ACT: LAST MINUTE HINTS FOR SUCCESS

With only 3 days left to CRAM for the ACT, the panic is starting to set in.  Here are 6 last minute activities to maximize your efforts.

1.  REVIEW PREVIOUS WORK
Pull out all the tests you used for practice and review the answers you got wrong.  Think about what you SHOULD HAVE DONE to get the right answer.

2.  ENGLISH - REVIEW RULES OF GRAMMAR
Since about 2/3 of the English test involves grammar, you stand to gain the most points in this area.  Tomorrow's post will list several concepts that will most likely be on Saturday's test.

3.  MATH - REVIEW BASIC ALGEBRA AND GEOMETRY EQUATIONS
Make a list of those that appear in your practice problems.  There are quite a few, but they are always the same.

4.  READING - PRACTICE FINDING SPECIFIC WORDS IN CONTEXT
Take any magazine or newspaper article.  (Magazines are better because the columns are generally  wider and more like the layout of the test.)  Have someone list 5 or 6 words they find in the article. (Nouns are the best sources since ACT questions usually refer to specific names or ideas.)   Peruse the article, circling the words listed.  This practice will help you to more quickly find specific information from the Reading passages without the need to actually READ the whole article. 

5.  SCIENCE - PRACTICE READING CHARTS AND GRAPHS
Search "science graphs" in your browser.  When I 'google' it, I get samples, pictures under the heading 'images.'  Click on one and answer the following questions:
      a) what is the independent variable? (What does the x axis represent?)
      b) what is the dependent variable?  (What does the y axis represent?)
      c) pick a spot on the graph and identify the meaning.
Here's an example:

    
      a) hours elapsed 
       b) bacteria 
       c) after 5 hours had elapsed, approximately 23 bacteria were reproducing.

Don't obsess over why we need to know this information.  Just answer the question and move on.  The test task is to read the graph accurately and work on the next question.

6.  SCIENCE - COMPARE RESULTS
Using the same graphs, analyze results.  In this example, an analysis statement might be "as the hours increase, the number of bacteria reproducing decreases."  Personally, I use a shorthand system that looks more like....
   ....to take less time than full sentences.

Three days left.....keep working!!!