rachel kapelke-dale

should i take an act diagnostic test?

are you wondering whether taking an act diagnostic test is worth your time? it definitely is! not only will a good quiz help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, but it’ll also give you an understanding of the question types you’ll see on test day. overall, it’s a low-pressure way to build familiarity with the materials while getting a sense of where you are. so whether you’re excited to dive in or worried about taking the exam, our advice is the same: take a free act diagnostic test!

free act diagnostic test - magoosh

first, start with a quick quiz

if the idea of taking a full practice act sounds intimidating to you, there is a quick and less scary way of getting a sense of how you might do on the act: magoosh’s free act diagnostic test.

in fact, if you have 10 to 20 minutes to spare, you should take this quiz right now!

free act diagnostic test from magoosh

quiz starts here:

this quiz has one page for each act test (4 total): english, math, reading & science. each section has 3 questions: 1 easy, 1 medium & 1 hard (in that order).

this quiz will take about 10-20 minutes to complete, so grab some scratch paper and a calculator, and do your best!

  • english
  • math
  • reading
  • science

page 1 of 4

english

instructions

in the passage below, some some phrases are numbered and underlined. read the passage, then find the alternative to the underlined phrase that best improves the sentence (by best stating the idea, making the statement grammatically correct, or improving the style and consistency of the passage). if you think the original version is best, select “no change.”

the origins of coca-cola

coca-cola history began in 1886 when the curiosity of an atlanta pharmacist dr. john s. pemberton, led him to create a distinctive tasting soft drink that could be sold at soda fountains. [1] he created a flavored syrup and took it to his neighborhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated water and deemed “excellent” by those whom have sampled it. [2] dr. pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper, frank m. robinson, is credited with naming the beverage “coca‑cola” as well as creating the design of the trademarked, distinctive script that is still used today. the first servings of coca‑cola were sold for 5 cents per glass. during the first year, sales initially averaged a modest nine servings per day in atlanta. today, daily servings of coca‑cola beverages are estimated at 1.9 billion globally.

liam got a 35 on the act. get a higher act score with magoosh.

[3] in 1888, dr. pemberton sold portions of his business to various parties, just two years after creating what was to become the world’s #1-selling sparkling beverage however only a few years before his death. the majority of the interest was sold to atlanta businessman, asa g. candler. under mr. candler’s leadership, distribution of coca‑cola expanded to soda fountains beyond atlanta. in 1894, impressed by the growing demand for coca‑cola and the desire to make the beverage portable, joseph biedenharn installed bottling machinery in the rear of his mississippi soda fountain, becoming the first to put coca‑cola in bottles. the three entrepreneurs purchased the bottling rights from asa candler for just $1. benjamin thomas, joseph whitehead and john lupton developed what became the coca‑cola worldwide bottling system. large scale bottling was made possible just five years later, when in 1899, three enterprising businessmen in chattanooga, tennessee secured exclusive rights to bottle and sell coca‑cola.

this passage was adapted from “coca-cola history.”

1.

he created a flavored syrup and took it to his neighborhood pharmacy, where it was mixed with carbonated water and deemed “excellent” by those whom have sampled it.

2.

dr. pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper, frank m. robinson, is credited with naming the beverage “coca‑cola” as well as creating the design of the trademarked, distinctive script that is still used today.

3.

in 1888, dr. pemberton sold portions of his business to various parties, just two years after creating what was to become the world’s #1-selling sparkling beverage however only a few years before his death.






 











wait, wait, wait. what is an act diagnostic test, anyway?

an act diagnostic test is a sample quiz or exam that you take to figure out your strengths and weaknesses on the act. you can take it at the beginning of your studies to figure out how to focus your schedule, or you can take it later on, to “diagnose” any issues you may be having. in either case, it’s a valuable tool for figuring out which sections, topics, or question types may need work before you take the official exam.

you can use a tool like the free act diagnostic test above to get a quick overview of where you currently stand–or, you can try a full-length 2022世界杯入门名单 to get a more in-depth picture. our recommendation? take the free act diagnostic test first (it doesn’t take long!), then dive into the full-length test when you have several hours free to take a closer look at how you’re approaching the exam.

your act diagnostic test results

so you took the quiz–awesome! what now?

if your act diagnostic test results reflect where you want to be on the act, great job! we still recommend that you take a full-length, free act diagnostic test because it’s really hard for a diagnostic quiz of 12 questions to reflect how you would actually do on a 75-question test. but now you can go into a diagnostic test with a nice boost to your confidence!

if your results don’t match your expectations, don’t be disheartened! remember that it is definitely absolutely 100% possible to boost your score before the official exam. plus, you just got some really valuable information! you could choose to take a diagnostic next or you might find it more useful to brush up on your weak areas first as determined by this diagnostic quiz before going into the full-length practice test.

how to take a full-length practice test

first of all, make sure you get a great practice test to work with. you can find magoosh’s full-length 2022世界杯入门名单 here!

  • set aside a solid block of time. we’re talking 3-4 hours, and more if you get extended time (usually 1.5 x traditional timing, but this can vary).
  • make sure that you’ll be undisturbed. put a sign on your door if you have to, or go to the library. silence is golden for the practice test (and on test day)
  • gather your materials. here’s a great list for test day, and these are good things to keep with you during practice, as well.
  • sit down with the test. you can get official practice from the act—and, of course, stellar materials from magoosh. this is great especially if you want to take several practice tests, so you can track your scores.
  • go for it! if you can, take the mandatory breaks as well, so you get a feel for what it’s like to take a test for this long.

the point of it all

after you’ve finished up, score your free act diagnostic test. but don’t just look at the score—that’s maybe 10% or less of the point of taking a diagnostic!

you now hold in your hands the key to your act approach. go over the questions you got right. when were you guessing? when were you unsure but correct? go over the questions you got wrong. did you bubble in the wrong answer choice by mistake? common rookie error. now you won’t do that on test day!

now you know where your strengths are—these are the questions you’ll approach first on test day. you also know where your weaknesses are—this is what you’ll study over the coming days or weeks before test day. sign up for a free 7-day trial of magoosh act prep to get access to over 250 lesson videos, 1500 practice questions, and full-length practice tests to make the most out of your diagnostic results!

author

  • rachel kapelke-dale

    rachel is a magoosh content creator. she writes and updates content on our high school and gre blogs to ensure students are equipped with the best information during their test prep journey. as a test-prep instructor for more than five years in there different countries, rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the sat, act, toefl, gre, and gmat, and she is one of the authors of our magoosh act prep book. rachel has a bachelor of arts in comparative literature from brown university, an ma in cinematography from the université de paris vii, and a ph.d. in film studies from university college london. for over a decade, rachel has honed her craft as a fiction and memoir writer and public speaker. her novel, the ballerinas, is forthcoming in december 2021 from st. martin’s press, while her memoir, graduates in wonderland, co-written with jessica pan, was published in 2014 by penguin random house. her work has appeared in over a dozen online and print publications, including vanity fair hollywood. when she isn’t strategically stringing words together at magoosh, you can find rachel riding horses or with her nose in a book. join her on twitter, instagram, or facebook!

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