American College Testing Program - ACT

American college testing is a paper-based standardized test for undergraduate admissions in US and Canadian universities and colleges. It is stated in 1959. It evaluates English, Mathematics, Reading, Science knowledge and writing skill is optional. It offers six times in a year.

 It tests the knowledge and skills of candidates. You should always remember that there are no points for the questions that are left unanswered, but there is no negative marking for the wrong answers. Try to answer all the questions by making the guess; you will not make your scores less by making wrong answers.

The duration of the test is 3 hours and 35 minutes with small breaks in between second and third test. It contains multiple choice questions, in which 75 questions is of English for 45 minutes, 60 questions in mathematics and time allotted is 60 minutes, both reading and science contains 40 questions for 35 minutes, and optional writing test takes 40 minutes.

There is no negative marking in this exam so make sure do not leave any question. Try to answer all the questions. By taking a risk, you can make guess also as it will not affect our scores.

As it is machine process to check the scores, so do not put any stray marks, and the answer must be legible. The student has to darken the entire circle. And if the circle is left blank then there are no points for this.

TIPS TO CRACK ACT

Positive attitude towards the goal:

 Positive energy will help in achieving your goal. Negative thoughts will distract your mind. Take PAST as a challenging goal. Do practice sets and determine your score, so that you have an idea of the score for finals and get to know how much practice you need more. The score for practice should be higher than finals.

As the time for the test is 4 hours, so well prepare according to the time. If you do not prepare yourself according to time, then it is tough to solve all questions in allotted time. You can take the print of online official SAT practice set from college board, and if it is not available, you can also get the booklet from your high school guidance counsellor.

Choose comfortable area of study:

Choose the place in which you will not face any disturbing background so that it will not divert your concentration power. Take breaks when your mind distract. The place which you choose has proper lighting. Lighting will affect your mood, alertness, etc. and thus affect your concentration power. Don't try to do more than one thing at a time i.e. watching TV, listening loud music, use telephone. Comfortable table chair, proper ventilation increases the attention.

Check stress:

Stress damages the brain cells, and it is closely related to memory loss. It is one of the worst enemies of the brain. To reduce stress, laughing is the best medicine. Share your embarrassing moments with your friends and laugh at yourself. Spend time with fun loving, positive thinkers. Spending time with kids also make you happy from inside and makes you forget emotional stress. 

Hunger:

When you are hungry, then concentration is lowered. Don't study when you are tired. Tiredness also decreases the concentration. Take the diet that will boost your brain. Avoid heavy, saturated fatty diet (butter, cream, cheese, etc.), this will decrease the memory power and makes you feel sleepy. Avoid high alcohol consumption as it kills brain cells but a moderate concentration of alcohol may improve memory and concentration.

Make timetable:

At the time of the exam, bring the watch. Spend time and brain activity only to answer questions, so don't look up for room clock and waste your time. And for practice make the time table and calculate the elapsed time. Continuously doing the same work will decrease the attention.   

Division of questions:

The sections are usually from easy to hard questions. So answer the questions in that order only which they are. As both easy and hard questions has the same points, so it is good to answer easy questions first and then come to difficult ones. Don't give all the time to answer difficult questions. The difficult the question, less the concentration and distract your mind also.

Strengths and weaknesses:

Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses before you start your study for an exam. According to your strength and weaknesses, you can manage the time. Make yourself alert and confident on the day of an exam. 

Reward yourself:

Always try to do the things that will focus on your study and prevent your mind from wandering. When you finish your task, reward yourself. This will develop interest and encourage for next task. This makes you satisfy for your work and enjoyable.

 The tips mentioned above will help you to crack the exam.