The way colleges look at ACT scores can be confusing - there is no set method

Some colleges only look at the latest test score while others look at all the tests taken to average out the score

Some colleges look at Superscores – the highest score achieved on each test’s subsections.

Knowing which system the colleges you are applying to use is important.

Also Read: What Is ACT?

The number of students who lose marks because they did not read the questions fully is large.

Ensure that you fully understand a question before you attempt to answer it.

ACT looks for clear concise answers in all subjects and especially in English.

 

The “No Change” Answer in English is much trickier than students realize.

When asked to choose the answer that makes a sentence grammatically correct, using the “No Change” option when uncertain of the answer is dangerous.

The “No Changes” answer is right in about 25 to 30% of the questions, so using it when unsure is a big risk.

Also Read: 5 Key Differences Between ACT And SAT

The ACT Reading Section structure does not change – the 4 topic areas are always in the same sequence.

The order is Prose fiction/social narrative; Social science; Humanities; Natural Science.

Start with the topics you are most comfortable with. This will allow you to give your best answers first.

 

Students are usually under time pressure with the ACT Reading Section so do not feel you are the only one.

If during your practice you find that reading passages at your normal speed does not leave you enough time to finish the section, you will have to read faster.

This can lead to making mistakes, but the possibilities of errors can be reduced by paying special attention to the first and last paragraphs and skimming through the rest of the rest. This is not ideal, but often there may be no choice.

Also Read: Which Is Harder ACT Or SAT?

The ACT Science Section can appear to be overwhelming and full of unknown terms and facts.

If you find yourself confused by what you read, try to focus on the graphs – they often give you all that you need to be able to answer.

The written information is often there to make straightforward questions appear more difficult than they are.

 

Skip questions, in any section, that take too much time. Generally, this means:

English: more than 30 seconds per question

Math: more than 60 seconds per question

Reading: more than 45 seconds per question

Science: more than 45 seconds per question

 

If you are sure you can finish a section with 4 or 5 minutes to spare, fill in all your answers at the end.

This saves the time spent in going back and forth between the test booklet and the answer sheet.

There is no penalty for wrong answers so if you do not know an answer, guess - there is nothing to lose.

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