Up Your Score: Act, 2018-2019 Edition: The Underground Guide to Outsmarting the Test

Fully updated to reflect the most current version of the ACT, Up Your Score: ACT remains the test prep and survival guide that kids will actually want to use. Written by Chris Arp, a Princeton graduate and top ACT tutor—with the help of four students who aced the test (and went on to the colleges of their choice)—it’s a true insider’s guide, filled with effective strategies and tips, delivered with the attitude, smarts, and wit that make Up Your Score the bestselling alternative test-prep series in print.

▪ Crush the reading section by developing the Five Habits of Lean Forward Reading.
▪ Master the math section through techniques like “plugging in,” an amazing trick that simplifies all algebra word problems.
▪ Annihilate the English section by absorbing six key punctuation and nine essential grammar rules.
▪ Sail through the science section by understanding that it actually tests reasoning.
▪ Plus, the latest information on ACT scoring and the essay test, revised in 2015 to be more open-ended and analytical.

 

Chris Arp is a veteran and highly sought-after test-prep tutor at Veritas (now called Zinc Educational Services). He has a BA from Princeton and a Masters in Education from Brooklyn College and is writing a novel.

Ava Chen is a senior at MIT, studying mechanical engineering. 

Jon Fish graduated in three years from the University of Kentucky with a degree in history and political science. He plans to attend law school.

Zack Swafford is getting a masters in artificial intelligence at Stanford.

Guest editor Devon Kerr scored a perfect 36 on the ACT and is a junior at Northwestern.