ACT Study Hints
by C Weeks
September 23, 2008
ACT Study Hints
Websites to Help Study:
Test Preparation
Don’t cram. Studying the last minute will only stress you out.
Prepare for the test early, set a study schedule.
Do several practice tests!!
Do a diagnostic to determine what of questions you are missing on practice tests.
Be realistic about scores: 21 is the Kansas average (56% correct on the test)
Put materials out early the night before the test.
Start early to the test site.
Take supplies: pencils, calculator, test entrance ticket and photo ID.
Test Taking Strategies
Relax
Track the time during the tests.
Answer every question, come back and answer a question if you skipped earlier.
Don’t spend too much time on tough questions.
Use the process of elimination on questions.
Watch for key words, not, except, etc.
Watch for answer fill-ins.
Do record your answers in test booklet.
English Strategies
75 questions
40 minutes
Skim the passage
Read thoroughly (3 minutes)
Underline Topic Sentences
Watch for transition words
Watch for redundancies
Shorter answer is usually better
In sequencing, check for first sentence
When searching for sentence errors, listen for it, usually the word or phrase that contains an error will sound wrong.
Review:
Word Choice:
it’s vs its
their vs there vs they’re
who vs whom
Agreement:
Subject/ verb, subject/pronoun, pronoun/ antecedent
Punctuation:
Comma –dependent clause, appositives, phrases, series
Colons, semicolon – conjunctions
Quotation marks – in dialogue, with periods, commas, ?, !
Parenthesis
Style and Tone - be consistent
Reading Strategies
40 questions
35 minutes
Read!!
Work on vocabulary
WATCH TIME - 8 minutes per passage.
Skim, Read, answer questions.
Focus on the big ideas in each passage, not on the small details
Look for connections among ideas in each passage.
Use context clues to determine word meaning.
Observe transition words.
Mark main ideas or connections with your pencil, take notes as you read.
Be careful of sentence sequencing.
Math Strategies
60 guest ions
60 minutes
You will be given reference information (formulas and facts) but you will need to know how to use them.
Word problems, check for key words.
Sample of things to know: plotting coordinates, ellipse graph, area of rectangle, decimal equivalent, diameter of circle, find x in a right triangle, average, mean, mode, probability, slope of a line, etc.
Follow directions
Mark up diagrams or sketching simple drawing when none are given to help to see the answers.
If you find yourself spending too much time doing figuring, then you probably overlooked a simple shortcut. Take a deep breath, continue on.
Check your answer against the question.
Work backwards on math questions if necessary.
If you are stuck, try substituting numbers for variables. Try plugging in numbers from the answer choices. Start with the middle number, and then choose one higher or lower.
Science Reasoning
40 questions
35 minutes
Skim, read, answer questions.
You don’t have to know science to answer the questions.
Answer question for the tables and graphs first.
Understand data representation: charts, diagrams, tables, maps and graphs.
Graphs: direct vs inverse relationships, linear relationships
Able to summarize research data.
Be able to interpret data to generalize and analysis conflicting viewpoints.
Sketch graphs if necessary.
Focus on what is being measured, relationships among variables, and trends in data.
Don’t be confused by irrelevant information or technical terminology.
Watch your time, if you are at the end of your time limit and you have not finished, it is better guessing the answers than to leave answers blank. Random choice is better than no answer at all. When time is running out, scan the rest of the questions, look for easy ones to answer and guess the rest.
Do NOT let the ACT score you get put a value on your worth.
