2) Calculator: Make sure your batteries are fresh!

3) Eat a decent complex carb dinner the night before and a good breakfast with complex carbs Saturday morning (that doesn’t include Captain Crunch or Trix!). This is an extremely important point…don’t skip breakfast and take a light snack and a beverage with you (e.g., Gatorade, Powerade, etc.).

4) More Supplies: Take a 6″ ruler with you for the Science Reasoning section.

5) Throughout the ACT: Do NOT leave anything blank. With 5 minutes to go, if you haven’t finished, fill in all the remaining blanks. Then, with the time you have left, begin to work on the questions one-by-one, changing any answers that are incorrect.

6) Throughout the ACT: Process of Elimination (POE) – Use it actively and aggressively. Get rid of the answer choices that are just plain wrong and limit your choices. Then choose wisely grasshopper!

8) English: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Is this sentence grammatically correct? Again, does it fit the context? Is it accurate?

9) English: Does this sentence flow? Do I need a pause (comma) here?

10) English: Remember the Down and Dirty Semicolon Rule: Do these phrases stand on their own?

11) English: Remember the rules for the proper use of a colon: a) List (to include, the following, etc.); b) Punctuation used to make an announcement; c) The colon only follows an independent clause and introduces a word, phrase, sentence, or group of sentences (Note: you aren’t likely to see the “group of sentences” condition on the ACT – but watch out!).

12) English: Watch for a hyphenated clause! It must either end with another hyphen, as in the body of a sentence, or close the sentence. If it doesn’t satisfy one of these two conditions on the ACT it is probably incorrect (like 99.999% of the time).

13) English: Is this answer choice concise? The most concise, grammatically correct answer is always the best!

14) Critical Reading and Science Reasoning: Ask yourself, “Do I know this?” Based on what you have read or appears in a passage, study, description, experiment, table, figure, or graph, can I support this answer choice?

15) English, Critical Reading, Science Reasoning: What is this question asking, precisely?

Example: Given that all the choices are true_______________. Identify what they are asking for in the question! Underline it and watch out for traps. Be critical! Am I reading into this my own likes, dislikes, emotions, etc. or can I support this based on the information in the passage?

16) Critical Reading and Science Reasoning: Get active in searching out the answers based on the techniques you’ve learned. Can you identify the exact phrase, word-for-word or paraphrased, that answers this question? If not, keep looking!

17) Critical Reading: Have you read the questions and identified the answers, in context? Have you underlined and/or made notes in order to set your schema? Did you identify the answers based on the reading, even before going to the answer choices? You should have an answer choice prepared prior to looking at the answer choices offered! Does yours match theirs? Are you close? Keep looking!

18) English and Critical Reading: Pay close attention to context and chronology when reading. Does this follow from what I have read so far?

19) Mathematics: Plug in! Plug in! Plug in! We are doing ACT Mathematics and the only answer that matters is the correct one. So, when you have to, wing it!

20) Mathematics: Watch for transposition errors. Check to make sure you have the correct sign (i.e., positive or negative). Don’t give away points because you’ve made a “simple mistake!”

22) Mathematics: Draw out your figures and identify the parameters…always! Lines, squares, triangles, even graphs. Especially graphs! Draw, identify, label, and solve (DILS).

23) Mathematics: Remember your 30:60:90 and 45:45:45 rules, theorems, basic mathematical rules (e.g., lowest common denominator, similar triangles, area of circle, area of square, area of triangle, area of trapezoid, perimeter of circle, perimeter of square and rectangle, and so on).

24) Mathematics: Break down your figures into smaller, more manageable figures and work from there. Use the same technique for functions: Work from the outside-in.

25) Mathematics: SHOW YOUR WORK! If you don’t show your work, you can’t check your work. Always check your work. Don’t lose points because you failed to check your work!

26) Mathematics: Identify the range and get rid of answer choices outside your answer range (i.e., ballparking).

27) Mathematics: You are not infallible. Your calculator is not infallible. Double check your entries and your work before moving on.

28) Mathematics: Remember PEMDAS, FOIL, difference of squares, factoring, SOHCAHTOA!

29) Mathematics: Break down word problems by writing everything out, step-by-step and then check your work. Examples: “is” represents = | “of” represents multiplication | “and” represents + | and so on.

