<p>Per Request, my ACT Story:</p>
<p>I started studying for the ACT my freshman year. My first practice test was taken out of ACT for Dummies and I got a 29 C(26 E, 32 M, 33 R, 25 S) before any studying. Throughout my freshman year I took probably a total of 3 practice ACTs, while occasionally glancing through the review sections (mainly to become more familiar with the test). My sophomore year, I enrolled in an ACT class through my school with Radiant Learning. It was somewhat helpful, but the majority of the prep was getting kids from 16-18 to 20-24. In the class we took 3-4 practice tests, and most of my scores seemed to be stuck around 30-31. I decided to buckle down and really study. I bought the Real ACT Book, ACT 36, and the Princeton Review 1,296 Practice Questions Book. There are three main parts to improving your score:take lots of practice tests, practice your weak areas, and really try to grasp why you miss what you are missing, which in my opinion is the most important part. It helps to work through a practice test untimed throught the week, then take a timed test every Saturday, to get in the routine. Understanding your mistakes is extremely important. After working through this process for 2 months or so, I decided to take the April 2011 ACT No Writing (Spring of my sophomore year). I got a 33 (34 E, 34 M, 29 R, 36S). The jump in my science score really shocked me, but after doing several practices, you realize that the answers seem to just jump out at you. Getting a good understanding of the test and what ACT is asking for as well as what the correct answers are is extremely helpful. I knew I would have to take it again for the writing portion, but I was content with my 33. I decided to continue studying anyway, just to see if I could improve, as I felt my reading score was especially low. I focused on reading speed, as well as avoiding simple mistakes in the Math and English sections, which is very tough to do. I took several Reading-only practices, and when I took full practice tests, the questions I missed in Math from a stupid mistake I burned in my memory to not make the same mistake again! After working through more practices, it just got easier. I was used to the questions they ask, and the types of answers they try to trick you with. Time management was second nature, and since I had my 33, I wasn’t worried about having to get a better score. I just took the December ACT plus Writing and got a 36 (36 E, 36 M, 34 R, 36S, 10W, 34E/W). A 7-point increase from my freshman year to junior year is nice, especially when starting with a 29. </p>
<p>Here are some general tips off the top of my head:</p>
<p>English: As far as the grammar goes, learn your rules, then if it sounds right, it probably is. ACT loves to give redundant, repetetive answer choices that honestly make me laugh during the test. Omit is often correct, as is the shortest answer. If you see lots of tenses, check for consistency within the paragraph. When ordering sentences/paragraphs, look for references to previous information. Sentences referring to the subject with a pronoun generally don’t come first.</p>
<p>Most importantly, try to identify what the english question is testing. Comma usage, verb tense, misplaced modifiers, etc. It becomes so much easier!</p>
<p>Math: Practice, Practice, Practice! Know formulas and shortcuts that may help you. You definitely want to invest in a graphing calculator and learn to use it! If you have no idea how to solve 2x^2+6x+2=0, graph it and tell your calculator to give you the roots. The answers just appear! Backsolving is a wonderful technique, and a graphing calc. makes it even better. If you are given a very complex equation, just enter it in a table, and enter the answers to see which one matches. There aren’t too many tricks to the math section, but a graphing calculator is definitely one of them!</p>
<p>If you see a problem with I, II, and III, save it to the end (they are generally found in 50-60 anyway). Before looking at answer choices, attempt to disprove the 3 statements. If you can disprove 1, cross out the answer choices with that number. If it goes your way, you may be left with only the correct answer!</p>
<p>Reading: I can’t give much advice here, as reading is my worst section. What helped me the most was to pretend that the passage is super interesting and you are really enjoying reading it. I know it sounds dumb, but give it a try! It works for me! There is no set tricks for the reading for everyone. I’m the type of person that has to know what I’m doing. If I try to skim, I constantly worry about whether I’m reading too little or too much. What should I remember? So instead I just read the passage, then answer the questions. The more you can “stand back” and look at a question the easier it is to answer. Watch out for vocabulary. You should know that if they are asking what a very simple word means, then they do not want the definition you learned in kindergarten.</p>
<p>Science: Don’t freak out, don’t give up, don’t be tired and not try, etc. Push through the last section. As in reading, all the answers are right in front of you, but even more clearly than reading. Try to find the science passages and experiments interesting. Although the science tests do not test science knowledge directly, it is helpful to have taken Bio I, Chem I, and Physics. The terms you will be familiar with (generally), and many times the passages are closely related to what you are currently studying in science. Time management is hard in science, but I do the passages in order. I think it is easier to not have to flip around and count the questions in each passage. The question usually tells you exactly where to look for the answer, and many times it is just a trend that you need to read. Practice reading and interpreting the charts, graphs, and tables when you are working through a practice ACT untimed.</p>
<p>Writing: Use transitions, Provide clear, detailed examples, Write a lot, identify a counterargument, and use some nice vocabulary </p>
<p>I got a 10 on writing, because I used 5-6 transitions, provided a very clear and very false personal example, BS’ed my way through almost 3 pages of nonsense, and used 3 vocabulary words from my english class. I even forgot to identify a counterargument and still ended up with a 10. I don’t agree with this, but I think that there is a high correlation to how much you write and how high your score is. It is just a normal human bias.</p>
<p>General: Cross out wrong answers! When you see a wrong answer choice, cross it out, it will make you feel better, and the problem will be less overwhelming than if you just mentally eliminate the choices.</p>
<p>Relax. Stress and worry will only hurt your score, so just tell yourself you know the test very well, and you will do well!</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone taking the February test, and I hope this helps you!</p>
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