How I improved my score from a 28 to a 35 (tips and suggestions)

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
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Hello!
I took the ACT twice, and this is how it broke down:
1st time: 28C - 29E, 29M, 29R, 25S
2nd time: 35C - 33E, 36M, 35R, 34S

So, let me break it down section by section, and hopefully help you guys increase your scores too! (Please bare with the tips as I’ll try to conform them so that people who have taken the ACT and people who have not understand them)

Before reading the tips outlined below, make sure to get your hands on an ACT book with practice tests. This is absolutely essential to improving your score. I borrowed the 2015 Princeton Review book from my local library.

English: 75 questions - 45 minutes
The score for this section is composed of two subscores: rhetorical skills and usage and mechanics. The english section of the ACT covers five main topics: grammar & usage, punctuation, sentence structure, strategy, organization, and style. For those of you who have never taken an ACT before, I advise you to first familiarize yourself with the structure of the test by taking a practice test. The multiple choice questions each come with four answer choices, and by remembering a few characteristics, you can eliminate at least two of the answers a majority of the time. The ACT makers will try to trick you by posing answers that will appear correct because they “sound” better. Do not fall into this trap. The right answer is usually always the shortest and simplest form. Here is an example taken straight from the ACT website:

Having studied, my mother is a marine biologist.

A. NO CHANGE
B. As my mother’s interest is science, she is
C. My mother’s occupation is that of
D. My mother is

The correct answer is D, offering the clearest and most concise option for stating the above. This type of question will appear A LOT on the ACT. Keep an eye out for it, and you can usually pull it out very quickly. Another way you can eliminate an answer choice is by recognizing that the ACT makers will never ask you to add punctuation. Often times, questions regarding the punctuation of a passage will contain answers with complex forms of added punctuation. Here is an example from the ACT:

Often, my brother and I, joined our mother on her adventures into tidal lands.

F. NO CHANGE
G. brother, and I,
H. brother, and I
J. brother and I

The correct answer here is J. You can eliminate choice G because they added an excess comma where one was not needed. You can eliminate choice H because they included the comma in an illogical place. This narrows your choices down to F and J and you just have to be keen on possessing enough grammar skills to know that a comma should not be placed between the subject and the verb.

Here are just a few more tips for the english section to help you trek along:
Active voice trumps passive voice. Never is there an instance where you will find the right answer being in the passive voice. If a sentence can stand without a word, remove the word. If there are any redundancies in a sentence or passage, eliminate them.

Take a couple of english practice tests to get the gist of it. After each attempt, circle the wrong answers and write yourself a little note about why you got it wrong. After a couple tests, you’ll pick up on mistakes you make repetitively, and you’ll be able to eliminate them.

Math: 60 questions - 60 minutes
The math section contains three subscores that cover the following: pre-Algebra/elementary algebra, algebra/coordinate geometry, and plane geometry/trigonometry. The math section is perhaps the only section of the ACT where tips and tricks will not weed out answers for you, but rather, you will need to do tons of practice. That being said, the best strategy is to understand the format of this section. The 60 questions will be in order of increasing difficulty. The first 20 will be remotely easy, the second 20 will be a little more difficult, and the last 20 will test your limits. My advice here is to take advantage of practice tests. This test, in my opinion, is the only one where if you practice enough times, the test becomes a sort of second nature.

Take your first practice test without any time restrictions. Do not worry about finishing in time, but worry about answering as many questions correctly as possible. The speed at which you compute answers improves as you go along, and there’s no need to stress yourself out about it the first time you take it. Find the answers you got wrong, and note the type of question it is. For example, when I practiced math I recognized that I usually got coordinate geometry specifically dealing with circles wrong a majority of the time, so I went over that, and was able to eventually stop myself from getting them wrong. I’m guessing it worked due to my perfect score on the math section. Once you recognize similar incorrect answer choices and get a feel for the test, begin to impose your time restrictions.

