Time Management Tips for the ACT Exam

Since the ACT exam is a fast-paced one, you really have to be very careful and smart about approaching this test. First and foremost, you need to understand the way to handle this test and its four comprehensive sections. Basically, you are constantly racing the clock. Well, all that we can say is your focus mustn’t be on getting things perfectly – but rather to watch and maximize your score.

And scoring really well in this exam would require you to be more smart and strategic in your choice of tactics and your prioritization techniques.

Fret not! Here we bring you a comprehensive guide that would help you with brilliant time management tips for your ACT exam and help you crack the same with a higher score.

Time Management Tips for the ACT Exam

It all begins with a great time management mindset. So, prep yourself up and learn more about the various sections and the topics that are being covered under this test. This will save you a lot of time in the future.

Now let us look at each section and how you can handle it.

English Section

The English section generally has 75 questions which you are supposed to answer within 45 minutes – which leaves you with 36 seconds per question. Sounds scary right?

But not to worry, most of these questions are simple grammar fixes. Thus, leaving overthinking aside, you have to smartly skim through the questions, look for general grammatical rules being applied (make yourself a master of this), for example, comma, subject-verb agreement, etc. And if you still have a doubt, pick up the most simple and hosted answer. Most importantly, in order to manage your time effectively you need to learn to skip some questions and come back to them at a later point in time – particularly if you know that question is going to take you more than 10 seconds. Just circle it and come back later.

You really have to trust your gut here and move on. Forget writing flowery answers and focus on being more concise and very clear.

In the English section, you have around 15 questions per passage. So make sure you give just about 8-9 minutes per passage and move on.

Reading Section

The reading section has about 40 questions which you need to answer in about 35 minutes. Also, as the name suggests, you do not have to READ every word of it. Learn smart skimming techniques. And by smart, you really have to focus on what is the crux of the passage. You can give about 2-3 minutes for this reading activity. Also, with detailed passages, you can first try to skim through the questions first to know where to put more focus while reading the passage. give no more than 8-9 minutes per passage, if you feel it is getting complicated and requires more time investment, move on!

Science Section

This section also asks you to finish 40 questions in 35 minutes. note that the science section is more about data interpretation. Skip the fluff and move on the graphs and pie charts quickly where all the key information lies. Make sure you take no more than 15 seconds per question. Simply glance at the question, interpret the data, if possible within 15 seconds, do it, or else move along. STOP overanalyzing data as well. Simply look at the graph trends –  increase, decrease, constant, etc. and answer the question immediately.

Remember – no more than 6 minutes on each question to save you enough time!

Math Section

Well, here you would have to answer 60 questions in 60 minutes straight – which means – 1 question = 1 minute!

Here, the first 30 questions are generally the easier ones. So focus on the “Plug and chug” strategy where you simply apply the formula. If you really think some question is really going to take you more time, just come back to it later.

Long worded questions aren’t complicated. They just take more time to read and comprehend. Focus better. Also, remember, the ACT exam mostly favors straightforward answers. Time yourself considering the 1 question per minute formula and stick to it to finish your section on time.

Guidance and support

Now, to make things extremely easier, to give you more detailed tips than these to succeed in the ACT exam, it is highly recommended that you seek expert guidance who knows the ACT in and out and has helped many other successful aspirants reach their goals. And therefore, who better than EduQuest – one of the finest educators for the ACT exam to help you out with the same. So, join them at the earliest to make the most of your dreams.