New DiscussionImprove ACT Science?

aznjunior

What are the best ways to improve ACT science scores?
are there any books that just focus on science?

stevped

I really liked the way the Barron's book explained the science section. My score didn't go up in science after studying the barron's book because I ran out of time, but I feel like I understand the passages better. I hope this helps.

jax90291

i went from a 19 to a 31 in science from the december test to the april test. i honestly have no idea how, but i guess i just got better at it from general ACT prep. i had been improving my science scores slowly and steadily with the red book and some other old act tests, but then i plateaued and kept getting 26 on science. by the time the april test was starting to get closer, i kind of avoided science because i was so burnt out on it. the night before the test i just looked over one of the science tests i had taken previously and tried to think about all the different questions. then what do you know, i got a 31 on science in april. i wish i could explain how it happened better. maybe luck?

Flipper519

How do you guys manage time on the science section? On the April test, I ended up with 1 minute left, and 13 questions to go! I bubbled in random answers and ended up getting a 25 :(.

medisun

@Flipper
You just have to focus on the questions, not the data. Most of the time, one of the tables/figures won't even be used in any of the questions. Almost all of the time, the introduction doesn't even need to be read except for maybe one sentence, which can be found after reading the questions.

10scholar

For science, pacing is the most important thing. Period. Make sure you are adhering to five minutes or less a passage. Don't spend too much time on any one question. I didn't go over any general science, but on the April exam, for example, they asked a question about convection, radiation, and conduction in terms of heat transfer that a lot of people (including me) missed because we didn't know precisely what they meant. It might only be one or two questions, but a little science vocab review might help.
As far as reading questions first, then going to the passages, I didn't really believe in this technique until I tried it, so I suggest you do on some practice tests. I felt confused without reading all the information, but as I learned, it really doesn't matter. On the Charts and graphs sections, almost all the answers can be found by just reading the questions and looking at the graphs. Often multiple questions ask about the same pattern in the charts. It's a little tougher to do this in the experiments, and you have to read the conflicting viewpoints like a reading passage. Hope this helps!

Flipper519

Thanks ! 10char.