ACT Tips that WILL Improve Your Score
- Caroline S
- Feb 21, 2019
- 8 min read
Cutting to the chase, since the free ACT is coming up for most Kansas students, I want to share the tips with you all that brought my ACT total score up 5 points! This can be for anyone of course, but I hope that this will regardless improve your confidence in the ACT and even your overall score. Read which section you want or need, or read them all. Scholarship money here you come!
English 45 minutes for 75 questions -36 seconds per question -Usually easiest to hardest, go front to back
-Know your basic grammar rules like subject/verb agreement, who/whom, when to use a comma
-The overall strategy for English: is it clear, is it concise, and is it consistent with the rest of the passage
-Prepfactory is a great resource to practice grammar
-Read only around where questions are. If there is a paragraph without a question, don't waste time reading it
-Read a few lines above and below a question to make sure you don't miss important punctuation or words
-On past ACT tests, "omit portion" is almost always right and "no change" is valid about 15 times per test Math 60 minutes for 60 questions -Usually easiest to hardest, go front to back -I try to keep my first 30–40 questions faster than a minute so I have more time for the harder ones at the end -Study your weakest math subjects. You don’t need to waste time studying on things you already feel confident and good about. For me, I’m spending time on geometry equations and rules since I took that 3 years ago. Geogebra has review for all types of math subjects from Stats to Probability to Functions.
-Always draw pictures and figures with labels on geometry problems or any type of problem that implies one is needed.
-Before jumping in to solve a problem, give yourself 10 seconds to look for shortcuts or assumptions you can make; there is almost always a quicker way to do the problem based on the information you are given.
-Use your calculator as a time saver, not time sucker. If you can find intercepts, know basic addition and multiplication, add matrices, or find zeros of polynomials, trust your own math instead of using valuable time to punch it into your calc
-Know which equations such as the quadratic formula or distance formula or areas/volumes of shapes that need to be memorized
-Know trig (sin/cos/tan), special triangles (30-60-90 and 45-45-90), and Pythagorean triples (2, 4, 5 and 5, 12, 13) shortcuts to save time Reading 35 minutes for 40 Questions -8 minutes per each of the 4 passages (10 questions per passage) with 3 minutes left over for the passage that’s the hardest or questions that are the hardest OR 52 seconds per question. -Do NOT go in order. Go by what passage type is your best to what passage type is your worst. I go humanities, social science, science, prose fiction.
-Take a deep breath before each passage to refocus your mind on the new subject matter.
-Business Read passages for 2-3 minutes (so you know where to refer back to for questions), underline key words, and spend the rest of the time hunting for answers to the questions. Questions are when you go deeper into the material.
-Always find textual evidence for your answers, this way you know you cannot be wrong. The ACT reading section is an open book test so all of your answers are in the text.
-Save summary/main idea questions in each passage for the end of the passage. For example, answer all the fact, author's POV, inference, and vocab in context questions, then answer main idea questions last. After you answer all the other questions, you will have a better idea about the main point of the passage so those questions are best saved for last.
-Read the intro and title of the passage to know what to expect Science
35 minutes for 40 questions.
-7 passages with varying amounts of questions. 5 minutes per passage OR 52 seconds per question -Always read the introduction. At least 1 answer will come from it during the test, and you will know what to expect
-Think like a scientist by using reason and the scientific method to understand the purpose of the experiment -Business read the data (like the reading strategy). That means glance over data in around 15-30 seconds to get the gist of where to find info when you answer questions. Questions are where you go deeper and dig, but if you business read the data, you’ll know where to go back to when you read questions. It also won’t waste your time trying to read and understand everything you’re given because you may not have to understand a really complex part of the data if there is no question on it. -Do NOT go in order. Either choose your strongest subject or strongest passage type. I go by chemistry, then biology, then earth/space, then physics. Because chemistry is my best, I can blow through those passages and then have extra time at the end for my worst subject physics. If that doesn’t seem to work for you, try to go by passage type. There is research summary, conflicting viewpoints, and experimental design. I find research summaries to be the easiest and conflicting viewpoints the hardest (for those, take short notes like 2-3 words to distinguish between each scientists POV), so I would do research summaries first. -In order to do that strategy ^ skim through all the given passages for 15 seconds to decide where to start
-You will be tired on this section. You must will yourself to stay focused for 35 more minutes, and then you will be done. Don't let yourself get sidetracked.
