<p>I just made a somewhat thorough post in the "unusual tips" thread, so I'll go ahead and paste it here:</p>
<p>For science, I back-up anyone who suggested reading graphs, but not the passages. When you turn to a new section in the science section, skip all the passages and graphs. Read question 1, and find the the graph you need. From my experience, the first few within each passage are questions you can answer directly from a single graph. As you progress towards the last few questions, you usually have to begin relating two graphs/tables/whatever's in a way to get the answer, if that makes sense. Usually, you can do all the questions without reading the sentences that go along with the graphs. The moment you get confused though, read them. Don't waste time reading the question 12 times over; if you don't understand after 2 or 3 reads, read the information given. Wasting time on science is a killer. As for practicing goes, what I did was just that: practice. Do every practice test you can get your hands on, in simulated conditions. When you finish grading it, go back and reread EVERY question, not just those you got wrong. A lot of times, I'm unsure on a few questions as I answer them, so even if I get it right, I want to figure out why. I've always thought the science section to be the easiest, I'm not sure why it gets all the hype that it does. Its the only section that you don't need to know anything at all for, I like it! </p>
<p>As for math, my only suggestion is know how to use your calculator very very well. It is completely obeying the rules to put programs in your calculator, so take advantage of that. I've had my calculator (ti-83) since 7th grade when I took pre-algebra, and I now have a cumulative collection of programs in there that I can do just about anything with. The trick is, though, do NOT download a bunch from the internet the night before. You have to know how to use them, or you'll hurt yourself. Anyway, enough about your calculator. Other than this, my only suggestion is practice. I took 6 or 7 practice tests, and although I didn't really improve on the first few, I began to actually finish the test. Once I reached this point, I began working on getting the answers right haha. As you're going through, skip ANY problem that looks like it will take a long time. If the method for solving the problem doesn't come to you after 1 or 2 reads, skip it. What I do for these is right the number on my desk (yes, on the wood), so I don't lose it (erase it after the math section is over). Then, once I've been through all 60 questions, I'll normally have 5 or so that I skipped. I go back, 1 by 1, and usually have about a minute to spend on each. Again, if you come to one that takes a ridiculous amount of time, go to the others. If you have no clue how to solve one, try to elliminate the obvious ones, and guess. For example, the one question I didn't know how to do on the ACT I took involved finding the slope of a line (theres much more to it than that, but its hard to explain. point is, I thought it was hard). I knew the slope was negative, but didn't have time to calculate it, but just based on the negative, I elliminated 3 choices. Its ok to guess. Don't waste time.</p>
<p>I don't have much to say about english and reading; I never did too well on those. Reading I must say is all just experience; my english classes have always focused on analyzing passages and stories in the way the ACT makes you, so I just kinda went with what I knew. One thing I can say though: do NOT try to answer questions first. Read it quickly, so you'll know where to look back as you answer. You strategy may vary, but I've never known anyone in person to do good on the reading who doesn't read at all. As for english: if it sounds right, it probably is. Other than that, i don't know what to say. One strategy I use if I'm unsure on one is to remember what it is asking, and look for that in later passages. For example: if a question is asking you to pick between a comma or no comma, look in later passages (a non-underlined sentence) that presents a similar case, and compare the two. This only works on about 1/5 questions that I am unsure on, but it prevents a lot of guessing if you finish the english section with a lot of time to spare, like I do.</p>
<p>I hope this wasn't too long, and I hope it's useful to someone.
I got a 34 on my first and last ACT, just this past october (32 E, 35 M, 32 R, 36 S), so I hope this gives my advice some credibility.</p>