Reading is a critical skill for succeeding on the ACT, however I have noticed that many high school students claim that don't have time to read outside of their other activities. I find that this is sad because when I was a kid, you would always find me with a book to read. I think the main problem with reading today is the fact that we feel we are too busy to sit down and read.
Instead we have to make time to read because the most successful people in business today read every single day. They read upwards to 50 or more books a year. Succeeding on ACT Reading Test Three of the four main subjects on the ACT contain reading passages that a student must read and answer the questions. If you don't read the information quickly and accurately, you will get the questions wrong and fail the ACT. What if there was a way to study for the ACT by using your own materials? There is, you just have to know where to look. I am going to do just that. The ACT reading test has four main passage types that never changes and neither does the order. This means you can pick and choose what passage to start with based on what you like or are interested in the most and go from there building confidence in the test as you go. If you study using the tips that I give you, you can and will succeed on the ACT reading test. I am going to cover each passage and what to read, how to create your own test questions using key words from study guides out there, and how to use note cards to study on the go. Find what Interests you The ACT contains four main passages that are in the same order. But you don't have to read what other people pick out for you. Instead find reading that is good quality and interests you. This can work for your English classes too when you have free reading time or required reading in your classes. Start with your most comfortable type of passage to gain confidence and move on to the next comfortable type of passage and so on. Prose Fiction This passage deals with stories that are not true so your basic novel or short story works here. A narrator is telling a story about a main character with some problem that needs solving. If you have trouble with sequencing a book with flashbacks works here. This is the first passage on the ACT Reading Test. Social Science or History This passage deals with some point in history but don't panic about dates, names, places, or facts to memorize. THERE IS NO MEMORIZING FACTS HERE!!! Instead find your favorite part of history and read about it. This helps students gain confidence in reading by reading about something they are interested in. This is the second passage on the ACT Reading Test. Humanities This passage deals with the arts such as art, drama, literature, and music. Pick your favorite famous person in these areas and focus on them. You can even read a People Magazine article as a warm up. This is the third passage on the ACT. Natural Science Most high school students are required to take at least three years of science in order to graduate, so instead of studying extra types of science, read your science textbook. Pay attention in class to how experiments are run and basic science terms. These terms are common sense when dealing with science so again you don't have to memorize anything. This is the last passage on the ACT. Osmosis doesn't work with reading Osmosis is the process of absorbing material through moisture to another substance such as plants. However drooling on your book as you read it will not help you understand the material. So as you read, ask yourself questions about what is happening in story. Types of questions to ask Great readers and successful people like Steve Jobs interact with their reading to find out ways to use the information given. As you read you should be asking yourself questions to help you understand the material. The questions I am giving you is really the only thing you need to memorize for the ACT Reading Test. Detail Questions These questions deal with information directly stated in the story. These are the easiest to find and understand if you know what to look for. Ask yourself the five W and H questions Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. Detail questions are found most often on the ACT reading test. But only focus on details when the questions ask you to. Main Idea Questions These questions deal with the story or paragraph as a whole, so figure out what the story is mostly about. If you are right, your detail questions will support the main idea. Think of it as a movie trailer, giving the reader or potential reader a taste of what the whole book is going to be about. As you read a passage on the ACT, write down what each paragraph is mainly about. This will help you find where to look for an answer to a question. Sequencing Questions Sequencing deals with the order of events in the story. If your story has flashbacks meaning that the character is thinking about an event that happened in the past while in the present, this can help you put the events in order. Vocabulary Questions As you read, you will come to words that you don't know and that is a good thing. Keeping your mind sharp by learning new words is a great way to move to the next level in reading. As you come to words that you don't know, highlight them in some way, such as sticky notes, underlining or highlighting (if you own the book) and look up the words in a dictionary. But don't rely on dictionary definition to help you understand what you read. Instead put the definitions in