<p>The past two times I've taken the ACT, the only sections that have hindered me are the Science and Math portions. I always excel on English and Reading. On my most recent ACT I received a composite score of 30, with a 36 on the Reading and a 35 on the English. If I can break 30 on the Science and Math, I can get at least a composite score of 33.</p>
<p>So, what sort of advice can you guys offer me? The next time I'm taking the ACT is the last, so I really have to make it count, and I'd really appreciate the help :)</p>
<p>Oh, I should also probably mention that I’ve never prepared for the ACT, and that I have 3 months until I take my next ACT, so I have plenty of time to study this time around.</p>
<p>Science is all about finding trends and applying them. The only time I have seen actual science knowledge was when they asked about ohms and circuits and stuff. Skim the words to see what’s going on, then pay close attention to graphs and tables.</p>
<p>For math, you will want to target what subjects you get wrong. It should tell you on your official score reports</p>
<p>For Science, would you suggest reading the questions first? I’ve heard all sorts of different strategies. I know someone who read all of the passages and ended getting a 34, and I know someone who just skipped right over to the questions and got a 35.</p>
<p>And how would you suggest studying for the Math? Should I go over the concepts I did poorly on, like in a Math book or something? Or should I just take ACT practice tests?</p>
<p>Wow, i have the exact opposite problem. I do well on math and science (both 35) but really poorly on english and reading. I havent prepared yet so i dont know. I might be able to tell you some strategies tomorrow night. In exchange can you tell me any strategies on how to score high on english and reading. Thanks.</p>
<p>For math you need to go back through basic concepts of Algebra and Geometry and get them down so the test won’t be so difficult. Science is all about timing.</p>
<p>My strategy for Science is read questions first, to me the Science question is just about reading graphs, you really need no knowledge of science and half the stuff they give you in diagrams is useless. So read the questions and then answer the questions going back to the passages as necessary. For Math, yeah just work on what you are bad at, hopefully you will improve.</p>
<p>Abyssion: For Reading, I think the greatest issue people have is time. You need to be able to read quickly and still understand what you’re reading. But a good thing about the reading is that you don’t have to interpret anything, really. The most you’d have to look for is tone. Everything else is straight from the text. If it helps, you can look at the questions first so you know what you’re looking for. Personally, I just read the passage first, get a feel for it, and then do the questions.
For English, don’t read the passages. The most you would have to read is the sentence before and the sentence after the question sentence. A lot of the answers are going to be “No Change,” so don’t get nervous if you pick that one a lot. And you’re not just looking at grammar in the English portion. You’re looking at syntax. You want the sentences to flow and make sense, and be concise. Usually the longer answers are very redundant and therefore wrong. As a last resort, sound things out. For me that usually works out, but that’s because I have a knack for grammar, so I don’t know how it’ll work for others.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice, guys. Are there any good review books that you’d recommend?</p>
<p>What I do for Science- skim through passages, read quickly through questions, then find what you need in either a passage or piece of data.</p>
<p>^Yes, skimming is helpful. There is really not enough time for Science, so all you can really do is skim if you aren’t able to read quickly.</p>
<p>Ok my BEST is MATH, and what I would do is get a book that reviews these concepts. Kaplan’s 100 Math concepts is particulary helpful…I got a 35 on Math…</p>
<p>BUT what kills me is READING and SCIENCE!! how do u do those subjects?.. I got a 23 on reading…my range of scores is not where i want it to be.</p>
<p>^You have to breeze through the paragraphs fairly quickly in order to get the answers. You only have so much time. I was taking AP English at the time I took the ACT, so I was already trained to answer questions based on passages in a limited amount of time.</p>
<p>Would you guys say that the Barron’s ACT 36 is a good book? Or Barron’s ACT Math and Science Workbook? I heard that they’re harder than the actual test, but I don’t really mind. I’d rather be over prepared than under prepared.</p>
<p>^Barron’s is known for being too difficult, so it will over prepare you. So it should get you ready for the test.</p>
<p>Alright. What about the Princetown Review book?</p>
<p>^The best book I’ve used. I found it to model the ACT very closely.</p>
<p>Was it helpful for Science and Math?</p>
<p>I bought Barron’s ACT 36 book a few months ago when I was first preparing for the ACT, (This is before I knew anything about the format of the ACT or anything) I loved it. Its not rediculously big like the other books but it gives you what you need. however you may also want to look at the other books because ACT 36 doesn’t have any full practice tests in it.</p>
<p>Well I plan on buying the Real ACT Prep Guide, for the practice tests.
Have you taken the ACT yet, andy?</p>