ACT Strategy Smart Book + Online (SAT PSAT ACT (College Admission) Prep) - Softcover

Roell MA, Kelly

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0738610097 ISBN 13: 9780738610092

Publisher: Research & Education Association, 2012

Synopsis

ACE the ACT with ACT Strategy Smart

The ACT Strategy Smart test prep is designed to help college-bound students raise their score on the ACT and get into the college of their choice.

Authored by About.com's test prep specialist, ACT Strategy Smart gives you crucial test-taking strategies you need to know before exam day. By learning these effective techniques, you can master the ACT and get a higher score.

Written in a student-friendly, easy-to-understand style, the author focuses on the content of the ACT, explains the concepts tested in each section of the test, and offers strategies, tips, and pointers on how to answer questions correctly. Practice drills and exercises reinforce what you have learned and identify the areas where you need extra study.

Divided into four weekly study sessions, each week covers the unique strategies you need to score high on the English, Math, Science, and Reading portions of the exam. An optional fifth week leads you through strategies for taking the ACT Writing Test.

After studying a section of the book, go to REA's Study Center and take an online practice test on that week's subject. Each practice test is based on actual ACT questions and is the same length, configuration, and difficulty level as the ACT.

A full-length ACT practice exam with detailed answer explanations is included in the book and offered online. Our online test gives you the added benefits of automatic scoring and diagnostic feedback, so you can identify your strengths and weaknesses before exam day.

Get ACT Strategy Smart and study for the ACT the "smart" way!

About this title

About the Author

Kelly C. Roell, M.A., is an author, certified teacher, and lecturer with a wide array of test preparation experience. She taught high school English and Reading for years in one of the nation’s top-ranked school districts, instructing students in the many facets of local, state, and national testing. Her test prep skills helped her administer an SAT* test preparation course to advanced high school students, guiding them to focus their potential and increase their scores.

Kelly is currently the About.com test prep specialist and has written daily test tips and articles for Scholastic.com and MSN.com.

 

 

From the Back Cover

ACT® STRATEGY SMART – EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR A HIGH SCORE

Written by America’s Top ACT Expert!

BOOK: EXPERT STRATEGIES
Our book gives you targeted strategies for answering every question type on the English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning sections of the ACT, plus the optional ACT Writing Test.

WEB: ONLINE PRACTICE TESTS
The online REA Study Center gives you the most powerful scoring analysis and diagnostic tools available today. Our ACT practice tests pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses and help you raise your score by showing you exactly where to focus your study.

MOBILE: E-FLASHCARDS
REA’s flashcard app helps you boost your word power. Create your own unique flashcards or study with the 150 vocabulary flashcards included with the book. And, since you can access the flashcards online or on your smartphone, you can practice anytime you have a free moment.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Welcome to REA’s ACT Strategy Smart! The smart way to prepare for the ACT!

You're hoping to secure a spot at a great college. Funny how I know all about you, right? You're excited about what the future—college, specifically—holds in store. The dorms, the dates, the drama, the drudgery, the degree; the classes, the credits, the community—all of it.

You're rushing full speed ahead, but stop and think for a minute. . . . How do you get into this great college? How do you score a spot in the university that is supposed to shape the rest of your life?

Your first step in the race to get in the door is to take an exam like the ACT. (But since you're reading this book, you already know that.)

Your second step is acing the ACT, which is where your purchase comes in really handy. This book, and the free online tools that come with it, will help you maneuver your way through the ins and outs of the ACT test in just four or five weeks (the fifth week being reserved exclusively for students who really want to get into the colleges of their dreams). Inside, you'll find a complete week-by-week study program with key test-taking strategies, practice questions, and a review of the skills you absolutely must have before you take the ACT. (All of this will help you get a high score on the ACT, so you're accepted into that great college.)

ACT Strategy Smart gives you everything you need to get a great ACT score, and nothing more. I don't waste your valuable study time talking about non-essential material—I give you the important stuff in an easy-to-follow, organized test prep.
Kelly Roell

How to Use ACT Strategy Smart
This book and the free online tools that come with it are organized into weekly study sections that align with the four subtests that make up the ACT: English, Math, Reading, and Science Reasoning. We've also included a section for the optional ACT Writing Test. ACT Strategy Smart puts you on the path to success and gets you ready for the exam.

Here's how:

Review the Book: Each week, study the material related to a single section of the ACT. The proven strategies will help you tackle any question you may see on test day.

