<p>No matter how many times I practice for and take the ACT, I always seem to run out of time. The only part of it that I have enough time to answer all the questions for is English. What is the best way to tackle each of the individual areas of the ACT? Any general advice for the whole test?
Which is the better strategy:
1. Answer the questions in order. If you come across one that is difficult, fill in what seems like the best answer to you, circle it, and move on. If you have time at the end of the test, return to the circled questions and spend more time to get them right.
2. Answer the questions in order. If you come across one that is difficult, circle it, skip it altogether, and return to answer it if you have extra time at the end of the test.</p>
<p>Also, what is the best watch to wear to the ACT (other than the "official" $45 watch)?</p>
<p>Just save the hardest questions for last. Once you finish, assuming you went at a good pace, you’ll be able to go back and find the correct answer or figure them out. This works, whether it’s Math, Reading, and Science. Youll still remember the general idea of each passage even if you continue on to the next one</p>
<p>For math, if you already know the concepts, then you have to work on your speed and then, you’d be good.</p>
<p>For the reading, I wouldn’t advise you to just circle and leave it. You should probably guess, and then, circle it and move on. If at the end of the forty questions you still have time left, then you can skim sections of the passage, find the correct answer and then reshade. Also, you should practice pacing yourself before you actually write the exam. Try using seven - eight minutes for each passage.</p>
<p>For the science section, some people on cc generally advise that you avoid reading the preamble: just go straight to the questions. The questions will direct you to which sections of the charts to look at and will save you time. I usually skim the preamble and then go straight to the questions. Then, I figure out the charts and graphs as I move from question to question. However, you definitely SHOULD read the conflicting views passage; it is the only way you can answer the questions really.</p>
<p>Say you’re working through the math test and you run into number 44. You have trouble with it, and don’t really know where to start. Well, instead of wasting several minutes getting the answer, skip it, finish 45-60 and go back to 44. It’s better to miss 1 hard question than 5 easy ones due to running out of time/careless errors due to time constraint. I speak from experience; my math score went down on one test because I spent a lot of time on two questions and missed 3 really easy ones near the end.</p>
<p>On Reading, if you can’t find the answer in the passage relatively quickly, just skip it and answer the rest. Do the rest of the passages and go back. If you’re running out of time, be sure to just fill it in anyways. This is a bigger problem w/ the recall questions rather than the inferential ones.</p>
<p>Many prep advisors will say focus on only 3 passages and guess on one , but I disagree. I think you should attempt all 40 questions and read all 4 passages, as you’ll still probably get more right. They are working off the incorrect assumption you’ll get the first 30 correct, which is not guaranteed.</p>
<p>@FIELDIN any watch that has a timer and won’t go off during the test should be fine. If it makes a beep when you turn the timer on then push it into your clothing to suppress the noise.</p>