Preview Princeton Review ACT Premium Prep, 2021 8 Practice Tests + Content Review + Strategies (2021) (College Test Preparation) by The Princeton Review (2020) Preview Princeton Review ACT Premium Prep, 2021 8 Practice Tests + Content Review + Strategies (2021) (College Test Preparation) by The Princeton Review (2020) Preview Princeton Review ACT Premium Prep, 2021 8 Practice Tests + Content Review + Strategies (2021) (College Test Preparation) by The Princeton Review (2020) Preview Princeton Review ACT Premium Prep, 2021 8 Practice Tests + Content Review + Strategies (2021) (College Test Preparation) by The Princeton Review (2020)
Editorial Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief Deborah Weber, Director of Production Gabriel Berlin, Production Design Manager David Soto, Director of Content Development Stephen Koch, Student Survey Manager Selena Coppock, Managing Editor Aaron Riccio, Senior Editor Meave Shelton, Senior Editor Chris Chimera, Editor Orion McBean, Editor Anna Goodlett, Editor Eleanor Green, Editor Patricia Murphy, Editorial Assistant Penguin Random House Publishing Team Tom Russell, VP, Publisher Alison Stoltzfus, Publishing Director Amanda Yee, Associate Managing Editor Ellen Reed, Production Manager Suzanne Lee, Designer The Princeton Review 110 E 42nd Street New York, NY 10017 E-mail: editorialsupport@review.com Copyright © 2020 by TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC All rights reserved Published in the United States by Penguin Random House LLC, New York and in Canada by Random House of Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., Toronto Terms of Service: The Princeton Review Online Companion Tools (“Student Tools”) for retail books are available for only the two most recent editions of that book Student Tools may be activated only once per eligible book purchased, for a total of 24 months of access Activation of Student Tools more than once per book is in direct violation of these Terms of Service and may result in discontinuation of access to Student Tools Services ISBN 9780525570103 Ebook ISBN 9780525570202 ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University Editor: Orion McBean Production Editors: Kathy Carter and Sarah Litt Production Artist: Kris Ogilvie Cover art by Dennis MacDonald / Alamy Stock Photo Cover design by Suzanne Lee a_prh_5.6.0_c0_r0 Acknowledgments The completion of this book would not have been possible without the help and dedication of several individuals In particular, we would like to thank Aaron Lindh, High School Content Director for The Princeton Review Special thanks to Amy Minster, Cat Healey, Sara Kuperstein, and Cynthia Ward for their expert review and contributions to the content of the book Thanks also to Aleksei Alferiev, Kevin Baldwin, Emily Baumbach, Gabby Budzon, Nicole Cosme, Stacey Cowap, Lori DesRochers, Elizabeth Evangelista, Anne Goldberg-Baldwin, Brad Kelly, Jomil London, Scott O’Neal, Danielle Perrini, Sara Soriano, Jess Thomas, and Jimmy Williams for their contributions to this book Also thanks to Kris Oglivie, Kathy Carter, and Sarah Litt for their work on the production of this book Special thanks to Adam Robinson, who conceived of and perfected the Joe Bloggs approach to standardized tests and many other successful techniques used by The Princeton Review Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Acknowledgments Get More (Free) Content Part I: Orientation Introduction to the ACT ACT Strategy Score Goals Taking the ACT Part II: How to Crack the ACT English Test Introduction to the ACT English Test Complete Consistent, Clear, and Concise Rhetorical Skills Part III: How to Crack the ACT Mathematics Test Introduction to the ACT Mathematics Test 10 Fundamentals 11 No More Algebra 12 Plane Geometry 13 Word Problems 14 Graphing and Coordinate Geometry 15 Trigonometry 16 Advanced Math Part IV: How to Crack the ACT Reading Test 17 Introduction to the ACT Reading Test 18 The 6-Step Basic Approach 19 Advanced Reading Skills Part V: How to Crack the ACT Science Test 20 Introduction to the ACT Science Test 21 Scientific Reasoning Skills 22 The Basic Approach 23 Dual Science Passages Part VI: How to Crack the ACT Writing Test 24 Writing Part VII: Drill Answers and Explanations 25 Drill Answers and Explanations Part VIII: The Princeton Review ACT Practice Exams 26 Practice Exam 27 Practice Exam 1: Answers and Explanations 28 Practice Exam 29 Practice Exam 2: Answers and Explanations 30 Practice Exam 31 Practice Exam 3: Answers and Explanations 32 Practice Exam 33 Practice Exam 4: Answers and Explanations Go to PrincetonReview.com/prep and enter the following ISBN for your book: 9780525570202 Answer a few simple questions to set up an exclusive Princeton Review account (If you already have one, you can just log in.) Enjoy access to your FREE content! Need to report a potential content issue? Contact EditorialSupport@review.com and include: full title of the book ISBN page number Need to report a technical issue? Contact TPRStudentTech@review.com and provide: your full name email address used to register the book full book title and ISBN Operating system (Mac/PC) and browser (Firefox, Safari, etc.) Once you’ve registered, you can… Access four more full-length practice tests Find any late-breaking information released about the ACT Read our special “College Admissions Insider” and