Introduction for ACT Exam Success

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Part 1: Introduction to the ACT Assessment
Taking the ACT Assessment or SAT exam as a part of the college admissions process is a rite of passage for
millions of teenagers across the country and in many parts of the world. It is probably not something you look
forward to, but it cannot and should not be avoided for long.
Why the ACT, Why Me?
Because of the simple fact that high school standards and quality vary widely, colleges look to standardized
tests to level the playing field for all students. Unlike the SAT, the aim of the ACT is to test what you have
learned in high school. It is not an “aptitude” test, as the SAT claims to be, nor is it an intelligence test. So if
you have taken challenging courses in high school, you have already set the foundation to do well on the ACT.
Your score on the ACT is used in conjunction with other factors including grades, application essays and
extracurricular activities to help colleges decide on whom to admit. Different schools give different weight
to the importance of ACT scores, but a high score can only help you get into the college of your choice.
CHAPTER
Introduction
The ACT Assessment
®
is an important exam; so the more you know
about it, the better off you will be in the end. This chapter will intro-
duce you to the essentials of the ACT and all of its separate parts.
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ACT vs. SAT
The SAT has gotten a lot of bad press in recent years, and talk has turned to altogether eliminating stan-
dardized testing from college admissions. ACT has long avoided much of this controversy, partly because
it does not claim to test aptitude or forecast your ability to do well in college—both very subjective fac-
tors. For the same reason, many educators and students alike prefer the ACT to the SAT, as they judge
it to be a fairer test of students’ knowledge.
Subjective opinions aside, there are some concrete differences between the SAT and the ACT:
■
The ACT tests limited vocabulary.

■
The ACT tests trigonometry, English grammar, and science reasoning.
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All ACT questions are multiple-choice.
■
Points are not deducted for incorrect answers on the ACT.
■
Colleges can view all SAT scores, while students can send their best ACT scores.
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Who Takes the ACT?
If you are planning on attending college, chances are you are going to have to take either the SAT or ACT in
order to even apply to almost any school. Historically, the ACT has been more popular with schools in the
Midwest and West, while the SAT has been the test of choice for students on the East and West Coasts. The
popularity of the ACT all over the country has been growing, in part because it is seen as fairer than the SAT
in testing students’ knowledge. Today, nearly every college accepts ACT scores and many educators and stu-
dents alike prefer the ACT because its content more closely matches what is actually taught in school.
When to Take the ACT
The first step in preparing for the ACT is to decide on the date you want to take the test. Your application must
be postmarked by the registration deadline, and the cost for normal registration is $24 ($27 in Florida and
$40 outside the United States), which includes the reporting of your scores to four colleges. If you miss the
deadline, you can still take the test, but you must pay an additional fee of $15. If you manage to miss both
the original deadline and the late deadline, there is still hope. You can go standby and hope to get a spot by
just showing up early (with an extra $40, in addition to the late fees).
2003/2004 Dates
For a complete update of future dates beyond those listed below, log onto www.act.org.
April 12, 2003
Registration deadline: March 7, 2003; late fee applies: March 21, 2003
June 14, 2003
Registration deadline: May 9, 2003; late fee applies: May 23, 2003
It is never too early to start preparing for the ACT. In fact, choosing which courses to take in school should

be your very first test-prep step. Taking a demanding course load is the best way to begin to prepare. And
remember that colleges take into account the courses you choose, too, regardless of your ACT score.
When to Start Studying
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September 27, 2003
(available only in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas,
and Washington)
Registration deadline: August 22, 2003; late fee applies: September 5,
2003
October 25, 2003
Registration deadline: September 19, 2003; late fee applies: October 3,
2003
December 13, 2003
Registration deadline: November 7, 2003; late fee applies: November 20,
2003
February 7, 2004
(test not available in New York)
Registration deadline: January 2, 2004; late fee applies: January 16, 2004
April 3, 2004
Registration deadline: February 27, 2004; late fee applies: March 12,
2004
June 12, 2004
Registration deadline: May 7, 2004; late fee applies: May 21, 2004
How to Sign Up
If you have never registered to take the ACT before, there are two ways to do it. You can either register online
or fill out the forms found in the student packet, which is available at your guidance office or by contacting
ACT directly (see contact information). If you have taken the test within the last two years, you can re-reg-
ister by phone.
1. Student Registration Form

