The ABCs of the ACT

When you’re starting your ACT prep, sifting through test materials can be overwhelming. There’s a lot of information, both helpful and unhelpful, about the exam out there. So how do you know where to begin?In this post, we’ll take a look at ACT basics: from how to start your studies to what to do when you finish a section on test day. By getting a solid background on the A, B, Cs of the ACT, you’ll set yourself up for even greater success on the official exam!A: Address your weaknessesMore specifically, figure out what your weaknesses are and then address them. How? Start out by taking a practice test. Make sure you take it under test-like conditions: all in one go, with scheduled breaks, in a quiet environment (and no flipping back and forth between sections once time is up). After scoring the exam, spend a couple hoursthat’s right, a couple hours!going over your results. Don’t just look at your overall (composite) score or even your in-sect ion scores, though those are helpful. Instead, start keeping an â€Å"error log,† in which you write down the questions you got wrong, classifying the question types, then writing out the correct answer and how to get there. Most practice tests will have explanations to help you with this last part. Keep updating this error log throughout your ACT prepyou’ll be amazed at how far you come.B: Be preparedEven if you’re taking the exam tomorrow, there are a few things you can still do to help your score, and they all come down to preparation. Confronting the unknown on the official exam can not only increase any test anxiety, but it can also have a huge (and hugely negative) impact on your score. Here’s a quick rundown of ACT basics. Test Format: The ACT is a multiple-choice test, with an optional essay. Test Sections: The ACT is broken down into four or five sections (known as â€Å"tests†I know, it’s confusing), depending on whether you’re taking the Writing test. In order, these are: Test Timing: How long is the ACT? Again, it all depends on that essay. Without it, the ACT takes 2 hours and 55 minutes; with it, the exam takes 3 hours and 35 minutes. English Math Reading Science Writing (optional) C: Constantly evaluate your workThat goes for both your ACT prep and the work you do on the official exam. During your prep, the error log is a great place to start. Which question types do you consistently miss? Do you often make avoidable mistakes like dropping a negative sign when you shouldn’t have? Then, in the week leading up to test day, go over that error log and identify which patterns you can see in your most recent 2-3 tests. During the actual exam, make sure that you leave around five minutes at the end of each section to go back and double-check your work on those question types. At the end of the day, a little information goes a long way. On the other hand, a lot of information goes a lot farther! If your test date is fast approaching, this might mean retaking the ACT, but it’ll be worth it in the study time you’ll gain. The more time you have to prepare, practice, and evaluate your work, the better chance you’ll have of hitting that dream scoreand getting into your dream school.Studying for the SAT or ACT? Get 10% off ’s recommended test prep, Magoosh, with the promo code 10.

The Importance of Examining English Essay Samples

The Importance of Examining English Essay SamplesThere are many English essay samples that you can use in your own writing to help you determine what kind of essay that you want to write. There are many forms, some standard and some not so standard but the goal is to get to know what the exam will expect of you before writing your essay.The best thing to do is look at the type of essay that will be graded. This is very important because the forms that you see on the first day of school or the first semester will most likely not apply to your career or college. But it is good to know beforehand what the expectations are for your essay before you start writing it.Another thing to look at when you're looking at the English essay samples is whether or not they are for a full-length paper or an essay that only has one page. The full-length essay should have a thesis statement and conclusion and the essay sample should be something to go over. If it is a short essay, you may be able to fig ure out what the sample will be by simply looking at it.If you are writing a long essay, chances are you are going to need to spend a little more time on it to make sure that it is fully written. If you just take the first sample and try to apply it to your essay, you may find that the essay is a little disjointed. But if you read it carefully and understand how it was written, you can probably find a number of similar themes in that sample.When you begin your research and go over the different things that you see in the sample, you should then determine what the essay is about. Then you can use that information in your own essay and that will give you a starting point. It may also be possible to apply parts of the sample to other parts of your own essay if you figure out how it works.Another thing to do is to take a look at how the sentences are written and see if there are a few different things that you can change. Also think about how the sentences go together and see if there a re parts of the essay that don't match up. By making changes you can not only make the essay work better, but you can also add more depth to it.After you have looked at the English essay samples you've been given and made some notes on them, you can decide what you will do next. Take a little bit of time to study the forms and see if you can figure out what they are expecting you to do in your essay. If you can't, then the essay samples may not be right for you.With the help of the English essay samples that you have looked at you should be able to work it out. You may find that the forms that you were not expecting will give you clues about what you are supposed to do in your essay. But the best way to get it right is to do some extra research and try a few different approaches.