ACT Strategies (Hint: This isn’t one of them)

3 Steps to Improving your ACT Score: Review basic skills (and then review some more). Practice full length tests. Learn general test taking strategies.

Know the Instructions for Each Test You need every second you can get. Most people waste an average of 35 seconds reading the instructions of each test. Read the instructions before taking your practice tests so you’ll have them memorized for the actual test.

Use your Test Booklet as Scratch Paper Your test booklet doesn’t need to look “pretty.” The Math test will give you some space for working out problems. You should write down all your work in case you need to return to any of these problems. Making margin notes on the side of the Reading and Science Reasoning passages is a good idea.

Answer the Easy Questions First Wouldn’t it be great if all the questions on the ACT were arranged in order of difficulty? Sadly, the ACT isn’t organized that way. Every question on the ACT is worth the same amount of points. There’s no point in slaving away over a difficult question if it requires several minutes of your time. Don’t get bogged down by a hard question; if you have spent a significant amount of time on any one question (approx. 1 ½ minutes) and are not even close to finishing it, LET IT GO! (See Triage slide)

Triage The medical term used by emergency room doctors when they have several emergencies at the same time. Divide your patients into three groups: those who will die regardless of intervention, those who require immediate attention, and those who can afford to wait a little while. That ridiculously tough algebra question that is giving you trouble? Forget it if needed. But this problem involving basic arithmetic? Do it first. Why stick with a question that’s really giving you problems when there are easier questions you can answer?

How to Use Triage: the Two Passes The Princeton Review recommends doing each section of the test in two passes. During the first pass, the object is to answer every question you can answer easily. Circle every question you cannot answer. On the second pass, you won’t be starting from scratch. You’ll already have read the question once. Perhaps you’ve made some notes in the margins or reading it again will help you answer the question. Deciding whether to answer a question now, later, or never is a crucial part of improving your score.

Process of Elimination One of the answers must be right. The more wrong answers you can identify, the more you’ll get right. Incorrect answer choices are often easier to spot than correct ones. If you find a wrong answer, eliminate it. While you will rarely be able to eliminate all of the incorrect answer choices, if you can eliminate one or two, your odds of guessing correctly get better.

Be Careful Bubbling Your Answers You know the scenario: you get all the right answers, but somehow have filled in all the wrong bubbles. One suggestion is to try bubbling in groups. Circle the answers in your test booklet, and then transfer them on to the answer sheet in groups of 5 or 10.

Answer EVERY Question There is no penalty for wrong answers. When the 5 minute warning is called, look over your answer sheet and make sure EVERY BUBBLE IS FILLED. Guessing is okay, but there’s guessing and there’s guessing . . .

The Letter of the Day Which do you think makes more sense? Guessing the same letter every time or switching around? You will pick up more points consistently if you always guess the same letter. It doesn’t matter which letter you choose, just be consistent.

Get a watch! At the beginning of the test, set the watch -to high noon if you use analog watch. A digital watch is better BUT…… DO NOT get a watch that makes noise (no beeps, buzzes, or tones) PRACTICE with the watch at home

Some Rules for the English Test Try to think of the correct answer before you look at the choices 1:5 questions is NO CHANGE Always read the “OMIT the underlined portion” option first, omitting the part that is underlined. If it’s correct and makes sense, select this option and move on! LESS IS BEST! Knowing the four rules of commas and the semicolon/period rule will get you an easy 5-8 points!

The Stuff You Already Know… Make sure you have the right calculator and, if you want, get it pre-programmed way before the test. Get a good night’s sleep the night before the test. Don’t stay up late cramming; it’s too late. Eat breakfast the morning of the test. Bring a snack with you to the test. You’ll definitely be hungry between tests. Wear your comfy pants. This is not a day to worry about looking hot.