<p>Hey everyone! I'd really appreciate some tips on the science section of the ACT. I am retaking the ACT in September (and maybe in October if need be) and I can't get my science sections. It seems no matter what I do I run out of time and my score suffers. I do well on the other sections. On practice tests I have been consistently getting 35-36 English, 31-33 reading, 33-35 math. Yet, on science I got a 28 on the actual test and on practice tests I'm getting close to a 26-27. I REALLY want at least a 30 on science.</p>
<p>most likely you are running out of time because you are spending too much time reading…
I advise you to simply skip to the questions and then look in the passages to find the answer</p>
<p>Yeah, it’s kind of hard with the time limit on this section. I also score in the 30s on the other sections but the 20s on science. Just try not to spend too much time reading, it’s more like scanning for key words.</p>
<p>Thanks… it’s difficult though because on some passages I understand what is going on immediately and there is no need to skim or anything and I save time, but when I skip to the questions on other passages sometimes I won’t get the concept so easily and I’ll waste more time by attempting questions and than reading the passage than I would if I just read the passage in the first place. I think it takes me too long to discern how I want to approach each section.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t even try to understand what’s going on. I quickly just look at what the numbers are in each question and what type of thing each number represents and find those on charts. Then I look at what it’s asking about those numbers and mark whatever the chart indicates. I approached it as if it were simply a test of my ability to quickly locate data on charts. The only section where I put any significant time or effort into reading and understanding what was going on was the one with two hypotheses.</p>
<p>I’ve only taken one practice ACT so take my opinion for what it’s worth, but I aced the science section with a couple minutes to spare so it works for me (so far). Maybe some of the tests require more interpretation, I wouldn’t know.</p>
<p>Some questions don’t ask about information that can be seen just by looking at the charts. Some of them have to be extracted and interpreted from deep within the paragraph, and those are what eat up all of the precious time.</p>
<p>I see. I assume the very harsh grading curve on the first science test in the Red Book was due to its lack of such problems. (For example, a raw score of 36/40 translates to a score of 29/36)</p>
<p>I usually get in the 30s for science. What I do is basically not read the extra information since ACT just wants you to waste time with it. Usually, you can get away with just looking at the question and going right to the chart it’s talking about. If you can’t understand the chart, that is the whole reason for the Science Reasoning part. You ARE supposed to be able to understand, so if you can’t then your grade will suffer. I guess the best thing to do is practice and try different strategies. Good Luck! I am taking the ACT for my 3rd and final time in September.</p>