Hello everyone. After first taking the SAT, I decided I wanted to take the ACT because some of my friends who weren’t the brightest were able to get good scores. So I took the test in June and got a 29 (E: 29, M: 31, R, 27, S: 28) with very little preparation. I did an online course that my school provides for free and kind of went through it very quickly. I also ordered the ACT Red Book and completed the first couple of tests and only started doing real tests the week of the exam. I would like to know which books to get to help me improve on Reading and Science. I plan on purchasing the ACT 36 Barron’s book to help improve my English and Math score, but I have no idea what to purchase for Reading and Science. I will be taking real practice tests that have been released every other day until the exam date. I am hoping to get a 32-33 although I would be content with a 31. Thanks.
For reading and science, the best way to score higher is practice! Just have a good strategy on how to get through the passages as quickly and efficiently as possible. Then, you just gotta practice, practice, practice.
@idkwhatIwanttobe Okay thanks. My friend never bought any books and just did a bunch of prac tests, he said 2 a day for 2 weeks and he got a 34. I will be completing the ACT 36 book and then prac tests in the red book and real act tests for the rest of the month.
Yeah, Science and Reading aren’t about content as much as they are about pacing. Practice is good. Try reading college level non-fiction articles at a rapid pace. That’s something that has helped me increase my aptitude on that portion. I’ve also heard to use your fingers to keep your place as you are jumping back and forth from the reading to the question.
@TumCubed Okay, I have to read summer reading books for AP classes so hopefully they will help.
Here is a good article I found. It lays out a few things that most people wouldn’t bother trying, but really would be beneficial. If you don’t want to read the whole thing (understandable) scroll down to the section header “Strategy 1: Understand Your High Level Weakness: Time Management, Passage Strategy, or Vocabulary”
and read through the 10 strategies they layout. Even if you only made a good effort on 2 or 3 of these, you will see an improvement.
http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-36-on-act-reading-11-strategies-from-a-perfect-scorer
My daughter got a 29 when she took the test February of her junior year. She really did nothing other than do the tests in a practice book before retaking it in September. She got a 31. If she would have had just one more point in any section she could have rounded up to a 32. Her best friend also went up from a 29 to a 31 and she didn’t much either between the tests. In fact every friend who took it a second time went up at least a couple points from the first, so I do think just being more familiar with the format of the test is beneficial.