{"id":11492,"date":"2017-10-25t17:57:54","date_gmt":"2017-10-26t00:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=11492"},"modified":"2017-10-25t17:57:54","modified_gmt":"2017-10-26t00:57:54","slug":"act-strategies-pacing-drill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/act\/act-strategies-pacing-drill\/","title":{"rendered":"act strategies: the pacing drill guaranteed to improve your score"},"content":{"rendered":"
if you’re struggling to finish act sections (or “tests,” as the act calls them), it can be incredibly frustrating. more that that, it can have a major impact on your score. here at magoosh, we love hearing about students’ test-day experiences—but we hate hearing how stressed the time pressure<\/a> makes you (yup, it’s a very<\/em> common problem)! luckily, this post has our best act tip on improving your timing and<\/strong> score.<\/p>\n if time pressure is keeping you from doing your best on the tests, try out this pacing drill. following the act strategies below will make you faster, without losing accuracy on any of the four multiple-choice act tests. i’ve seen it work time and time again\u2026so let’s go!<\/p>\n for this drill to work, you’ll need at least one, but preferably two or more, practice or diagnostic act tests. why? because you need to know what types of questions are slowing you down.<\/strong><\/p>\n the first thing to do is to skim each exam and get a brief overview of where you were rushing or where you didn’t have enough time to finish the test. take note of these.<\/p>\n now, go back to the actual tests themselves. if you have your scratch work, all the better! circle any problems that you know<\/em> you spent more than two minutes on. (we’ll get into specific timing in different sections in just a minute.) look at the problems and, if available, the answers and explanations. classify each type of problem: first, by its general area (english<\/a>, math<\/a>, reading<\/a>, science<\/a>) and second, by its subject matter (for example, verbs, triangles, author’s intent, data comparison). <\/p>\n triage the subjects. in other words, decide what you’re going to work on first. eventually, you’ll work on all subject areas that are giving you trouble, but start with the biggest score suckers<\/a>. for example, you may get more author’s intent questions wrong than triangle questions, but your math score may be 21 and your reading score 31. in that case, it makes more sense to work on math first. be reasonable and prioritize your subjects.<\/p>\n once you know the order of the subject areas you’re going to work on, here’s what you’ll need: multiple 10-problem sets of act problems<\/a> in the area you want to work on, a timer, and a pencil. make sure you haven’t worked on these specific act problems before; that’ll defeat the purpose.<\/p>\n now you’re ready to go! here’s what to do:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n here’s a quick breakdown of questions and timing on the act tests:<\/p>\n so if you’re trying to answer all the questions, there are your time goals! <\/p>\n just like most test prep<\/a>, this drill isn’t a process you can complete in one sitting. most students will find that they hit a wall at a particular point<\/a>. but i’ve worked with a lot of students, and i can tell you that the wall is entirely breakable. you can<\/em> master act timing, and that’s how to do it!<\/p>\n which subject areas are you struggling to finish? will you be using these act strategies to prepare for test day?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" if you’re struggling to finish the test, our expert act strategies will perfect your pacing and improve your score. read on for our best act tip on timing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":228,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[6],"ppma_author":[24872],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/p>\nwhat you’ll need for this act strategy<\/h2>\n
how should i choose which areas to work on?<\/h3>\n
act strategies: the pacing process<\/h2>\n
\n
\nthat’s it! these act strategies are simple but effective—just how we like them. now: just what is the ideal timing for questions on different act tests?
\n<\/a>
\n <\/p>\ntiming in different act subject areas<\/h3>\n
\n
a final word<\/h2>\n