<p>Alright, so I am taking the ACT for the first time this weekend and I have been studying out of the PR book. I've been getting subscores ranging from 33-36...are these practice tests accurate in level of difficulty, scoring, etc?
Also, my science score fluctuates, so I was wondering if you guys read the passages first and then answered the questions, or did the reverse? Some people have been saying that they read the questions first, but I think that it's just more confusing and hasty, isn't it? I just feel very pressed for time in this particular section and do noticeably worse when I'm nervous and freaking out about the time. Any advice? Thanks!</p>
<p>Well no it isn’t more confusing when you read the question first, that’s just from personal experience. It actually speeds you up so when you are reading the passage you know what to look for, also the answer pops out at you. </p>
<p>This is my first time taking the ACT this saturday. I’ve been studying this book I have which is the The Real ACT Prep Guide by Petterson’s. What things should I really be worried about, I pretty much have english and reading in the bag but what about science and math?</p>
<p>for me it strangly depends on the section of the science test its in. I read the conflicting viewpoints one then answer the questions, and then for the rest of them I very quickly glance over the graphs and then go to the questions. It doesnt leave you with much time so be sure to monitor yourself. I give myself 4 minutes for the 5 question sections, 5 minutes for the 6 question one and then 6 minutes for the conflicting viewpoints one, but that only leaves me with about 2 minutes to check my answers and you should come up with your own strategy</p>
<p>NEVER read questions. In my opinion you are much too flustered to remember what the questions are. Read the passages, make sure you understood everything, then answer questions.</p>
<p>Whenever you hit 5 minutes left, just keep your head down, do not look at the clock, and work your ass off. 5 minutes are a lot slower than you think.</p>
<p>I do neither of those actually. For the conflicting viewpoints passage, I read through the passage before answering questions. When dealing with experiments/graphs questions, I answer each question since most of the questions refer to a certain graph or what not. If reading is necessary, then I try and quickly find the answers within the text.</p>
<p>It works for me, at least.</p>
<p>First, I don’t remember what book I used, but my practice test result and my actual test result were identical (my scores varied by section, but the overall was the same).</p>
<p>For science, I recommend reading the question first, noting what it wants, and then referring to the correct table, chart, or passage to get the data you need. For the conflicting viewpoints passage, it seems necessary to read the passages first, but for the other sections I often didn’t read them at all. The science section is 7 sections in 35 minutes (IIRC), giving you five minutes per section. That is not enough time to read through everything before you go to the questions. I think this approach works (at least it does for me – 36).</p>