Test Yourself & Get Feedback: After you finish reviewing for the week, go to the online
REA Study Center and test yourself with a full-length practice test for that week's subject. Score reports from your free online test give you a fast way to pinpoint what you really know and what you should spend more time studying.

Improve Your Score: Armed with your score reports, go back and review the parts of the book where you are the weakest, or, if you've mastered the material, simply move on to the next week's study section.

The REA Study Center
The best way to improve your score is to get frequent feedback on what you know and what you don't. At the online REA Study Center, you have access to two types of assessment tools: practice tests for each section of the ACT and a full-length practice test covering all five test sections. Each of these tools provides true-to-format questions and delivers a detailed score report that pinpoints your strengths and weaknesses and shows you where to focus your study.

e-Flashcards: Build Your Word Power
REA's flashcard app helps improve your vocabulary. Study with the 150 vocabulary flashcards included when you buy this book (words seen on both the ACT and SAT). Or, create your own cards for the words that give you the most difficulty. And because, you will create these flashcards through the REA Study Center, you'll be able to access them from any computer or smartphone.

The ACT Test Basics
The ACT Test Has 4 Required Multiple-Choice Sections

 English
• 2 subcategories: Usage/Mechanics and Rhetorical Skills
• 75 questions
• 45 minutes

 Math
• 3 subcategories: Pre-Algebra/Elementary Algebra, Algebra/Coordinate Geometry, and Plane Geometry/Trigonometry
• 60 questions
• 60 minutes

 Reading
• 2 subcategories: Social Studies/Sciences and Arts/Literature
• 40 questions
• 35 minutes

 Science Reasoning
• No subcategories
• 40 questions
• 35 minutes

The ACT Test has 1 Optional Essay
Although the essay is technically optional, there are four phenomenal reasons you should just go ahead and register for ACT Plus Writing, instead of just the ACT Test.

1. It's short: The essay is only 30 minutes long. That's it—only half a class period. You can do anything for a half-hour.

2. It's simple: The prompts are nothing you haven't seen before. If you can write a standard four- or five-paragraph essay using basic essay techniques, you'll do just fine on the essay. In fact, this book will show you how to ace it in Week 5.

3. It could be required: Many universities that you'd like to attend actually require the ACT essay. So, although it's "optional" some of the time, it isn't always. You'll have to check with each school to which you want to apply. Why waste the time? Just take it, so you're covered. For the record, I searched 20 different schools randomly—everything from Harvard to Wichita State University—and every single one of them either required or recommended that you take ACT Plus Writing. So, your chances of getting out of this thing are slim.

4. It’ll reduce later stress: If you end up deciding to attend a school where the Writing test is required, then you don't have to schedule another day of testing to go back and take the whole ACT over again just for the essay. Yes, you read that right. The Writing test only comes as an attachment to the entire ACT test, so if you need the essay, you'll have to take each multiple-choice section again!

I'm Not Taking ACT Writing
First of all, why? You should be, and will probably have to. Regardless, if you're 100% sure you don't have to take ACT Plus Writing, you can still follow the program. Just be sure NOT to complete the optional Week 5. There, fixed.

ACT Scores
• Composite Score: Your composite score will be between a 1 (really low) and 36 (genius). This is an average of each section.

• Section Scores: Each multiple-choice test section (English, Math, Reading, and Science) will get a raw score, based on the total number of questions you answer correctly. That score will then be converted to a scaled score, between 1 and 36.

• Subscores: Each subcategory on the test will generate a subscore on the score report between 1 and 18, but these numbers do not add up to, or average, the section score. (Odd, but true.) Basically, these scores will give you an idea of which subcategory you struggled with more, in case you want to retake the test.

• ACT Plus Writing: If you take the Writing test, you'll see two more scores on your score report: a 2 to 12 subscore and a combined English and Writing score of 1 to 36. This score will not be figured into your ACT composite score.

• Good Scores: The national average for composite scores in 2011 was a 21 (ACT.org). Many scholarships require at least a 27 composite score, depending on the school and program.

ACT Registration
• Registering for the ACT is a piece of cake. If you are not testing internationally, you can do it right online at http://ACTstudent.org. Or, you can register with a "Register by Mail" packet, which you must do if you are paying with a check or testing under the age of 13.

• The ACT Test fee is $33 and the ACT Plus Writing Test runs $48. The ACT also has a slew of other fees for things like changing your test center or test date, testing on a standby basis, or registering late.

Edition details

• Publisher: Research & Education Association
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738610097
• ISBN 13: 9780738610092
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 420