Susan French Ludwig has an MA in Education and is a STEM Grant Coordinator for Kirkwood Community College. Susan has taught both in elementary and adult education, designed curriculum for Kirkwood, written textbooks, and test questions for the ACT council.
Teresa Stephens has a Masters in Education as well as an engineering degree. She has taught SAT, GRE, and GMAT test prep courses, has tutored high school students for the ACT and the SAT and currently teaches math and science at a small private school.
Paul Felstiner has a BS in biology and a Master's in teaching. He is teaches high school physics and physical science. His background includes technical writing for the US Forest Service.
IntroductionIntroduction
Welcome to the ACT Exam Cram! Taking the ACT Assessment is usually one of the very first steps as you prepare to apply to college. What an exciting time of your life.
Because you are likely to be a high school junior right now, this is probably the first Exam Cram book you have ever used. You will find that this guide contains all the information and tips you will need to be fully prepared for the test you are planning to take—the ACT Assessment. As you take certification and licensing exams in the future, we hope you will turn to the Exam Cram series for all your test-preparation needs.
As you already undoubtedly know, the ACT Assessment is a national college admission examination. The ACT Assessment is accepted by pretty much every college and university in the country, and the scores on the test are used by college admissions departments to help make their decisions about accepting students. It is essential then for you to do your personal best on this test.
The ACT Assessment consists of subtests to measure your ability in the subject areas of English, reading, mathematics, and science, and there is an optional test in writing. The material presented on the test is what you have learned up until your junior year of high school.
The ACT Exam Cram is designed to help you perform at your optimum on this important test. In this introduction, you will learn about the basics of the ACT Assessment, what to expect with the testing environment, and general test-taking strategies. The Self-Assessment that follows enables you to know firsthand which subject areas you may need to set aside more preparation time for and which subject areas are already pretty solid in your mind. Subsequent chapters are designed to help you review individually each of the subject areas and the types of questions included on the ACT Assessment. After you have completed working through this guide, the sample tests at the end of the book will provide you with a reasonably accurate post-preparation assessment of your knowledge of each of the subject areas. Reviewing the correct responses after you've taken a practice test provides further reinforcement of the material.
The ACT at a Glance
The ACT Assessment consists of subtests to measure your ability in the subject areas of English, reading, mathematics, and science, with an optional test in writing. The material presented on the test is what you have learned up until your junior year of high school. The following table gives an overview of the general format of the ACT.
Test | Subsets Evaluated |
English test: 75 questions, 45 minutes | Usage/mechanics: 40 questions |
| Rhetorical skills: 35 questions |
| (Strategy, organization, style) |
Math test: 60 questions, 60 minutes | Elementary algebra: 24 questions |
| Intermediate algebra and coordinate geometry: 18 questions |
| Plane geometry and trigonometry: 18 questions |
Reading test: 40 questions, 35 minutes | Arts/literature: 20 questions |
| Social studies/sciences: 20 questions |
Science Reasoning test: 40 questions, | Data representation: 15 questions 35 minutes |
| Research summaries: 18 questions |
| Conflicting viewpoints: 7 questions |
Writing test (optional): one writing | One essay responding to the prompt prompt, 30 minutes |
Yes, Go Ahead and Guess
It's important that you keep in mind that the ACT Assessment does not penalize you for guessing. In other words, no points are subtracted from your score for wrong answers. This means that you should never leave a question unanswered, even if you have to choose an answer randomly. However, it's always best to use the process of elimination to make an educated guess if you can.
How to Test Smarter
Sometimes it's not about what you know but about how you show it. The following list provides some strategies you can use to maximize your score:
Never leave a question blank.
There is no penalty for guessing on the ACT, so you should make sure that you bubble in an answer for every question. Make sure you save at least a minute at the end of a test section to bubble in answers of questions you did not get to.
Reduce anxiety.
Plan to take the ACT early enough in your high school career so that you can take the test several more times if you are not happy with your score. Also, set a realistic personal goal for yourself. For example, answering about 45 questions correctly on the Math section produces roughly a score of 27. You don't need to answer every question correctly in order to get a good score.
Wear a big ugly watch.
Don't spend too much time on one question. Although you may know this, it's easy to forget this important strategy when you're facing a complicated word problem or an intense science passage. Figure out some way to remind yourself that a good use of time is essential.
Do the easy questions first.
The best way to make sure you use your time wisely is to answer all questions that are easy for you first. Hard questions are worth the same as easy questions. Don't spend 3 minutes figuring out a hard question when you could have answered three easy questions. You can double back in the remaining time to tackle the more difficult questions.
Just get the answer.
Think creatively to find the solution in the least amount of time. When appropriate, plug in answer choices to find the correct answer. You get no points on this exam for fancy factoring or formal English rules.
Make a smart guess.
Knowing what an answer can't be makes for smart guessing. If you can eliminate some choices, the probability that you guess the correct answer is higher.
Give the question what it's asking for.
The ACT test makers fill the answer choices with distracters—answers that are likely errors. Take enough time to make sure that you know what a question is asking for. Pay careful attention to words such as not in the question stem.
Check periodically to see that the number on your answer sheet matches the number of the question you are working on.
Some students prefer to bubble in answers in groups, such as three at a time. This is a personal preference. With any method it's important to make sure periodically that the question number matches th...