Even if you plan on registering online for the ACT, you should still pick up a copy of the student regis-
tration form. In it you will find important information such as test center codes, testing information,
and a practice test. You must register through the paper student packet if:
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You plan on taking the test outside the United States or
■
You are requesting special accommodations because of a disability or
Making Changes to Your Registration
If you must change your test date or location, you should call ACT at 319-337-1270 (between 8:00
A
.
M
.
and 8:00
P
.
M
. Central time, Monday through Friday) before the late deadline for the test you are taking.
You will need to provide your Social Security Number, test date, and code number for the test center you
are choosing.
ACT will charge you $15 to change your test location or date (plus an additional $15 if you make a
change after the registration deadline of the new date you are choosing), so be sure to have a VISA
®
or
MasterCard
®
handy when you make the call.
If you are registered to take the test and miss all the deadlines to change your test date or location,
you can try your luck by just showing up. If there is still space once all the registered students have been
seated, you will be given a spot before the standby students. ACT will charge you $15 to change loca-

tion and $30 to take the test on a different date. Remember to bring your admission ticket with you.
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■
You would like to request a fee waiver or are using a state-funded voucher to cover the basic fee or
■
You are currently enrolled in grades 6, 7, 8, or 9
If you are taking the ACT outside the United States, you should contact ACT directly for the appro-
priate registration materials. In general, the testing dates remain the same, but fees are higher. You
must register with the supervisor of the test center where you choose to take the ACT on or before the
Friday two weeks before the test date you choose.
2. Online Registration
You can register online to take the test by going to the ACT website (www.act.org). The whole process
should take about an hour or an hour and a half, but you do not have to do it all in one sitting. Once
you log on to the site, you get a password and you will be able to work on your registration as often as
you need to for the next 72 hours. Registering online for the ACT costs the same, and the process is
shortened by the time your registration would spend going through the mail.
To register online you must pay with a VISA® or MasterCard®, and your online registration still has
to be completed by midnight of the registration deadline. It is a good idea to print out a copy of your
online registration for your own records since the only thing you will receive from ACT is your admis-
sion ticket (which should arrive in one or two weeks).
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Part 2: About the ACT Assessment
®
What’s On the Test
The simple answer to the question of what is tested on the ACT is: reading comprehension, English, math,
and science reasoning (see the overview of the four sections on page 10 for a detailed description of the sub-
jects covered). This does not mean that you will ace the test if you have somehow managed to memorize every
grammar rule, math equation, and scientific formula you were ever taught in school.
The ACT also tests how well you are able to infer the answer to a given question from the information
presented on the test. This requires you to think about a question in a specific way, rather than simply regur-

gitate facts. You will learn how to do this through practice questions and specific pointers presented later in
the book. On the bright side, if you did manage to get through your classes without memorizing every fact
you were taught, that will not keep you from doing well on the ACT.
Length
Be prepared for about three hours of total testing time, not including short breaks between sections. The
entire test is made up of 215 questions broken down as follows:
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English test: 75 questions in 45 minutes
■
Math test: 60 questions in 60 minutes
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Reading test: 40 questions in 35 minutes
■
Science Reasoning test: 40 questions in 35 minutes
Format
The ACT is broken into four different tests that, while taken on the same day, are totally separate. You are given
a specified amount of time to complete each test, and you cannot return to other tests once the time for that
specific test is up. The format of the reading, math, and science reasoning tests is very straightforward: a prob-
lem or a piece of information is presented and followed by a multiple-choice question. The English test may
look a little more complicated, with its underlined passages and boxed numbers, but once you are used to the
types of questions you will encounter (through practice questions in this book), you will realize they are just
as straightforward. The format of the ACT never varies. Once you familiarize yourself with the question types,
you will know exactly what to expect.
M
ULTIPLE
-
CHOICE
The ACT Assessment Test is made up entirely of multiple-choice questions. Each question on the English,
reading, and science reasoning tests has four possible answers; the questions on the math test have five pos-
sible answers.

E
NGLISH
Five prose passages of varying lengths make up the ACT English Test. The format of the questions that fol-
low each passage are a bit more complicated than the Reading Test questions, although they are still multi-
ple-choice. Each question is numbered and refers to the corresponding numbered section in the text. Most
questions correspond to an underlined or numbered portion of the text, and you are asked to choose the best
answer from the group, including the option “no change.” Some questions, however, refer to the text as a whole
and are clearly noted as such.
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INTRODUCTION
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