General ACT Testing Strategies

The following are general strategies for improving your overall performance on the ACT. These tips and strategies can be applied to all sections in the ACT.

• Don't cram.

• The ACT tests you on knowledge you've accumulated over the course of your high school career, so there's no point in cramming. The day before the test relax, go watch a movie and then get a good nights sleep. Staying up the night before the test and studying will only stress you out and cause you to be tired the next day.

• Familiarize yourself with the test.

• Become familiar with the structure of ACT before test day. During your test prep, learn and review the directions for each of the sections on the test. When you arrive at the test you'll already know what is going to be required in each section of the ACT. This will save valuable time during the test which can be spent working on questions.

• Answer easy questions first.

• Answer the questions you're sure you know the correct answer to first. Put a mark in your exam booklet next to each question you skip so you can quickly find them later. After answering all the easy questions, go back and tackle the more challenging questions.

• Write in your book.

• Your ACT test booklet is yours. After the test it will simply be thrown away. So don't worry about making sure it remains in pristine condition throughout the test. Use it to your advantage. Write in it, cross out wrong answers and use it to do scratch work. Work out problems and jot down key information you'll need to answer certain questions in your test booklet since it is permitted.

• Don't write on your answer sheet.

• Your ACT answer sheet is scored by a machine that isn't able to distinguish between a correct answer, a stray mark, or a careless doodle in the margin. Make sure that your answer sheet is free from any stray marks. Follow the directions given carefully as you mark correct answers on your answer sheet.

• There is only one correct answer.

• On the ACT, there is only one correct answer to each question. Even if it appears as if there are two correct answers, you can only choose one answer – so select the best answer to each question.

• Easy questions precede hard ones.

• Typically, easier questions on the ACT precede harder questions. In this way, the ACT gets progressively more difficult as you work through each section. Keep this in mind as you move through the test answering easy questions first and then return to answer more difficult questions.

• Guess.

• If you're faced with a challenging question for which you don't know the correct answer, just make an educated guess. Try to eliminate as many incorrect answer choices as you can and then select the answer that makes the most sense. There is no point deduction for wrong answers – so any answer is always better than no answer at all.

• Budget your time.

• Do not spend too much time on any one question since there is a time limit for completing the test. It is best to limit yourself to 1 to 2 minutes for the harder questions and no more than 10 to 20 seconds on the easier questions. The ACT consists of 4-5 small mini-tests that are timed. Pay close attention to how much time remains in each section, so you will not have to rush at the last minute to complete each test. We recommend bringing your own stop watch to the test to keep track of time.

• Read each question carefully.

• Never assume you know what a question is asking until you've read it in it's entirety.Sometimes students will provide an answer they recall from a similar question from a practice test. Read the words to each question carefully.

• Don't change your answers.

• Don't change your answers unless you're sure you made a mistake. More often than not your first answer will be the correct answer.

• Practice, practice, practice!

• Let us say it one more time. Practice, practice, practice! There is no substitute for practice.