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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I thought it was going to be good..., April 13, 2008
This review is from: Cracking the ACT, 2008 Edition (College Test Preparation) (Paperback)
I bought this book and was reading through it and thought it was amazing! My first practice test wasn't so great but on my second one I saw a LOT of improvement...I took the ACT this saturday (APRIL 12).
It was terrible.
The practice tests in the book were not that close in comparison with the ACTUAL test. I mean, the very first question of the REAL ACT wasn't even mentioned in the book! The ACTUAL test seemed a LOT harder than the two tests offered in this book.
I have already taken one ACT test and I know it would be REALLY helpful if I could place the score I received after using this book on this review...so the minute I get it, I will update this and tell you how big of a difference this book made in comparison to the last time I took the test. (((it could be a positive or negative one...)))
****edited as of APRIL 23, 2008****
I just checked my score online...I got the EXACT same score as the last time I took the ACT. My Mathematics and English scores shot up extremely high and my Science score stayed the same....my Reading score was terrible. It dropped by 5 points after reading this book. Because of that ONE bad score, I couldn't get the score that I wanted to achieve. I tried the technique that the book talked about--obviously it didn't work.
What it basically says is to look at the questions first, underline all the key terms and then SKIM through the passages and underline those key terms you underlined in the questions. One major problem is that you have to remember about 8+ key terms for each passage and looking through the WHOLE passage for more than 8 terms at ONCE is challenging and it is quite possible that you could miss a few. I ended up just reading the whole passage anyway-looking for those key terms. Obviously my other strategy I used on the previous test worked much better seeing as I got the better score back then.
***referring back to the difficulty of the test: Personally, if a book offers practice tests for the test...I don't want them to be dumbed down version to boost my self-confidence. That's like running for 20 minutes each day to prepare for a 4 hour long run. It doesn't make sense and won't help you achieve the goals you want.
***I think that maybe the best preparation is to take AS MANY practice tests AS POSSIBLE. (Some of the book's techniques were good, but as you can tell, the only sections of this book that ACTUALLY helped me were the English and Mathematics sections)
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One Of Three Books To Study For ACT, April 14, 2008
This review is from: Cracking the ACT, 2008 Edition (College Test Preparation) (Paperback)
This is one of the three top books on the market for ACT prep. Reading the reviews of all other books - I recognized this to be true.
You need to pay attention to which edition of study books to buy - So this review is based on the above second edition. Before buying; always check to see if there is a more recent edition.
This edition corrected some errors contained in the previous. And it is up-to-date with the most recent ACT standards.
As to the book itself - My sixteen year old son, Cameron, said that the book was most helpful in containing several practice test. It is laid out well; reads well; and covers the basics well.
This is the book you get for its extra tests and general review qualities.
Also get the "Real ACT" 2nd Edition The Real ACT Prep Guide: The Only Official Prep Guide From The Makers Of The ACT (Real Act Prep Guide). Quality practice and review material. It too has practice tests for getting the feel and finding your weak spots to focus on.
Also get the "ACT for Dummies" from the Dummies Series ACT! by Sage For Dummies ACT! 2007 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)). Get the most recent edition which might be a year or two old. But the test taking pointers are invaluable enough to be slightly future-proofed.
Other than that, these three books will be the perfect kit for anyone prepping for the test.
For Parents - if your teenagers are claiming they looked through the books and it all looked easy - point out that the books are designed to give an overall review of the basics that they have learned over the years. The books are to re-enforce basics and build speed under certain tests conditions.
Most important is taking the practice test under timed/controlled conditions. Math doesn't look so easy under pressure to beat the clock.
So right from the start; have your kids put aside four hours to take a test under timed conditions; without looking at any review material.
See what they know, from right off the top-of-their-head. Then you can focus on what to work on first. Retake the tests many times over a couple of months; and progressively watch your kid kick butt more and more with each test.
Good Luck!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Agree with Smarter Eurasian, April 13, 2008
This review is from: Cracking the ACT, 2008 Edition (College Test Preparation) (Paperback)
Cracking the ACT, 2008 Edition (College Test Prep)
The sample tests do not mirror the actual ACT. Unpleasant surprize at April 12th exam.
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