get valuable advice about the college application process, including tips for writing a great essay and where to apply for financial aid Check to see if there have been any corrections or updates to this edition Sort colleges by whatever you’re looking for (such as Best Theater or Dorm), learn more about your top choices, and see how they all rank according to The Best 386 Colleges Check out bonus features in your Student Tools, including comprehensive study guides and short videos to help enhance your test prep Where Will Your Scores Take You? Check out our College Search Engine on princetonreview.com for information on more than 1,000 schools There, you’ll find info on average test scores and admission rate PACING STRATEGIES Focus on the number of questions you need to hit your goal scores English For English, there is no order of difficulty of the passages or their questions The most important thing is to finish, finding all the Now questions you can throughout the whole test Math Spend more time to fewer questions, and you’ll raise your accuracy Let’s say your goal on Math is a 24 Find 24 under the scaled score column, and you’ll see that you need 39–40 raw points Take all 60 minutes and work 45 questions, using your Letter of the Day (LOTD) on 15 Never questions You’ll get most of the questions you work right, some wrong, and pick up a couple points on the LOTDs Look at it this way: how many more questions you need to answer correctly to move from a 24 to a 27? As few as six Do you think you could find six careless errors on a practice test that you should have gotten right? More Great Titles By The Princeton Review English and Reading Workout for the ACT and Math and Science Workout for the ACT Reading When it comes to picking a pacing strategy for Reading, you have to practice extensively and figure out what works best for you Some students are slow but good readers If you take 35 minutes to fewer passages, you could get all of the questions right for each passage you Use your LOTD for the passages you don’t work, and you should pick up a few additional points Other students could take hours to work each passage and never get all the questions right But if you find all the questions you can on many passages, using your LOTD on all those Never questions, you could hit your target score Which is better? There is no set answer to that True ACT score improvement will come with a willingness to experiment and analyze what works Science In the Science lessons, you’ll learn how to identify your Now, Later, and Never passages Our advice is to be aggressive Spend the time needed on the easiest passages first, but keep moving to get to your targeted raw score Identify Never questions on Now Passages, and use your LOTD Use your remaining time to find the Now questions on as many Later passages as you can get to PACING CHARTS Revisit these pages as you practice Record your scores from practice Set a goal of 1–3 point improvement in your scale score for the next practice test Identify the number of questions you need to answer correctly to reach that goal The score grids provided in Part VIII come with their specific scales You can use those, or use the score grids in this chapter English Pacing Remember that in English, your pacing goal is to finish Prior Score (if applicable): Practice Test Goal: # of Questions Needed: Practice Test Score: Practice Test Goal: # of Questions Needed: Practice Test Score: Math Pacing Our advice is to add questions to your targeted raw score You have a cushion to get a few wrong—nobody’s perfect—and you’re likely to pick up at least a few points from your LOTDs Track your progress on practice tests to pinpoint your target score Prior Score (if applicable): Practice Test Goal: # of Questions Needed: +5 = # of Questions to Work: Practice Test Score: Practice Test Goal: # of Questions Needed: +5 = # of Questions to Work: Practice Test Score: Reading Pacing Experiment with Reading by trying fewer passages, taking more time per passage, and then adding more passages and more questions Identify first how many questions you need Prior Score (if applicable): Practice Test Goal: # of Questions Needed: How many passages to work: Practice Test Score: Practice Test Goal: # of Questions Needed: How many passages to work: Practice Test Score: Science Pacing ACT Science tests generally have passages but may have Use the chart below to figure out how many passages to work if there are passages Target Score # of passages to attempt < 20 passages 20–27 4–5 passages > 27 5–6 passages Prior Score (if applicable): Practice Test Goal: # of Questions Needed: How many passages to work: Practice Test Score: Practice Test Goal: # of Questions Needed: How many passages to work: Practice Test Score: More great titles from The Princeton Review Feeling confident? ACT Elite 36 is designed specifically for advanced students who want to push themselves toward that perfect ACT score Chapter Taking the ACT Preparing yourself both mentally and physically to take the ACT is important This chapter helps you learn exactly what you’re in for, so you can plan ahead and be as comfortable as possible on test day We talk about not only what to but also what not to PREPARING FOR THE ACT The best way to prepare for any test is to find out exactly what is going to be on it This book provides you with just that