Hey guys, freshman here :
I just took the June ACT and I am taking it again in September.
27C
30 English
Tricky, I thought I scored lower
30 Math
Easy, I thought I scored higher
21 Reading
So hard, ran out of time and guessed on so many
27 Science
Super hard, guess on a lot as well
What can I do to improve my Reading and Science sections? i have major troubles with timing on those sections, please help! Thank you
What were your strategies for the two for this test?
@sizzleracn For reading, I read the questions first, underlined the key words in each question, marked line references in the passage, read the passage until I got to a line reference and answered that question while answering other questions that I knew, and continued that process until I was done with the passage. Order… I think I did the comparative reading first (which was social science), then humanities, then natural science, and prose fiction last.
For science, I would just go straight to the questions on the research summaries and the data representation. For CV I read through all of it and then did the questions. Order… I did the conflicting viewpoints passage first, then the data representations, then the research summaries because I tend to do better on the CV passage on practice tests
I tried doing your method for reading on one of my practice tests, and it took me a whole minute to look over the questions and make all the line markers. After ten minutes I was still only 6 questions through on the first passage so I raged and gave up. A strategy that worked really well for me and got me my highest ever reading score (32) was the “four corners” technique. You read the first one or two paragraphs in its entirety (one or two depending on the size of the first paragraph), and then you just read the topic sentence (first sentence) of each paragraph until you get to the last paragraph in the column (or the corner paragraph). You then read the entire last paragraph of the first paragraph and the first paragraph of the second column (It might just be the same paragraph in each column). You then read just the topic sentence for any paragraph in between the corner of the second and third columns (if there is a third column). Once you get to the last paragraph, read it in its entirety. Sorry if that’s confusing. If it is just tell me and I’ll try to give a visual representation. I’m a really slow reader, and it usually takes me over 4 minutes to read the passage, and this cut my time in half. I really didn’t lose any of the information either, however it doesn’t work very well with prose fiction since it’s setup like a story instead of an essay, and you have to pay a lot more attention to specific details in prose fiction. For that reason, I did my passages in the same order as you. I used the four corners technique for Social Science, then I used it for Humanities, then I used it for Natiral Science, and then lastly I read Prose Fiction normally.
For Science I tried to go straight to the questions for the April test and it went horribly. My best ever for science had been a 25 (I’ve always had trouble with it), but my science score when I went straight to the questions was a 22. For this test, I gave myself 2 minutes to read the passage and look at the graphs, and then I gave myself 30 seconds for each question. Trust me, it’s extremely beneficial to at least have somewhat of an idea of what’s going on in the experiment. When you look at a question, cover the answers and try to find the answer on your own. Once you find the answer, pull your hand off and make sure that your answer is an option. Don’t cover the answer for the “which of the following” or the “except” questions, for obvious reasons. By the way, I got a 31 in science this test, which is my best by 6 points.
Really the key is to take lots and lots of practice tests. Test day can’t be the very first time you try a technique. Definitely practice with the four corners technique. Good luck!
Also, this was my 6th time taking this test and I raised my composite from a 28 to a 32.
Hi so I got my test scores back yesterday from taking it for the first time. I did horrible in reading because I hate reading and I read very slow (25), but I did ok in science (31). For reading, During the test I didn’t have my glasses, so I think I spent a good 2 minutes (throughout the WHOLE test. Not just the reading) squinting to look at the clock. I looked at the wrong hand and thought we only had 2 minutes left, but we had about 10-15. 
So I guessed on 2 whole passages, and realized that I had a lot more time. At that point I was just freaking out and couldn’t pay attention to the rest of the passages. So I can’t help you with the reading part.
For science, I went straight to the answers and started solving right away. ALWAYS do the passages with graphs and/or tables FIRST!!! In those passages, go to the table/graph and mark down the relationship between the items listed.
Ex: In a table, If the temperature is increasing (top to bottom. 0,20,40,60,80,etc.) then mark it with an arrow pointing up (to represent an increase). If another variable is decreasing, draw a downward facing arrow. If there’s not a consistent increase or decrease, don’t mark it.