I have a few tips about how you can prevent yourself from running out of time. The first word of advice, is to take advantage of your calculator. Where math can be easily done in a calculator, use it. There’s no point in trying to compute math in your head, and running the risk of doing it incorrectly because of time. Manage your time efficiently by setting yourself bookmarks of where you need to be after a certain amount of time. If you get stuck on a question, skip it. The math section works that you can still get two answers incorrect, and still get a perfect score. Don’t spend time trying to get every single one you come across right, when time can be spent answering more questions.

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The Reading and Science sections got cut out, so here they are:

Reading: 40 questions - 35 minutes
The reading test can be the one that most people struggle with because it pushes you to the time limit. Don’t be the fool who runs out of time because of a lack of preparation. Take note of the four style passages you will come across: social studies, natural sciences, prose fiction, and humanities. Become familiar with these four and pick up on the one that you feel most comfortable with, and the one that you feel least comfortable with. Manage your time from the get go by recognizing that the four passages will always appear in the exact same order every time. Start with your easiest passage and then move to the last.

Some people will advise you to read the questions then go scavenge the passage for the answers, while others will suggest reading the passage in its entirety first and then answering the questions. I chose the latter over the former. The first works, but you can get too caught up in trying to find an answer that you lose track of time, and time is vital in this section. I realize that sometimes your mind drifts off into mindless thoughts while reading information that does not seem interesting whatsoever, and I am guilty of doing this all too often. I found something that works that prevents me from doing this. Here’s how it works:

Pretend that the passage before you is the most interesting piece of literature you have ever invested your time in. Engage yourself in its content as if you were speaking to the very author. Then, take your pencil and place it to the word you are reading. Follow along with your pencil until you finish reading the entire passage. Why does this work? Well first, it ensures that you become aware of every piece and part of the passage. If you later read a question, you will either know the answer right off of the bat, or you will know exactly where to look to find the answer. Second, it forces your mind to multi-task and thus prevents it from trailing off. Your mind has to recognize the words and process them while simultaneously moving the pencil across the page. It’s a form of speed reading, and will end up earning you a couple minutes to answer more questions in the long run.

I’m not gonna lie and tell you I did loads of practice tests for this section. In fact, I only did one, and the method works out just fine. Try it out for yourself, and adjust according to your strengths and weaknesses. You will find that you will end up finishing with a surplus of time leftover rather than scrambling to use every last second.

Science: 40 questions - 35 minutes
By the time you reach the science section you will quickly realize that the ACT is more a test of endurance than anything else. Bring a snack or water bottle to eat and drink during your break to keep your energy up. Don’t fool yourself into thinking the science section is chemistry and biology. Instead, recognize that it is more of interpreting data and finding the answer. There are three styles of passages you will come across in the science section: data representation (graphs and charts with very little words), research summaries (graphs and charts with included paragraphs of explanation), and conflicting viewpoints (paragraphs of theories regarding a specific topic).

Don’t get caught up in trying to understand the information, the test is written so you only have to interpret it. This, like the math and english section, will require you to take a couple of practice tests to learn where your strengths lie. I showed the most improvement with this section by taking a couple of practice tests. They really do work and will help you to get a feel for this test. Don’t impose time restrictions your first time. They only add stress. Focus on learning to interpret the different style charts and whether or not you want to read the passages or not. This relies heavily on the individual taking the test, and there is no right or wrong way to do it.

For the data representation and research summaries I read one question, then answered, then moved to the next. For the conflicting viewpoints, I read every question and then the passages, and then went through the question. You can do this with this passage as it only appears once versus the three times the other two will appear. As you get used to the format of the test begin to impose time restrictions and just continue practicing until you yield similar results each time.

I guess that closes out my “guide.” Best of luck to any of you who planning on taking the upcoming ACT! I hope this helped you and if you have any other questions feel free to ask them down below. :slight_smile:

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This was extremely helpful because your initial break down was similar to mine and I had similar problem as you! Congratulations on your 35 and thanks for the motivation and useful tips that I don’t find on five of my prep books! :slight_smile:

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Oh and I was wondering when did you take 1st and 2nd ACT?

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@mkreina first one in June of last year, second in April! And yeah no problem! Hope you do well on your upcoming one!

