The ACT Test General Tips for Taking the ACT

Feel Confident! Know what to expect – and now you will! Think positively and focus on what you can do. Feeling stress? Focus on your breathing: inhale slowly and deeply, hold their breath for a count of two, and then exhale slowly. Clench your muscles, hold for a few seconds, then slowly allow them to relax. Illustration of muscles relaxed

Practice! Here at the ACT Study Sessions, we’ll be guiding you through all of these.. Taking practice tests. Simulating the actual testing environment --no breaks, snacks, music, phone calls, etc. and keeping track of timing yourself. Learning the directions for each section. Knowing the types of questions that will be asked. At home… Take practice tests in the other subject areas to become familiar with them.

Have a Strategy for Guessing… Answer every question. Your score is based on the number of questions you answer correctly. There is no penalty for guessing. Easy questions are usually first, hard ones after. Answer the easy ones first. Skip hard questions you’re spending too much time on. Mark them in your exam booklet to quickly return to them later. On difficult questions, eliminate as many incorrect answers as you can, then make an educated guess among those remaining.

Before the Test Get plenty of rest the night before so sleepiness doesn’t affect you while you’re testing. Set your alarm early – if you are late, you cannot be admitted into the test. Plan to dress comfortably and in layers to adapt to the temperature of the room. NOT well-rested on testing day

Before the Test Pack up the following items to bring: Your student ID card or driver’s license Sharpened no. 2 pencils with erasers A watch to pace yourself with. A permitted calculator for the Math test if you wish to use one. Check your batteries. (Calculators may not be shared.) Do not bring scrap paper, notes, highlighters, pens, mechanical pencils, iPod, cell phone, or any form of electronic device -- they are not allowed into the testing room. test proctors will want to play!

When Testing Read each question carefully – there’s lots of trick questions. When asked for the “best” answer – consider ALL the answer choices for the best one. The Math test asks for the “correct” answer. Once you work out the problem, yet don’t see your answer is not among the choices, reread the question and consider all of the answer choices. Keep checking the answer sheet that you are placing your answer in the correct ovals.

When Testing You can WRITE in the test book! Use it to… Cross out wrong answers. Do scratch work. Mark questions that you skip so you can easily come back to them later if time allows. Mark your answers neatly. Erase cleanly without smudging.

When Answering Questions Answer the questions you feel you know the answers to first, then go back to those that will take additional time. Don’t feel like you have to go in order. questions usually come first. Answer those first. Mark questions you skip in your test booklet to identify them quickly if you have time to go back to them.

Answer every question. Your scores are based on the number of questions you answer correctly. There is no penalty for guessing. For difficult questions, eliminate as many incorrect answers as you can… Compare the answer choices to each other and note how they differ. This may provide clues as to what the question requires. Eliminate the incorrect answers that are put there to mislead you. When in doubt, make an educated guess among those answers remaining. When Answering Questions

Watching Your Time Keep track of how much time remains. Don't spend too much time on any one question. Spend only seconds on the easiest questions, and try not to spend more than 1-2 minutes on even the hardest ones. When the proctor announces there is 5 minutes remaining, what if you still have 10 problems left? Don’t leave any unanswered, even if you have to guess. If you finish a test before time is up, go back and check your work. Make sure there is only one oval filled in for each question number.