General Test-Taking Strategies

1. Make sure you answer the easy questions first! It’s important to understand how the ACT is scored. Each question in a section is worth the same number of points, whether it is tough or easy. Attack easy questions, the ones you know you can get correct, first. Work carefully to avoid making careless mistakes on these questions.
2. Don’t spend too much time on any one question. You must be constantly aware of the clock to pace yourself well. No single question will make or break your ACT score, so no question deserves a disproportionate amount of your time and attention. Don’t let yourself get bogged down. If you’re stuck on a question, circle the number in your test booklet and come back to it at the end of the section if you have time.
3. For the multiple-choice sections, circle the letter of your answer choice in the test booklet, and enter your answers onto the answer grid in a logical way, not one question at a time. You don’t get any credit for any marks you make in the test booklet, only for answers you place on your answer sheet. Still, the habit of circling answers in the booklet and transferring them onto your answer sheet in a logical unit, either by page or by passage, will save you time, allow you to focus more easily on answering questions, and reduce the likelihood that you’ll make errors filling in the wrong answer bubbles. For the English and Reading tests, it makes sense to work on one passage at a time. When you come to the end of a passage, with answers circled in your test booklet, carefully fill in each answer on the grid. You’ll get a mini-break from thinking about test content, and you can concentrate on filling in the grid accurately. As you fill in each bubble on the answer grid, silently voice the question number and answer choice letter to yourself: “Number 1 is B. Number 2 is H . . .” If you’re leaving some questions blank so that you can return to them later, this strategy of marking a passage worth of questions all at the same time helps you to avoid making mistakes on the answer grid.
4. Be aware of the ending time for the section you’re working on, and make sure you grid in an answer—even if it’s only a blind guess—for each question. You don’t lose any points for incorrect answers on the ACT, so it’s to your advantage to answer every question. If you’re nearing the end of the section—your test administrator will let you know—and you have questions that you skipped or haven’t tried yet, be sure to select an answer for those questions.
5. If you have time, guess strategically on questions you’re not sure about. Strategic guessing, in which you can rule out one or more answers, is preferable to blind guessing. Still, on the ACT English and Reading tests, for which only four answer choices are offered, even with a blind guess, you have a one-in-four chance of choosing the correct answer. Pay attention to the clock and make sure you grid in an answer for every question, even if it’s a strategic or a blind guess.
6. Get in the habit of using your pencil to help you work through test questions. This strategy, which we call “thinking with your pencil,” is invaluable. While you don’t get points for anything you write in your test booklet, there’s no rule saying that you have to turn in a clean, blank booklet at the end of the test. Many people who wouldn’t dream of working on the Math section without using their pencils to do some scratch work to arrive at the answer never make a single mark in the Verbal sections of the test booklet. This is a mistake. In any multiple-choice section, you can use your pencil to cross out the letters for answer choices you’ve ruled out. In the English section, it’s helpful to circle nonunderlined words in the passage that help you determine what the best answer is. For English questions that have a question stem, you can underline key words in the question. In the Reading section, you should jot down brief notes as you read each passage. (You’ll learn more about this in the Reading Overview section.) You can also underline key words if that helps you. For the Writing section, try taking notes before you start the actual essay. You should keep your pencil in your hand throughout the test, not just when you’re filling in your answers on the grid.
7. For multiple-choice questions that are presented with a question stem (all Reading questions and some English questions), read the question stem carefully. It may seem too obvious to say, but if you don’t know what a question is asking, you’re not likely to find the correct answer. Specific advice in the English and Reading introduction chapters will help you make sure you understand the stem before you try to answer the question.

As you work through the practice questions in this workbook and refine your strategic approach, remember that your goal in practicing is not simply to arrive at correct answers. You should also develop an awareness of the best way to approach each question. On Test Day, you won’t see the same questions that are in this workbook. However, because the ACT is a standardized test that covers a specific and limited set of skills, you know that you’ll see very similar questions. The more comfort you develop with strategic thinking as you practice, the more confident you’ll be that you can work through the questions you’ll see in your ACT booklet on Test Day.

Let’s take a moment to think about what it means to take a strategic approach. When you use a strategy, you don’t approach a problem blindly. Instead, you have a plan for the best way to attack it. Taking a strategic approach and knowing what skills and content each test section covers go hand in hand. The Kaplan Methods for English and Reading are designed to help you focus on determining what each question is asking you to do. For each question, it helps to ask: What knowledge or skill is this question testing? When you combine the strategic approach with an understanding of the content covered by each test section, you’ll be confident going into Test Day.