31) Mathematics: Proportionality calls for cross-multiplication in almost every instance on the ACT.

32) Mathematics: Distance formula, midpoint formula, slope-intercept formula, slope formula, etc (see below). And don’t forget that d = rt.

33) Science Reasoning: The Science Reasoning section is a READING section! The answers are there. Whether it is in text, tables, figures, graphs, charts, or whatever…the answers are there! Take your time, identify the answer, and score big on this section!

34) Science Reasoning: Pay close attention to italicized words. They are usually important and are often definitions you must know.

35) Science Reasoning: Identify the X & Y axis and the dependent and independent variables. Additionally, watch for the differences in experiments (e.g., differences in temperature, mass, velocity, volume, etc.). The experiments will usually have a constant variable in one experiment, while varying the same in the next. Identify the control and the experimental design (i.e., What are they manipulating? What are they trying to accomplish? etc.).

36) Science Reasoning: Watch for the traps in the alternative hypotheses sections (i.e., 2 Domain vs 3 Domain Hypothesis for Archaea). Identify your answers! The answers are always there, although often paraphrased.

37) Science Reasoning: Use your 6″ ruler and draw your answers out based on the questions asked and answer choices offered. Mark it up! If you can see it, chances are very good that you will get the right answer!

38) Science Reasoning: Don’t get bogged down in the minutiae. Meaning, don’t get bogged down in a section with a lot of dense material. Most material is extraneous and completely unnecessary.

39) Science Reasoning: You have one goal: 40/40 on the Science Reasoning section!

40) Writing: To master the ACT Writing section all you need to create is a solid first draft. ACT graders are not looking for the Great American Novel, they are looking for a fundamentally sound draft.

41) Writing: Begin by stating your position based on the prompt. The easiest way to create an opening sentence is by restating the prompt in the form of a statement, either for or against.

42) Writing: Pick two or three good examples that will support your position. The examples can be from reading, coursework, personal experience, or some combination of the three.

43) Writing: The opening paragraph should accomplish these three things: a) State your thesis, your argument (see #40); b) Introduce your examples (see #41); c) Then, write a transitional sentence to close your introductory paragraph and move into the body of your writing sample and the first paragraph (Note: this paragraph should be built around your first example).

44) Writing: The third paragraph must support your second example and the fourth paragraph must support your third example…if you have one.

45) Writing: You do not need three examples to score a 5 or 6 on the Writing section, but it helps. If you only have two examples, make sure they are good ones and that they are well written. Sometimes, less is more.

46) Writing: The conclusion must restate the thesis statement and the examples. You need to accomplish three things when writing your ACT Writing sample: a) Tell them what you are going to say; b) Say it; c) Tell them what you said.

47) Writing: Remember, all you need is a solid first draft. You are not expected, nor do you have time to write, the Great American Novel! The ACT graders are looking for a solid opening sentence and paragraph, two or three examples in the body of the work, and a conclusion that restates your position as fact. Do that and you will earn a perfect or near-perfect score.

48) Writing: The ACT Writing section is often scored by part-time graders who are scoring (up to) several hundred exams in a day. They are going to give your writing sample 3-5 minutes, tops. They do not have time for a poorly written sample. So make sure you write a position statement (for or against) that is grammatically correct, as free from spelling errors as possible, and easy to follow. Do not stray off topic or restate the same sentence over and over again. Redundancies will poison your writing sample and your score will plummet. Keep your sample clean, direct, and to the point. Again, less is often more. A writing sample that has a solid position statement (thesis), two great examples that are supported in the body of your work, and a conclusion that supports your position will earn a better score than a writing sample that is long, rambling, and ends up at a destination that is somewhere other than where you started from.

So, you are ready…so relax and enjoy the experience. Seriously! You can always take the exam again, so don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself. Remember to take a deep breath in between pages, passages, and sections. Deep breathing now and then will help you relax and stay sharp.

Again, good luck! I hope you will let me know if this helped you focus your thoughts on exam day. I wish you all the best and may all your effort pay off in an ACT Composite Score of 36!

Note: Spend some time on the less familiar formulas today, tonight, and tomorrow morning. It will pay off!