Studying for the ACT can often be as difficult or even more challenging than the actual test. Getting personal test prep tutoring or taking college prep programs often help, but ultimately your success hinges on your personal study habits.
If you’d like to do well, use these studying tips for exams as your review the test’s college prep curriculum.
English.
As you do test prep review for the English part of the ACT, practice looking for the four most common types of grammatical errors — vebr-subject agreement, pronoun usage, syntax, and awkward phrasing. If you’re a native English speaker, the error should become apparent, so trust your gut.
Math.
Focus on learning and understanding the various mathematical formulas as as you’re doing test prep review for the math multiple choice part. You’ll be given reference information, but if you don’t know how to use them, they’ll be no good to you.
Science Reasoning.
Practice using the same three-stage method for each science reasoning passage as you do your test prep review. Be sure to preview, read, and review every passage. Don’t let irrelevant information or jargon confuse you.
Writing.
Doing test prep review for the writing section can be a bit tricky, but practicing for this optional part can help a lot. Practice organizing your ideas into a standard five paragraph format. Use the first paragraph to flesh out the issue, and end with your thesis statement — the declaration which you’ll try to prove for the rest of the essay. Then use the next two paragraphs defending your point. The fourth paragraph should be the “idiot” paragraph, which explains the other side of the issue, and defends your point. The last paragraph — the conclusion — should wrap it all up and reiterate your idea.
Test prep review doesn’t have to be a difficult process. Spend some time each night leading up to the ACT practicing these points, and you’ll be fine. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments. Check out this site for more.