<p>Hi! I've taken the Act about 3 times. The 1st real Act I took was in December of 2013. I got a composite score of 15. I kinda didn't study much for the December Act. I then decided to buy a prep book for the Act; I didn't know which one to buy, so I bought 'CliffsNotes Act Prep Book'. In my opinion this is the worse prep book ever. The questions in the book are so confusing and hard to understand. The way the book explains the answer is eh not so great. It explains you the hard and long way of solving problems. Not so great to use on the Act. So I decided not to use the 'CliffsNotes Act Prep book'. The day of the March Act test came. I got a composite score of 17 (What I got before on my Act practice test sophomore year).</p>
<p>Reading;14
Social Studies/Sciences-06
Arts/Literature-08</p>
<p>Science;19</p>
<p>Then I decided, Hey why not take it again in June. I studied really hard using the 'CliffsNotes Prep book' and I got a composite score of 17 again. :(</p>
<p>Reading;16
Social Studies/Sciences-07
Arts/Literature-09</p>
<p>Science;20</p>
<p>-Reading is what mostly hits me hard on the Act. I hate reading! I don't know how to rush through the passage and answer all the questions correctly. What I usually do is read the passage and write down notes to the side. Once I get to the question, its so confusing and I already wasted a bunch of time.. Any tips/advice on how to do great on the reading section? (:</p>
<p>-I'm struggling really hard to get my score up on the Act. I really want a composite score of 26+.I'm not a dumb person at all, I have a Gpa of 3.9 at the moment. So I don't understand how I can't get a good score on the Act... I decided to retake the Act in October of 2014 and its my last shot to get a high score on the Act before I have to send in my college application. I'm trying not to give up, but the struggle is real here...
So what are the best Act Prep book out there that I can use to help me study, what's a different way to study, and what are some section you recommend me to study more?
Thanks in advance!
- Jazzy </p>
<p>Can I be brutally honest with you? I don’t think doing ACT prep at the moment will not help you improve your score. Maybe a bit, but not from 17 to 26+</p>
<p>I think the fundamental problem lies in your fundamental skills such as English grammar, reading, math, and analytical skills. Do you read often? If so, what kind of books? How about math? If you have 3.9 GPA, you can definitely get about 30 questions out of the 60 questions. </p>
<p>Do a simulation practice test and see if it improved at all from 17. </p>
<p>@viphan Oh okay… I’m not a reading type of person. The only thing that I kinda read from time to time is magazines . I do a couple math problems from the ‘CliffsNotes Act Prep book’ but I mean its not really as helpful because of the horrible explanation.</p>
<p>You definitely need to read just more than magazines. If anything, start with fiction novels if you can’t get into classics. Start with something like Divergent etc. </p>
<p>Reading is my son’s downfall too. I know that’s why he cant break into the 30’s on the ACT. He reads only whats required of him and next semester is going to kill him with AP English 12… If you arent a reader you will suffer throughout school. I mean you can make it through, but it wont be easy. And 2 weeks isnt enough time to really get that score up into the area you need for a decent scholarship - I am so sorry!!! I wish you could, but even for a small scholarship you would have to raise it 10 points. My son has a 27 and only was offered $5000 to Bama a year. $1500 of that is because he is going into Engineering. I wish I had pushed reading more when he was younger. Its crucial!</p>
<p>But I will say that taking practice tests weekly is a great way to study and get the timing down. You could certainly raise your score that way. Probably not by 9+ points, but hey its worth a shot! </p>
<p>My top for the reading ACT is read the first paragraph in its entirety. Then, read the first and last sentences in the body paragraph; skim what is in the middle of the body paragraphs. The conclusion paragraph read in its entirety, as well. I went from an eighteen to a thirty in this section. Hope that helps:)</p>
<p>You might want to go through the “ACT Prep Guide” (published by the ACT). It has practice ACTs that were used in the actual tests. The explanations are pretty easy to follow and understand.</p>
<p>I also recommend the “ACT English, Reading, and Writing Workbook” (published by Kaplan). There are several practice sets for the reading section.</p>
<p>Also, if you are aiming for a 19 or 20, you should take a practice test using this method*:
Focus on three of the reading passages you are comfortable with. It seems like you do better on the arts/literature section, so you might want to choose Prose Fiction & Humanities & Social Science or Prose Fiction & Humanities & Natural Science. Spend most of the 35 minutes on the three passages, and skip the other passage. Make sure to fill in the answers for the one you skip, though. That way, you will be able to spend more time on the passages you will most likely get higher scores on. </p>
<p>Another method*:
Focus on two of the reading passages you are comfortable with. Example: Prose Fiction & Humanities. Spend around 15 minutes on each. For the remaining 5 minutes, look through the other passages and find questions that are easier to answer (fact-based questions). Fill in the answers for all the other questions you haven’t answered.</p>
<p>*The methods I mentioned above are risky, because with these methods, it is close to impossible to get a scale score higher than a 21. If you experiment with them on a practice test and your score becomes lower, just go back to your original method/strategy. </p>