words that work for your understanding. Then make a point to use these words more often. You will gain more understanding the more you use these words. There is usually only 1-2 vocabulary questions per passage on the ACT but as you study, you can pick out as many words as you like. Drawing Conclusion Questions As you think about what you are reading what conclusions are you coming up with? An author cannot tell you everything in their writing. You have to come up with a conclusion about some things on your own. For example, does the author like the main character, why or why not? You can tell if the author does like the character by how he or she treats them. Maybe the main character abuses another character. Maybe the character is a hero in some way. Drawing conclusion questions along with inference questions deal with higher level thinking. Sometimes your answers will be correct and sometimes not. When looking for drawing conclusion answers on the ACT look no more than a paragraph above or below the cited information. Inference Questions An inference is a guess based on what you already know and the information in the story. Say a friend invites you to go camping. You can make an inference that you will sleep outside in a tent or a camper. Since an author can't write down every detail, you have to make a picture in your mind about what you think is happening as you read. If your picture doesn't make sense, maybe the book is too hard for you to read and you should pick an easier book or do some outside research to help you understand it better. Author's purpose Questions When you are reading a book, ask yourself why are you reading it? This can be the author's purpose for writing the book. The author's purpose deals with why the author wrote the book or a part of the book. For example when picking a title, an author has a specific reason for picking that title and it is hidden in the writing of the story. It is the reader's job to find out why. Using Note Cards to Help Anywhere I recommend that you write these question types and passage types down so that when you are at the library and need a new book to read you can pick a good book that fits each passage. Then as you read you can be asking yourself these questions. I would even write down the new words that you want to utilize in your conversations to help you remember. As you get more comfortable with reading every day, you are relieving test anxiety because you know what to look for and have been practicing the strategies so much it becomes a natural part of you. How do you study for the ACT Reading Test? I would be curious to know.
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ACT is a great way to gain scholarships for college. Students that I have tutored have received scholarships ranging from $500 -$10,000 after taking my study course. Not everyone has to take an expensive course though. Some students are able to study on their own if they know where to start.
Some students who have taken my course started studying on their own. They used the ACT.org website and found information on how to study there. Others have used study guides that focus on the ACT. I am going to give you great steps on how to study for the ACT. Here they are: 1. Get yourself a practice ACT and take it Before you register for the test, take a practice test. Taking a practice ACT gives you a baseline of where to start. For example, the student who got a $10,000 scholarship received a 14 on his baseline test. That told me we had a lot of studying to do to increase his scores to earn that scholarship. 2. Analyze your test results Most study guides will analyze each test question and tell you what you need to look for as your strengths and weaknesses. This helps you to figure out what you need to study more closely instead of studying all of the material in front of you. This can shorten study time depending on how much you need to master. 3. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare for the ACT As you register for the ACT test, plan far enough ahead to give yourself plenty of time to study. To increase your points it is about 10 hours of practice per point you want to increase. Mastery of skill takes time to apply the strategies from every angle. The ACT tests the same skills over and over again but in different ways. So you need to ensure you can the master the skills from every vantage point. I recommend finding some time every day to practice the ACT. Applying skills every day helps you naturally answer questions and save critical time. 4. Review areas of need and study up Now that you have analyzed your test scores and planned plenty of time to practice. It is time to make a study plan. This study plan will map out how and what you are going to study. It keeps you organized and on task. It helps you to transition from just learning a skill to mastery and prevents repetition of nonessential tasks. You can use a study guide and your own materials to help with this study plan or get yourself a tutor that will create your plan for you. A great tutor will have a baseline test, analyze it and create a plan that fits you. 5. Take 1 subject at a time or study up all at once? Study only the subjects that you need to study, but take a complete ACT every 3-4 weeks to practice. I recommend that you take one subject at a time to master those skills, but after mastery, apply those skills every other day or daily. I also recommend that you read from a novel and practice math daily at least 30 minutes for each. As you read ask questions to determine understanding of your reading. 