Familiarize yourself with the content of the reading section. Selections in the reading portion of the ACT cover four sub-content areas: social studies, natural sciences, prose fiction and humanities. Your ability to answer the test questions will rely solely on your comprehension of the provided passages, but prior knowledge of each content area will certainly serve you well.
Take an online ACT reading test. This test recreates questions like those that will appear on the actual test. The online test will provide an immediate score and feedback about your performance. You'll have a better idea about how much additional preparation you need.
Time your test taking. The ACT reading test allows 35 minutes to read several short paragraphs and answer 40 multiple-choice questions. Print out a sample test from the ACT website, and supplement it with additional passages and questions found in your English textbook.
Rehearse active reading strategies. Underline main ideas, important phrases, context clues and evidence in sample passages as your read. Your notes may expedite the answering process.
Familiarize yourself with the content of the math portion of the ACT. Plane geometry and pre-algebra make up 46 percent of the questions. Elementary and intermediate algebra and coordinate geometry each contribute to 15 percent of the questions, and 7 percent of the questions cover trigonometry.
Take an online ACT math test. Time your work to complete the test within the 60 minutes allotted for the real math test. You may use an approved calculator.
Review the scoring feedback provided by the online exam. Identify the types of questions that were the most difficult for your. Group the questions according to their math sub-content area.
Use index cards to create math flash cards based on the sub-content groups with which you're having the most trouble. Flashcards may contain math vocabulary, math symbols, sample questions, graphs or drawings. Use the flashcards to enhance your studying.