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@afamelas thats extremely helpful omg. Thank you so muchhhh for your dedication. btw congrats on your 35. You are so intelligent.I dont expect to score 35 like you :smiley: just 30-31 is my dream.Do you think its possible for me to raise my score from 28 to 30-31 when i retake in Sep? My worst section is English (24) :((

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@nthluongcnn Heck yeah! Anything is possible honestly. I expected to score a 30-32 and was pleasantly surprised with the 35. You can easily get better at the english section with a bit of practice. There’s plenty of time until September hits!

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Thanks so much for this!! It’s going to be very helpful for when I attempt to finally not get a 30 and instead manage a 32+. :slight_smile:

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@seanman1224 no problem! Hope it all works out!

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Thanks!

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I got some messages that this was helpful for some people, so I’ll try to bring it back for more people to see.

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Very helpful. Will use your strategies as I prepare for the September ACT.

My initial breakdown was:
29 C 32 E 28 M 27 R 30 S (April 2015)
32 C 31 E 33 M 33 R 29 S (June 2015)

Hopefully, in the next two months, I will be able to improve upon my score and bring it to a 35 or 36.

Where did you get all your practice tests from? I used up almost all of the Kaplan ones, and I found 10 online ones from McGraw Hill (but I have no idea how good they are). Any advice on buying tests or finding them?

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@Princetonian2020 I borrowed the 2015 Princeton Review ACT book from my library. It came with four in book practice tests, along with two online ones. I just used the four in the book!

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@afamelas Just wanted to say thanks for sharing these strategies! I received my September ACT score today and your tips definitely helped me get a lovely 35!

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@bread07 congratulations! I’m really glad we can both feel great about achieving a great score!

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Hey, I would like to first of all say that this is a wonderful post! It’s very useful for ACT takers who are going to retake it, in hopes for a better score. I, specifically, just scored a 30 on Sept ACT. Although 30 is not a bad score (in society’s standard, not CC’s), it’s not a score that makes me feel content. Therefore, I am going to retake in December. My composite score breaks down into E 28 M 33 R 28 S 29. Prior to taking the Sept ACT, I scored usually 32-34 on my practice tests. But for some reason I scored a 30 on the real test day. I just really want to bring my English and Reading scores up. I feel like the science section varies from test to test, so if you get lucky, you might get an easier vversion of the science section…How could I improve, any suggestions? Thanks!

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@clichescreenname raising your score those 2-4 points should be easy with a little more practice. My first recommendation would be to find a different source of practice tests. If you were used to doing McGraw Hill, switch to Princeton Review. Some books may work better for different people. It also may seem that you might have gotten a little panicked when you took the test. If this was your first time, you should be proud! A 30 is a great first run score. Next time, make sure to bring a watch and set yourself consistent checkmarks where you should have reached a certain question by a certain time. This method is especially important to utilize on the reading and science section where you’re really pressed for time. It’s also important to note, that the leniency on each section varies. For example, you can miss 2 questions on the math section and still get a perfect whereas missing two questions on the English or reading will bring your score down to a 34. As corny as it sounds, before your next test, give yourself a little pep talk! Tell yourself you know how this test works, you’ve taken the practice tests, you’ve learned the material, and you’ve experienced the real test, tell yourself you’re ready to score that 35 or 36. A little self confidence goes a long way.

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I’m just bringing this thread back up to try and help some of you preparing for the February ACT. Best of luck to all of you!

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This is a great guide. I, like you, do better in reading when getting a good understanding of the passage before the questions. I will try the “pencil trick” on my next practice test after reading through the Princeton Review book.

Quick question – were you scoring around 35 on the princeton practice tests? I’ve read in a quite a few places that the tests in those books are harder than the actual ACT.

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@jwn9917 Thank you, I’m glad I could be of some kind of assistance.

The Princeton Review practice tests were harder in some areas and easier in others. I was scoring 34-36s consistently on the math section, but the only reading practice test I took I scored somewhere in the lower 30s. It was still a definite improvement for me so I thought nothing of it. If you can consistently score in the mid range of the 30s with that book, you should be pretty well prepared for the actual ACT. Good luck!