<p>I have a 4.1 GPA, top 8% of my class, have a job, a volunteer job, and a long list of extracurriculars; however, colleges won't care unless they see an impressive ACT score. Unfortunatly, I am a terrible test taker. I have taken the ACT three time and just registered for the last time in September. I got a 24 the first two times and a 23 the last time. I really, really want to get at least a 27 or 28 but i'm not sure if that's possible. Reading is the section that pulls me down every time. On all three tests reading was at least 6 points lower than the other three sections. I really NEED advice!!! I took the princeton review class back in April so I have those books still to study from, but any advice, tips, or strategies are greatly needed and appreciated!!! Thank you.</p>
<p>Reading: This works for me, but I don’t know if it would work for others. Since one only has 35 minutes for all that reading, I will answer questions as I am reading the passage. If there is a question that regards the passage as a whole, I will skip it until I finish the passage. This saves you time overall and is helpful if the question asks for a small detail that you might forget. Some people say that “marking up” the passage (writing small notes or underlining) helps too. On the June 9th ACT I got a 33 on Reading so I guess these paid off. Just remember, there are 3 made up, wrong answers that someone wrote for you to get confused. Only 1 will apply to the passage.</p>
<p>Yes, I essentially do the same by keeping the main idea/purpose of each paragraph in the back of my mind while reading the passage and then answering the questions.</p>
<p>Practice tests are the key! Figure out why you are missing the questions you are. Do you simply need to study the material, or do you just need to alter your test-taking strategies? The answer to this question will point you in the right direction.</p>
<p>Read the questions before the passages, and skim for the information relating to the questions. Difficulty is not the enemy on the act, time is. The questions are easy enough to quickly find the answers, they’re trying to get you to waste time trying to read the whole passage.</p>
<p>To be honest the two easiest sections to improve on are English and math, but if reading is very low then there is a better chance it will improve by more points than the others. For English and Math, you just need to know your grammer rules and simply how to do math.
Don’t spend so long on questions. Go with your gut and move on. Especially on english and math.</p>
<p>Reading was always the easiest part for me on the ACT (I scored a 33 without studying). When I was giving my sister advice, I told her to quickly skim the reading for the general idea questions and go back to the passages for specific questions as they have the line number right there. Read at least a sentence before and a sentence after to make sure you understand. This is especially good for a slow reader as you never read the entire passage. </p>
<p>If you are also having trouble on the writing portion, there is a specific formula they look for. It’s intro, why your side is good, other side of the story, why your side is better, conclusion. I didn’t know this format the first time an got a 6, someone told me before I took it again and I raised my score to a 10. Good luck!</p>
<p>Oohh thanks for the writing advice. Yeah I got a 6 the first time, even though I was getting 8’s on the practice tests :(. After I took it I found that none of my schools require the writing portion so I don’t think I’ll retake it.</p>
<p>So, I should skim the questions first, read the passage very quick, answer the main idea questions, and then go back for the specific line references? Thanks.</p>