Overall Strategy:
-Answer and bubble all questions. There is no penalty for wrong answers
-If you are not sure on a question, eliminate the wrong choices and pick from those. If you really have no idea, choose a letter and always guess that same letter on all the questions you are uncertain about
-On reading especially, predict answers before reading answer choices. The ACT makes it where all answer choices confuse you and relatively seem right, but you can eliminate confusion if you come up with your own answer and then find a choice similar (**NOTE** This strategy takes quite a bit of practice to master for timing)
-Go with your gut. If you put an answer down that you second guess, process why you might be second guessing it, then go with what your gut tells you to do about it. People will either second guess their answer and change it, then get it wrong, or second guess their answer and leave what they had, then get it wrong. Know which type of person you are and distinguish between your gut instinct. It is really important in eliminating little errors
-PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. Timing is pretty much everything on the ACT and the only way to improve it is through practice tests. Online you can find many free and printable practice test from various websites. If you do not have time for a full length practice test, practice in chunks. For example, I have the most trouble with the last 20 math problems, so I set a timer for 20 minutes and do that. Also, I have trouble with prose fiction passages, so I set a timer for 8 minutes and do that one reading passage. Practicing is the key to confidence and knowing what to expect.
-Sit in silence with a one minute timer to feel how long a minute truly is. This will eliminate a lot of test anxiety that comes from worries about time. It gave me peace to think "Wow, I get a whole 5 of these for 1 science passage... That is plenty of time!"
-Believe in yourself. I know this sounds cheesy, but not a single person accidentally does really well on timed tests. They keep a level head, know they can do it, and try their best. You have all the tools (a brain, hands to write, eyes to see) to conquer it; it is really that simple.
-Get all the points you KNOW you can get. Since the ACT scores based upon how many questions you get right, you want to make sure you can get all the points you know you can get. Don't waste time on a question you will never get when you could be doing 5 others you know you could.
-If some part is not jiving with you, don't let it get in your head space or slow you down! Guess, move on, and come back to it. Just make sure you save time to come back.
-Bubble at the END of a page or passage. You will save a lot of time by not bubbling after each question. Just make sure you are very careful that the number and bubble you fill in are correct because you do not want to miss points for incorrect bubbling.
Outside of the Material
-Hydrate leading up to the test. Your body needs fluids to function properly, and it will improve your thinking speed. This way you also don't have to drink a lot of water before the test to be hydrated and don't have to worry about needing to use the bathroom before the actual break.
-Get a good nights sleep (try doing this a week before your test to get on a good sleep schedule). Meditate or stretch or do deep breathing to calm your mind. Put your screen away and read something. Review your overall strategies for each section in your head. Tell yourself "I CAN do this. I will do the best I can, and that is enough." Then close your eyes and rest.
-Have a good dinner the night before (not too late to avoid having weird dreams or heartburn that may interfere with a good sleep) and a good breakfast. I eat something in the morning that I will look forward to so I will get out of bed easier. For me, that is protein Kodak pancakes, eggs, and fruit. I also take coffee with me to help my brain wake up.
-Pack food and water and caffeine for the break. The ACT is exhausting! You need to recharge your batteries after 105 minutes of straight testing before that. Pack your favorite snacks to put you in a good mood, a caffeine boost (for me that is coffee but it could be soda or tea for you), and some water to rinse it down. Don't drink too much though or you will have to go to the bathroom!
-Take a deep breath before you begin a session and after you end a session. It will help get your mind cleared and ready to go, and it only takes a few seconds.
-Wake up in time to have plenty of extra time built in. The last thing you want is to be stressed or rushed and have that effect your testing.
-Pack essential oil. I can't stress this enough! This has calmed me so much to have relaxing but energizing scent to breath in. For the essential oil I use and more stress relief techniques, view this blog post.
-Wear the colors white or yellow or purple in your shirt. These colors are the best head clearers, energizers, mood/confidence boosters, and neutral emotion bringing colors you can possibly wear. I took 2 practice tests in the same week and wore blue for one and yellow for the other. The yellow one was 2 points higher! I am not saying there were not other factors, but it doesn't hurt to try anything you can. Also, science backs color psychology.
-Along the same lines, wear comfortable clothes. I always bring a sweatshirt (in case it is cold) with my t-shirt and wear leggings and tennis shoes. If you were really worried about room temperature, wear shorts under sweatpants and a sweatshirt over a t-shirt so you have lots of options.
-Girls, wear a level of makeup that makes you feel confident but won't be uncomfortable or time consuming in your morning. I also like to put my hair in a bun so it stays out of the way.
-Do you what you need to do to feel happy, ready to conquer the test, and energized. For me, that is listening to music, caffeine, essential oil, and deep breathing.
Good luck! All of you will do great! I believe in you and you should too. I appreciate you taking the time to read this post, and I really hope it will help you like it helped me. Let me know how these tips helped you or if you think there is something I am missing.
Sending good vibes only,
Caroline
Comentários