ACT Science Section Tips

The Science Section of the ACT may sound a bit off-putting, especially for those who are science adverse, but the ACT really doesn’t strictly test scientific knowledge. Really, it tests more of your graph reading and logical reasoning skills. Sure, there’s a lot of scientific jargon to get around, but with practice, you can manage to get past it and find that some of the questions can be remarkably simple. There are a few reading strategies that will help – first off, don’t read the passages! Seriously, it is a very fast test and doing so will guarantee you won’t be able to complete the section. Instead, quickly skim the passage, graphs and charts, noting what it’s about, what the general trends are and if possible – what the dependant and independent variables are (check my YouTube Channel American SAT & ACT Tuition http://ow.ly/Ousn6  for video lessons on this). Then go straight to the questions. Each one will direct you generally to which graph you will need to refer to. You should spend only 4-5 minutes for each section. The one exception to the preceding advice is for the ‘Opposing Viewpoints’ section. This section will be recognisable by its longer texts and is usually sub-headed Scientist A and Scientist B. This section I recommend skipping and then doing last, as it requires closer reading and longer time to complete – save approximately 5-6 minutes for this section.

With practice, you should find the Science Section becomes easier and more doable.