Preparing for ACT in a Month

Is the ACT test approaching and do you have just one month left to prepare? Are you an aspirant prepping yourself for the test without help from external sources? Are you overwhelmed with the quantity of content left to be perused? Looking for a way to schedule the four weeks ahead in order to maximize your score?? Let us help you. Through this article, we will guide you through the workability of a one month plan, the steps to undertake before the actual preparation and how, indeed, one can act smart to crack the ACT. Read ahead to find the best strategies and tips that can relieve your anxiety and prepare you for ACT in over a month.

Can you Prepare for ACT in a month?

When we say that the ACT test can be prepared for in a month, the statement banks on the required amount of effort that has to be put in by you. ACT preparation is done by students through both offline tutoring and online ACT prep courses. But the test can also be prepared for through self-tutoring though this requires a large amount of self-discipline.

The subjects and syllabus for the test have been derived from high school syllabi and hence if you are a diligent student all you have to do as prep would be to brush up on information that you have already studied. The prep then focuses on 3 key aspects which are relearning key concepts, understanding the test pattern and time management.

Condensing an ideal plan of learning over the months, sometimes years, into a single month can depend on a lot of variables. The most important variable, apart from the time that can be invested, is the number of points you expect to increase from your baseline score. The higher the gap between your baseline score and goal score, the more time that will have to be invested in this one month plan.

This may come across as studying endlessly for an entire month to reach the goal score. But that is not the case. Experts do not prefer continuous studying for over 5 hours a day which is still a lot yet feasible.

Tracking/Reviewing the Entire Syllabus

The four subjects included in the test are English, Mathematics, Reading and Science in this very order. Understanding the syllabus also makes you consider what topics require detailed study and what other topics may be handled directly while attempting practice tests. The topics that are most often asked in the test have been provided here for easy access.

In English, the four main sections are rhetorical skills, sentence structure, punctuation and grammar. The subsections under rhetorical skills would include transitions, word choice, add/delete questions, organization, main idea, author technique, redundancy and relevance. In sentence structure, they are known to focus on parallel structure, faulty modifiers and run on sentences and fragments. Punctuation as the word suggests deals with all punctuations like commas, parenthesis, semicolon and colon. Grammar essentially deals with subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, verb forms, pronoun agreement, relative pronouns, and idioms.

In Mathematics, their primary focus is on algebra, geometry and trigonometry.. Algebra has been divided into pre-algebra, elementary algebra and intermediate algebra whereas geometry has been divided into both plane geometry and coordinate geometry. These concepts can be further divided into key topics that are often brought up in ACT tests. Pre-algebra includes fractions, ratios, proportions, statistics, probability and sequences. Elementary algebra mostly deals with single variable equations and Intermediate algebra contains word problems, functions and systems of equations. Plane geometry deals with lines, angles, circles, triangles and polygons whereas coordinate geometry includes lines and slopes among other topics.

The section Reading consists of external passages and ideas that generate critical thinking which does not possess a strict syllabus of its own. The passages may be from fields like literature, humanities, arts, space, etc. and can only be trained for by practicing general passages available in practice question papers.

In Science, there are no concrete concepts that have to be mastered but the test includes contents from biology, chemistry, physics and earth science which consists of topics like geology, meteorology and astronomy. Most of the questions in this section will be given in explicit detail. It is understood that only extremely basic concepts need to be learned thoroughly. The concepts that ought to be looked in Biology are cell biology, DNA, RNA, ribosome, natural selection, photosynthesis, respiration and genetics. Chemistry requires prior knowledge of basic molecule structure, pH scale, molar mass, phase changes and freezing and boiling point of water. Physics requires knowledge of gravity, density formula, kinetic energy and potential energy.

How to Prepare for ACT in a Month

Before preparing a study plan, there are a few steps that ought to be completed in order to conceptualize the plan further. Acting smart always means finding the perfect strategy to minimize effort and maximize output. To act smart here, we start from finding your baseline score and then move step by step until the study plan is all set to be put into action.

• Finding a baseline score-A baseline score is the ACT score you can obtain without essentially preparing for the test. Considering that the syllabus matches with your high school syllabus the test may range from easy to difficult for you
  
  There are official ACT practice tests that can be taken online but ensure that you take the test in conditions similar to the original test. Time your breaks accordingly and do not give yourself more time than is mandated. Recreating an atmosphere similar to that of the original test provides you with a nearly accurate baseline score.
  
  At the completion of the test, the answer guide to the test will let you calculate both your raw score and composite score. This composite score out of 36 will be your baseline score.
  
  
• Finding your target score-Your target score may also be called your goal score for easy understanding. This should be calculated by getting the average composite scores mandated by the colleges and universities of your choice.
  
  Looking for goal scores will be something like finding the 25th and 75th percentile scores of colleges/universities that will be available on their websites. Here, the 25th percentile score will be the lowest score you will be required to have to avail admission and the 75th percentile will be the highest grade required.
  
  Finding the average of these two scores will provide you with your target score. Aiming for the 75th percentile will be harder to achieve but aiming higher always gives you a chance for better scholarships and admissions in better university spaces.
  
  
• Assess the Practice Test-After finding both the baseline score and the target score, you will be able to find the number of points you will have to gain in order to achieve your target. Now choose a study plan that suits your schedule. Bear in mind that cramming materials that should ideally be learned over a period of years/months in a single month can be tiring.
  
  Be realistic in setting the schedule. Opt for a day or two off in a week so that you do not get mentally exhausted right before the exam. Study for a minimum of 2 to 3.5 hours on a weekday and around 5 hours on a weekend if it can be managed.
  
  If your baseline score has been really low and you need to increase it by as many points as possible, start with spending the first-week learning concepts for 3 hours at least a day and work on only practice papers in the weekends. Practice papers are a great source to understand your drawbacks and in letting you diagnose your weak areas that can be worked on for a better score.
  
  
• Choosing the best prep books-Self-tutoring often equates to finding appropriate learning content that suits your needs. This may include finding old textbooks from where you can learn key concepts to purchasing guides tailor-made for the ACT test or purchasing Practice test papers both online and offline.
  
  To find out about the best prep books from 2020, go to Best books for ACT

Tips for Preparing in a Month

Once the strategies are in place and the preparation is in progress, there are certain tips that can speed up the process of studying which might seem obvious but are often downplayed by examinees

• Knowledge about the Test Format Matters Knowing the structure of the test can help you prepare for the exam even as you are learning the content for the same. You can create similar questions yourself while learning key concepts and quiz yourself.
• Practice Tests to Track ProgressRepeatedly assessing oneself with practice questions. diagnosing mistakes and learning from them can prove to be the last-minute savior when learning different concepts subject by subject can seem time-consuming.
• Focus on Weak SpotsSpending more time on concepts that seem tough or cannot be grasped easily can strengthen these areas. This can be done by following strategic methods offered by prep books and practice guides along with official ACT question papers.