Reading

The ACT Reading Section involves a dual challenge of reading quickly, but also understanding enough from the passage to answer the questions in a timely manner. I challenge each student to be able to read the passage in 2-3 minutes and answer the questions in 5-6 minutes. Students should average 8 minutes per reading section. I find that the strategies for social science, humanities, and science passages are all the same. These are fact-based passages and students need to learn to anticipate the kinds of questions they are going to be asked.

Through my “guided” reading strategy, I first go through passages with students, asking them quick recall and analysis questions along the way. I then encourage them to ask themselves these questions as they are reading and stop after each paragraph to make sure they are tracking. The prose passage is different in that it is like a story. Many students who are avid fiction reader find this passage easier. The techniques differ in that students must now consider more questions on character on interaction.

Mathematics

The ACT Mathematics Section covers far more topics than the SAT math section. While there are frequently presented question types (percent, ratio, SOHCAHTOA, etc…), most students require a comprehensive review of Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry. To give students an extra edge, I also cover number theory and matrices. For many students, the challenge of this section lies in the speed at which they must progress through the questions. I work closely with students on time budgeting issues on this section. The second challenge students face involves being able to know which method to use for which question type. Recognition strategy is essential for the ACT math. I address this by giving students mixed review starting in the third week of preparation.

English

The ACT English Section has two major question types, usage mechanics and rhetorical skills. A student’s familiarity with the prior depends wholly on the emphasis on grammar at his or her school. For those students that have a weaker grammar background, I start with the basics and work up from there. My strategy for this section is highly structured. Each week, I present the student with 2-3 grammar rules to understand and then practice. All along however, I encourage students to do full length practice tests so they can become more comfortable with the fast-paced, long test format. The rhetorical skills questions do not involve grammar skills. These questions test a student’s understanding of paragraph structure and essay style. I give students useful elimination strategies for these questions and also give them tools to ensure they do not allocate too much time to these questions.

Science

The ACT Science Section should not be a concern for students who do not have a strong-suit in science. It requires no prior knowledge of biology, chemistry, or physics. Rather, it involves quickly digesting pieces of evidence and knowing what conclusions to draw. For this section, in particular, practice is essential. Most students have never seen test questions like these science questions so becoming more familiar with these question types is always the first hurdle. This section has frequent question types like averages and row versus column analysis. The review I do for the ACT math section also helps many students score higher on the science.

Writing

The ACT Writing Section differs sharply from the SAT writing in that students do not need to bring in outside literary examples to receive a top-scored essay. This essay is persuasive in nature, but students do need to bring in both sides of the argument. Learning to address a counter-argument is a challenge for many high school students and I address this from day 1. Writing preparation can be time- intensive. For this reason, I assign students an essay each week and encourage them to send it to me via email. When we meet, we go over it in a time efficient manner. For students who have a hard time writing lengthy essays, I give them different ways to brainstorm before starting to write.