on Science. I also need to find a way to just maintain my focus throughout the entire test, because once I get to reading especially my focus starts to drift haha.</p>
<p>Just relax. I would always miss problems here and there on my practice tests, especially in English, but I got a 36 on the exam anyways. Just make sure you spend your extra time double checking your work, and not dozing off (it helps to get a good amount of sleep beforehand).</p>