6. Use note cards to help you remember skill sets My favorite learning tool is note cards. They are small, portable, quiet, and easy to use. I can write several skills sets on note cards and refer back to them often. That way when I am in the car and have time to spare, I can practice my skills to keep them sharp. You can also do this with math concepts, English grammar and punctuation rules, types of reading questions using key words in question, and science terms to remember. Studying doesn't have to take forever especially if you are on summer or spring break. Using note cards allows you to take 5-10 of down time at a time and practice. Not only that, you can apply those skills in your high school classes allowing you to multi-task. 7. Take at least 3 practice tests before actual ACT Taking the ACT costs you money and time, but practicing for the ACT can save you money and earn money for college. Before taking the actual ACT, I recommend taking at least 3 practice tests besides the baseline test. As you take the test, see about the time limit and are you making it. Do you have time left over to check your answers or not? Analyze the test results and see if you are making progress. Do you have to go back and relearn the concept again? Hopefully you are able to lesson your load every time you take a new ACT test. What has worked for you? I would be really interested in your thoughts. I hope however you study for the ACT you are successful and wish you the best. I love hearing about success stories even if they are not helped by me. Stena Schmitt, CEO Saints Training and Tutoring Math, science, English, reading, writing, sports, drama, music, friends, socialization, and a job are all things that high school students do during their high school career. One more thing could you put you over the top, right? Studying for the ACT should be as important as any one of these events. But instead students feel the ACT is too hard, too easy, or something you can just wing it. They would be wrong, because the ACT is not impossible to pass but does need to be studied. Earning College Scholarships The ACT can provide scholarships for college which helps students be successful in life. For example, one of my students took a practice ACT and finished it in 90 minutes but only answered half of the questions. After taking my course, he was earning $10,000 scholarships. Studying for the ACT can drastically change your outcome in life. When you study for the ACT, you get more benefits than those who don't study such as getting to know the test, relieving test anxiety, reviewing what you already know, practicing what you still need to learn, and learning a strategy for acing the ACT. Getting to know the test The ACT is different than any other test you have ever taken. Colleges uses the test to determine whether or not students are ready for college. The ACT tests a student's problem solving ability. If you don't study for the ACT, it might be easy to take one look and feel it is too hard to ACE so you give up. The more you study for the ACT; the more you realize that it takes a strategy to ACE and that takes time. Relieving Test Anxiety One of my parents' biggest concerns is test anxiety which means they freeze up as soon as they see a test and don't do well on it. As a student studies for the ACT, test anxiety can go away because he or she knows the test inside and out. They know what to expect on the day of the test. I used to have test anxiety as well. In fact I was in the middle of an essay exam for college and thought I was answering the wrong question. I panicked and switched my entire approach. However after the test I realized that I was answering the right question with the right answers the whole time, so my essay was twice as long as everybody else's in the class. After that experience, I realized that if I prepare and prepare well, I will do fine on any test that I take. When I help students study for ACT, I teach them how to create their own test questions so they know exactly what to look for on the ACT. This helps aid their test anxiety because they feel more confident about their studying. Reviewing What You Already Know When a student struggles with reading or learning, he or she feels the ACT is too hard so doesn't even try. However if a student studies for the ACT, he or she finds out what is already know and that gains confidence. Reviewing affirms he or she has learned a lot during the high school years and keeps those skills sharp. Practice what you still need to know As a student studies for the ACT, he or she finds out what still needs to be learned and can practice those skills as well. These skills could be something that was taught in school but never mastered. The ACT focuses on skills necessary to be successful in college and requires higher level thinking skills. The more a student practices these skills, the more successful he or she will be. Learn a Strategy to ACE the ACT There are many resources out there that teach about the ACT and how to ACE it. Students have many choices to choose from, but until each student picks the strategy that works for him or her, they are not really ready for the ACT. Acing the ACT is all about strategy. Just like a chess player dreams about strategy day and night, so does a successful student that has ACED the ACT. What are some way that you study for the ACT? |
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