Tips for the ACT

Potosi High School juniors are getting the opportunity to take the ACT on March 30 for no cost to them. 

On March 23, they were able to get some practice passages and tips to prepare them for the ACT by Mrs. Kay, Mrs. Fulton, Mr. McMahan, and Mr. DiFiori. Taking the ACT can be stressful for students. These teachers gave the students helpful tips and tricks for each one of the tests. It also allows them to understand how to maximize the amount of questions you can answer in the set amount of time. Here are some tips that may be helpful for each test:

English Test 

Know your grammar rules- If you know all of your grammar rules (commas, colons, semi-colons, wordiness) then you will score extremely well on this portion of the test. 

Manage your time wisely- Just like the reading test you need to manage your time wisely and have a set amount of time for each passage so that you can answer all the questions. 

Math Test

Memorize the formulas- The math test is very hard on its own. If you memorize the formulas then it makes the math test a little bit easier. Some formulas I was recommended to study are the quadratic formula, slope formula, distance and midpoint formula, and all of the trigonometry formulas.

Take two passes on the math test- The math test is sixty minutes for sixty questions, so that leaves a minute for each question and some questions take longer than others to answer. So you should take one pass to do all of the questions that won’t take you very much time. Pass two you should answer questions that will take more time and if you are still stumped on a question then take your best guess.

Don’t use a calculator if you don’t have to- If you are able to multiply or add something faster in your head or on paper then don’t use a calculator. Quite a bit of time is wasted trying to use a calculator that you might not know how to use or are just trying to punch things in hoping that it will work.   

Reading Test

Read the questions first- If you read the questions first, then you will know what you are looking for in the text. Blocking in the lines is a great way to be able to go back into the text quickly and look for your answers.

Manage your time wisely- The reading test is when students get too caught up in the texts. This is where you really need to manage your time wisely. Set out eight minutes and forty five seconds for each passage to read and answer the questions. 

Science Test

Do the cases last- On the science test, cases are the last thing that you want to do. They are the hardest for most students and you could have more time by answering the data representation and research summaries first. 

Look at the science test like an extension of the reading test- In all honesty, the science test is just an extension of the reading test, but with graphs. If you are able to read graphs and know the basics of science then you should do alright on the science test.