ACT help Answered
Hey,
Lately I've been told by a lot of people to take the ACT (for context I'm a sophomore in high school). I have no idea what this really means. Like I know what the ACT is and I know from google what a good score should be but I still feel under prepared. I've been taking practice tests and studying but I still feel really under prepared. Is there anything else I can do to prepare? I am taking the April 13th ACT and I am taking the Pre-ACT at school with my peers in March. I feel like the Pre-ACT will give me a good sense for the actual ACT but I'm still nervous. Also, I selected that I wanted to take the writing portion of the ACT which from what I understand is an essay. I was confused on what I'd have to write about, is it like a prompt and I just have to write as much as I know on it? Do I get external sources to help fuel my writing or not? I realize I have a lot of questions that may seem simple but any help would be greatly appreciated.
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2 answers
The good thing about the ACT is you can take it multiple times, you’ve got plenty of time to improve your score before you graduate, and just like you, everyone else around you is nervous for the ACT. But the more prepared you are and the more you practice test simulations, the easier it will come to you.
First and foremost, you are so right about the essay on the ACT. Essentially, you have thirty minutes to write, and no matter what, DO NOT STOP WRITING until the time is up. This sounds silly, but from my experience with multiple adults who have worked as graders for these, the more work, the better. You are given a prompt, and you pick a stance on a given situation. Say, for example, should students be able to choose the books that they read in English classes? If you believe they should, your goal is to defend that idea with your life, writing concisely to be understood, but using strong vocabulary as well. (Only do this if you know how to use the vocabulary in a sentence, of course) You do not get external sources, as the exercise is to largely push you to quick thinking and put you under pressure.
Because you still have two more years of high school after this school year’s end, I really highly recommend that you sign up for ACT prep classes at your school or dual enrollment through another school if it’s offered, or even finding a “Boot Camp” for ACT study. While the books are great for studying, my experience with Tutors Across America was really good, and I’ve heard great things about quite a few other ACT tutoring businesses. I hope this helps, and happy testing!
I'm not sure about the essay part but I believe you get a prompt and get 3 different perspectives on it then you have to write it. You are also a 1oth grader so I would say take a practice or pre act get a feel for the test and then see what you can improve one. there are a ton of internet resources you can use like khan academy to help you study.
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