1. Make sure you have marked the date in your calendar to get work off, make travel arrangements, etc.  Make sure you have filled out this form.

2. Forget the right answer—find the wrong ones.

Multiple-choice tests offer one great advantage: They provide the correct answer right there on the page. ACT hides the correct answer behind wrong ones, but when you cross off just one or two wrong answers, the correct answer can become more obvious.

3. The ACT consists of four multiple-choice tests in English, math, reading, and science--with an optional writing test.  Each multiple-choice subject test contains questions with four or five answer options.

4. Prioritize Answering the Questions You Know- Try to answer the questions you know first, even if it means jumping around. If you can prioritize answering questions you're confident on, you'll have more time to work out questions you don't know.

Make sure to save time to go back to any questions you skipped. Even if you don't know the answer, guessing is better than leaving it blank. There is no penalty for wrong answers on the ACT, so you should never leave any blanks on your answer sheet. 

5. Answer Every Question. Since there is no penalty for guessing on the ACT, make sure you fill in every bubble! An incorrect answer and an unanswered question both have the same impact on your raw score, so even if you have no idea how to answer something, it's best to go ahead and guess anyway.

6. FOCUS ON FIXING MISTAKES. Work on ACT practice tests and once you get your answers, analyze them.  Go back through past practice attempts, isolate the one or two sections that are consistently wrong and work on them. The benefit comes from working out why you still get certain kinds of questions wrong. Drill down into why you’re missing them and then work out the correct answers.

7.  ACT Tip – Don’t change your answers. If you’re not sure if you made a mistake, don’t change your replies. Your first answer is more than likely to be correct. Statistics show that you are more likely to choose the correct answer on your first try. When second-guessing yourself, the chances are that you will overthink things and come up with an inaccurate answer.

8. Look for Main Key Words: Common keywords are used throughout the ACT and you can improve your score by knowing how to handle them. Answers that include absolute statements, such as “always” or “greatest”, are most likely not the right answer. The word “except” is commonly missed when skimming questions, causing students to make a simple mistake. Cover up this word when it appears and select the answer that does not belong with the others. Remember: All the evidence is there in the question. If you can’t find specific evidence for your answer, then it is not right!

9. Time Management: Because there is a time limit for finishing the test, do not spend a lot of time on any one question. Limit yourself to 1–2 minutes for the more difficult questions and around 10–20 seconds for the easier ones.The ACT test is made up of a series of 4-5 timed mini-tests. Keep track of how much time is left in each part, so you don’t have to rush to finish each test at the last minute. If you don’t know an answer to a question, you can mark it and then come back to it later.

10.  ACT Math Tip: Pay Attention to Diagrams.  The ACT Math section will often provide you with diagrams of figures that describe the problem you’re trying to answer. It’s important to pay attention to these figures, as they will give you clues about which answer choices are the most logical.

11. ACT English Tip- Let the Answers Help You. The answer choices are your clues to identifying what the question is really asking. Do any of the words or punctuation change? Pay attention to what changes versus what stays the same in the answers to figure out what the potential error is.

12. ACT SCIENCE TIP: MARK UP THE PASSAGE  As you are reading, do not hesitate to underline, circle, and make small notes in your test booklet. This type of note-taking is an efficient way to help you stay focused and on target with your pacing.  Noting similarities and differences between multiple experiments will help you when it comes time to deal with the questions.

13. ACT Reading Test-Taking Tips:  Read each passage carefully. Before you begin answering a question, read the entire passage carefully. Be conscious of relationships between or among ideas. You may make notes in the test booklet about important ideas in the passages.  Refer to the passages when answering the questions. Answers to some of the questions will be found by referring to what is plainly stated in the text of the passages. Other questions will require you to determine suggested meanings and draw conclusions, comparisons, and generalizations. Consider the text before you answer a question.

14.  ACT MATH TIP: FIND COMMON SHAPES  Find common shapes on the ACT to help you break complex figures into simple polygons. Look in particular for triangles, they’re full of valuable information.

15.  ACT- Reading Tip: Read the Questions First. Reading actively means knowing in advance what you’re going to read. So, before you start in on the passage, take a look at the questions. You’ll know what important details to look for, and you won’t waste time on details that never appear in a question.