Thread by @jennthetutor

Last minute ACT tips that will increase your score tomorrow

1. (If nothing else)-bubble in everything. I don't care if the proctor or your parent or friend says there is a penalty for guessing. They are wrong... Bubble in everything. Do not leave a bubble blank

Not like this

2. Waiting until the 5 minute warning to bubble in everything usually makes you feel stressed out. Bubble in everything 15 minutes before the end of each section (mark your spot) and use the 5 min warning to work on easy questions that take up no time

3. Set a watch to noon when you start a section- keeps tracks of the time without calculating- professor Heytens taught me this before my first law school exam

4. Don't spend tons of time trying to get a question right. All the questions are worth the same amount of points. You could spend tons of time and still get the question wrong

5. Slow down on the easy questions. @pckeller has a great SAT book that discusses this but too late for that now. If you plan to retest and take the SAT,check out his book . But don't get a question wrong because you are rushing

6. Don't spend a bunch of time on hard questions. If I have no clue after 30 secs I ask:

will I get this with more time and is it worth my time

If yes- skip and come back- circle it to return to it later

If not- put an X through it and never think of it again

7. avoid questions-if you don't need a perfect score-you always missed in practice or create anxiety
8. Don't go for a perfect score- go after the best questions for you. test comes down to time management & question selection. My students who got 34 or higher mastered this

9. Don't get fixated on a question. You can spend more time on a question and still get it wrong. Find another question- the ACT has tons of questions get all the points you can

10. If you bomb a section regroup. You don't have time to dwell. Just say okay that was awful. But now I have to focus on this next section so I don't bomb that as well

11. Go to the bathroom before the test, during breaks. It sounds silly but I've had kids bomb a section because they need to go. Even if you don't feel you have to

12. Talk to no one. Talking to people during the test will freak you out, if they say omg remember that character... And you don't... Bad day... Pretend to be sick and stay to yourself if you need to

13. Panic before the test. Walk through the worse case scenario if you bomb this.

Remember there are schools that you can go to that don't require SAT or ACT @FairTestOffice

Atheltes- prep/ community college options. You can retake. If not- it's game day. Panic won't help

14. Mark the easy questions with a star. That way if you panic you can return to those questions and remind yourself that you know what you are doing. Then start eliminating on the question you are stuck on

15. Actually always eliminate

Before you start working to answer a question ask: which answers are obviously wrong?

As you are working eliminate

16. Always be eliminating- yes, I'm saying this twice

Before you pick up your calculator- eliminate
When you are working and get close to an answer- eliminate
At every step regroup then eliminate

17. Underline keywords- most of the wrong answers in reading can be eliminated using one word

A. Describe Blah blah blah

You: is the author describing something?

18. Turn it into a question then a statement for reading

What did the author describe?

His house

Now with the answer:

Q: in paragraph 3 the author...
A: describes his house

Your statement: in the third paragraph the author describes his house.
You: yes that's correct

19. Pause before answering and ask

- Do I understand what the question is asking
- What keywords matter in the question
- is now a good time to answer this or should I find something easier to do first
- is this worth my time or will I waste time here

20. If you don't understand the question at all skip and come back

When possible even try putting it in your own words

21. Check your answers. Then check them again and again. don't look back later and say "how did I get that wrong"

22. It's never a good time for a nap- you'll shut your brain down. Take deep breaths or think about what you need to do for the next section

23. If you aren't going for a perfect score don't attempt all the questions-

Best way is easy questions that take no time, easy questions that take some time, a bit harder questions that take no time, a bit harder questions that take no time. Check answers

(Continued ⏬)

Continued from ⏫

Before you do harder questions ask- have I throughly checked my easy questions and if I don't need a perfect score, do I need to conserve this energy for the next section

24. If you get stuck say things like: there are more questions, why do I need to stress out over this one, what am I trying to prove, is this one question worth giving up additional questions for

25. Mark that test up. Underline, draw, plug in numbers, plug in answer choices

26. For math if you are plugging in start at the middle answer. That way if you need a bigger or smaller answer you can eliminate mutilple answers at once

Example:
A. 5
B. 6
C. 7
D. 8
E. 9

Start at 7. Plug in. it doesn't work, need something bigger. You can eliminate A,B,C

27. Remember no one will care about this test or your score or their score after admissions

If they do... Cry for them. They care about trivial things

28. Bring a snack (if you drink caffeine or eat something every day bring that), your ID, and nothing else

29. Turn your phone off... Not silent... Off

Don't get kicked out for dumb reasons

30. Everyone has different copies... Don't cheat... You will probably mess it up and you don't need that drama

Ask Felicity Huffman if it was worth it...

31. Move on after this test and go to college

Okay my fellow test prep needs... What did I miss or what do you want to challenge. The more the merrier

Also #acttips #act #decemberact #CollegeAdmissions #admissions #admissions2020

@ACTProTips @myACTcoach @myACTcoach

@ACTPrepAcademy

Oh right and if you see a ; ask yourself- are there two full sentences that could exist on their own? If not, don't use a ;

Intergers include negative numbers but not fractions or decimals

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