<p>I literally decided to take the ACTs a day ago (october 26th) and i just took a practice test today...i got a 34 in math but i got between a 24-26 everywhere else...I had no prior knowledge about the ACTs before taking the practice test so i hope that i can improve my score big time..I was just wondering what books you guys suggest and how i should study....My goal score is 31+</p>
<p>Haha same story with me, although I started a bit earlier. On the math, similar to you, I recieved a 35, and a 35 in science as well, however I got a 22 in reading, and I know I wouldnt have done well in English so I didnt bother taking it. But after about a week of prep, I improved significantly. Its all about the timing for the reading. You have 35 mins, so since there are 4 passages, give each 8 mins. That gives you 3 mins left, but dont even think about going back and rechecking, you won’t have time. Instead, that extra 3 mins is just incase your mind sort of freezes momentarily and you have to re read a paragraph or so. Always try to finish the passage under 4 mins, 3:30 if possible. Skim through the entire passage and get the gist of each paragraph. There are only 10 questions, meaning they wont test you on each word, and if they do test you on a particular part of the passage, they will usually cite it. From a 22, I went to a 32 on my third practice test following this, and I am sure I can do better. I am now going through Sparknotes ACT English guide, and I will let you know how that goes.</p>
<p>Thanks for the detailed advice for reading.how about the English section I had a little trouble with that too?</p>
<p>I’d recommend studying the Sparknotes English Test Prep-especially the rules on commas. The ACT’s english section likes to throw the same problems at you over and over, and the prep is incredibly comprehensive. Although I’ve never really struggled with English, skimming the guide over for a couple nights before the test enabled me to get a 36 on my first ACT sections, and a 34 on my second ACT’s english section.</p>
<p>Alright thanks…how about practice tests and books?</p>
<p>@Shrapnel for the Sparknotes English Test prep, do you mean by the book or the 3page laminated sheets of paper? Because im gonna take the act and got very similar scores to @burning1234. haha i suck at english. horribly</p>
<p>Actually, I was talking about this: [ACT</a> SparkNotes Test Prep: Punctuation](<a href=“SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides”>SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides)
Hopefully it can help you a little bit.</p>
<p>No book recommendations?</p>
<p>Buy the red book.</p>
<p>Buy the official ACT book, and there should also be some practice tests put out by ACT online. Keep doing them, since you are short on time, try and do one test a day. If you cut down your break time, the tests will seem much faster. Keep looking at what you got wrong and why, and then you should improve!</p>
<p>@Shrapnel, thanks. The website has so much that I don’t understand. Sigh. Better get working…</p>
<p>The best cram for me was Barron’s 36 with the red book. You can improve in a few days of a couple hours studying each day.</p>