In a graph, look at the relationship between the two lines. You’re pretty good at math, so you’ll know if it’s a direct or inverse graph, or if it’s a linear or exponential. Mark it down on paper even tho you know it in your head! It’ll be easy to just glance at and quickly answer questions. Don’t read the passages until you come to a question that is necessary to read the passage!!! You’ll just waste time! The first 4 are usually very easy, and the last are difficult. You said that you do well on CV, but how lon do you aoend on it? Make sure to not waste a lot of time with it!
You can go in the order you want, but I’m just letting you know what worked for me! On a practice test I took 3 months ago (without studying) I got a 24. After about a month (2 weeks in april and 2 weeks in June) I raised it to 31! That’s 7 points! You don’t need to raise it that much though… I just watched a ton of videos and got ACT books! I reccommend Princeton Review and the actual ACT prep book! I mainly used the Princeton Review though:) Thanks! Good Luck and I hope this helped!!!
@Sizzleracn I just tried that four corner method, took each section on the reading separately (timed myself for 8 minutes for each passage), and got a 28!I really love that method and it surprisingly helps me understand the information a lot more. THANKS!!! Just with that simple tip I raised my score 3 points! I’m so excited
It’s surprising how well it works. You would think you would miss out on a lot of key information, but you really don’t, and it cuts reading time in half.
@chelseag89 For timing on the reading, I recommend you time yourself for 3 minutes and JUST read the passage, then time yourself for 5 minutes to answer the questions. Do that for 2-4 passages (So either 2/4 passages on a practice test or a whole practice test). After that, set the timer for 8 minutes and complete one whole passage. Grade it when you’re done and see how you did. My personal order of difficulty (POOD) from easiest to hardest is: Prose Fiction, Natural Science, Humanities, and Social Science. Find your POOD and go with that order MOST of the time.
Tips: Look for passages that have many SHORTER paragraphs (8-10) and more line reference questions (in lines 45-53…) because it will be easier to navigate answers. Always be willing to change up the order of passages you want to work. Sometimes the passage you find the easiest will be harder because it may have HUGE paragraphs or no line reference’s at all. Also, look for passages with questions that have shorter answers. An answer is way too long if it takes up two lines, but a questions with an answer that’s a couple of words will be a lot easier to answer.
@Sizzleracn
It really does cut reading time in half and I absorbed a lot more than just reading the whole passage! Where did u hear about that tip?
@DreamforIvy Thank you so much for the reply 
I did the same with science, but timing is always a problem for me
@Sizzleracn Thank you so much for your reply
I think I get what you’re saying… read the first and last paragraph carefully and read the first sentence of each body paragraph? Sorry if I misunderstood.
@chelseag89 I’ve been at summer camps since the day after the ACT, so I haven’t had access to my computer (just my phone), but I’m home now and can give you a visual representation of it. I know it’s kinda confusing if you can’t see what it actually looks like.
In this picture, the paragraphs with red marks are ones that you read fully, while the green marks are paragraphs where you only read the topic sentence, which is the first sentence. The sections with the second and third paragraph are read because it is a "corner" paragraph.@dreamforivy I learned it from my tutor. A lot of the stuff he said was stuff I had already seen before, but this was completely new to me, and it worked wonderfully.
Is it worth getting a tutor? @Sizzleracn
@dreamforivy Well, I would say no, but after five times taking it my best score was a 28, and then I got a tutor for the sixth time and I got a 32… so apparently it did help. I did six one hour sessions, but I could’ve learned all the really helpful stuff that I actually used in just one of the sessions. I’m not sure how all tutors come up with techniques, but a few of the strategies that my tutor taught me were ones that I had never seen on the internet. Such as the four corners technique, which was extremely helpful since I’m a very slow reader. On the other hand, some tutors might just tell you the same exact techniques that you’ve seen on the internet and tried and failed with. There’s no way getting a tutor will hurt your score, thought. It just depends on if you’re willing to spend a fortune to get one.
College Confidential recently covered how POOD can help you on the ACT. Read more here: https://www.collegeconfidential.com/articles/pood-will-help-act/
