Acing The ACT

1. Acing The ACT J.Martin, BGHS

2. Today’s WN: ACT Did you run out of time on the practice ACT we did? Why? How do you feel like you did? How hard did you try? What seemed to give you trouble? Will you take the ACT again? When? Why? (scholarships, get in college, etc.) What score did you make last time? What is your goal?

3. How many times have you taken the ACT? 0 1 2 3 or more

4. What was your high score? 15 or below 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-36 Haven’t Taken It

5. What have you done to prepare? nothing online act books ACT prep class

6. How well do you know the ACT? clueless about it a little, not much I’m fairly knowledgeable about it. I could pretty much teach others about it.

7. Part 1: General Information

8. ACT Warm Up Handout Use this to answer questions as you pay attention to the power point.

9. Who should take the ACT? • Anyone going to college after H.S. • Anyone wanting scholarship $ • Anyone who wants more KEES $. • Anyone going to a Vo-Tech school requiring ACT scores.

10. Who should take the ACT?

11. What is the ACT? • A standardized test many colleges use to assess which students they will accept into their college. • Required for some scholarships. • TIMED test. • Multiple Choice

13. When is the test? • September 8, 2012 (8-17-12) • October 27, 2012 (9-21-12) • December 8, 2012 (11-2-12) • February 9, 2013 (1-11-13) • April 13, 2013 (3-8-13) • June 8, 2013 (5-3-13)

14. Where is the test? BGHS WKU

15. Why me? I’m BRILLIANT!

16. Preparation can still give you an edge—an edge you may need to get in a certain school or nab an awesome scholarship.

17. Why me? My Grades STINK! Just Kidding!!

18. Maybe you’re a misunderstood GENIOUS! (Genious in hiding?) If so, a college may want you even with lousy grades.

19. $$$$$ Do well, and you can say, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!”

20. How Much does it cost? • $35.00 Regular Deadline • +$22.00 Late Registration

21. GET A COPY OF YOUR TEST & SCORES? list of your answers copy of the multiple-choice test questions answer key scoring instructions

22. How can you GET A COPY OF YOUR TEST & SCORES? Test Information Release Dates: Dec. Apr. Jun. Fee: $19.00

23. How Much does it cost? Free or reduced lunch? See your counselor for a fee voucher. 2 per eligible person

24. Special Circumstances? • If you have an IEP, accommodations can be made for you.

25. How many times can I take it? • As many as you want to pay for. • Until you get the score you want • Best to plan to take it more than once. At least 1x Jr. year & 1 x Sr.

26. What’s it like? • Multiple choice • Takes about 3 ½ hrs. with breaks • 4 Sections • English 45 min. 75 questions • Math 60 min. 60 questions • Reading 35 min. 40 questions • Science Reasoning 35 min. 40 questions

27. Register Early • Registration Deadlines are usually 1 month before the test date. • Late registration= $22.00 more

28. How do you register? • Online with a credit card OR • Snail mail with a check

29. Where can I get Information? • BGHS Guidance office • BGHS Library • www.actstudent.org Don’t ask me, I took the SAT!

30. So, what have you learned?

31. Part 2: General Test-Taking Strategies

32. Take Notes on your own paper.

33. 1. Know the Directions before you go • The directions are always the same. • Knowing them beforehand will save you time.

34. 2. Use your test booklet as scratch paper. • Feel free to underline or circle things. • Draw diagrams in the margins. • Mark out answers you know are incorrect. • Put question marks beside possible answer choices. • Make a distinctive mark beside questions you need to come back to if you have time.

35. 3. Answer easy questions 1st • Quickly move through the entire section and mark the questions you’re sure you know the answers to. Mark each answer as you go, • Make note of which questions you guessed on and come back to them later if you have time. • Don’t miss the opportunity to get all the easy answers right because you spend too much time on some hard ones.

36. 4. Don’t get bogged down by a hard question. • 60-90 seconds is a LARGE amount of time to answer 1 question on the ACT • If you find yourself spending anywhere close to this amount of time on one problem, it’s time to make a guess and go on. • Come back to it later if you have time, but you’ve got to keep moving.

37. 5. Avoid carelessness • Don’t make mistakes because you move too quickly • Answer choices often include tempting “partial answers” Don’t mistake a partial answer for a real one. • Take a deep breath, look at the question and consider all the answer choices. • Don’t make mistakes because you become frustrated or lack confidence. • Just because a question looks complicated, doesn’t mean you can’t answer it.

38. 6. Be careful bubbling in your answers. • Avoid knowing the right answer and bubbling in the wrong bubble. • Pay attention to the letters. That’s why they have odds A-D and evens F-J. • You can mark your answers in the test booklet, then go back and bubble the answer sheet (five at a time or a page at a time).

39. 7. Should You Answer Every Question? YES!

40. 8. Pace Yourself • It’s a timed test. • Take some timed practice tests to get a feel for how quickly you’ll need to work. • Don’t spend too much time in one place. • Guess if you must, then come back to it if you have time. • Wear a watch • Find a happy medium, a groove, a speed at which you can be both accurate and efficient.

41. 9. When time is called STOP!

42. 10. It’s multiple choice • Only 1 right answer per question matters. • The correct answer is right in front of you. • Pick the right answer if you know it. • Eliminate wrong answers until you’re left with the right answer. • Guess if you must.

43. 11. Good Guessing • Eliminate as many wrong answers as you can before you guess. • Sometimes you can look just at the answers and notice patterns in the choices that leave only one of them different from the rest. • On the ENG test, less is more.

44. 12. Review your work • If you have time at the end, check your answers. • Make sure you’ve marked an answer for every question. • Make sure your marks are dark and all erased items are completely erased. • Re-check answers to difficult questions

45. 13. Set a target score • Your target doesn’t have to be a 36. • Be realistic

46. 14. Prepare • Study regularly • Schedule yourself time to study just for the ACT • 15 min a day? = 1 hr. 45 min a week • 30 min per day? = 3 ½ hrs a week • Check out • http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/act/chapter1.html • http://www.number2.com/ • www.actstudent.org

47. Order of Difficulty • The ACT isn’t arranged in order of difficulty. • Some easy & some harder questions throughout. So, how should you answer questions?

48. Part II Review questions • Why should you know the test directions before you go? • Why do you need to pace yourself? • What can you do to help pace yourself? • Which questions should you answer 1st? • Why should you answer those questions 1st? • What are some strategies for answering harder questions? • Why should you mark an answer for every question? • What should you do if you have extra time at the end? • What should you do when time is called?

49. Part 3:English Test

50. Take Notes on your own paper.