information In the following chapters, you will find a comprehensive review of all the question types on the ACT, complete information on all the subjects covered by the ACT, and some powerful test-taking strategies developed specifically for the ACT To take full advantage of the review and techniques, you should practice on the tests in this book as well as on real ACT questions We’ve already told you how to obtain copies of real ACT exams Taking full practice exams allows you to chart your progress (with accurate scores for each test), gives you confidence in our techniques, and develops your stamina The Night Before the Test Unless you are the kind of person who remains calm only by staying up all night to last-minute studying, we recommend that you take the evening off Go see a movie or read a good book (besides this one), and make sure you get to bed at a normal hour No final, frantically memorized math formula or grammatical rule is going to make or break your score A positive mental attitude comes from treating yourself decently If you’ve prepared over the last several weeks or months, then you’re ready If you haven’t really prepared, there will be other opportunities to take the test, so get some rest and the best you can Remember, colleges will see only the score you choose to let them see No single ACT is going to be crucial We don’t think night-before-the-test cramming is very effective For example, we would not recommend that you try going through this book in one night On the Day of the Test It’s important that you eat a real breakfast, even if you normally don’t We find that about two-thirds of the way through the test, people who didn’t eat something beforehand suddenly lose their will to go on Equally importantly, take a snack to the test center You will get a break during which food is allowed Some people spend the break out in the hallways comparing answers and getting upset when their answers don’t match Ignore the people around you, and eat your snack Why assume they know any more than you do? Don’t Leave Home Without ’Em Here are some items you’ll want to have on test day Admissions ticket Photo ID or letter of identification Plenty of sharpened No pencils (if you’re taking the pencil-and-paper ACT) A watch An acceptable calculator with new batteries Warming Up While you’re having breakfast, get your mind going by doing a couple of questions from an ACT on which you’ve already worked You don’t want to use the first test on the real exam to warm up And please don’t try a hard question you’ve never done before If you miss it, your confidence will be diminished, and that’s not something you want on the day of the test At the test center, you’ll be asked to show some form of picture ID or provide a note from your school—on school stationery—describing what you look like You’ll also need to take a calculator Check ACTStudent.org/faq to see if your calculator model is permitted If you haven’t changed the batteries recently (or ever), you should that before the test or take a back-up calculator Finally, if you’re taking the pencil-and-paper ACT, you’ll need to take No pencils and an eraser You’ll also want to take a reliable watch—not the beeping kind— because the time remaining is not always announced during the test sections When you get into the actual room in which you’ll be taking the exam, make sure you’re comfortable Is there enough light? Is your desk sturdy? Do the mouse and keyboard work? Don’t be afraid to speak up; after all, you’re going to be spending three and a half hours at that desk And it’s not a bad idea to go to the bathroom before you get to the room It’s a long haul to that first break While your college search may be the furthest thing from your mind on test day, don’t forget that your Student Tools is a great resource for informative articles and advice on financial aid, the application process, letters of recommendation, and much more! ZEN AND THE ART OF TEST TAKING Once the exam begins, tune out the rest of the world That girl with the annoying cough in the next row? You don’t hear her That guy who is fidgeting in the seat ahead of you? You don’t see him It’s just you and the exam Everything else should be a blur As soon as one section ends, erase it completely from your mind It no longer exists The only thing that matters is the one you are taking right now Even if you are upset about a particular section, try to forget about it If you are busy thinking about the last section, you cannot focus on the one on which you are currently working, and that’s a surefire way to make costly mistakes Most people aren’t very good at assessing how they performed on a given section of the exam, especially while they’re still taking it, so don’t waste your time and energy trying Some Things to Remember Make sure you know where the test center is located and where you need to go once you are there Show up early; you can’t show up right when the test is scheduled to begin and expect to get in Lay out everything you need, including your calculator, admission ticket, and photo identification, the night before the test The last thing you want to on the morning of the test is run around looking for a calculator Also, it’s important to take your own watch if you’re taking the pencil-and-paper ACT because there’s no requirement for the room you’re in to have a working clock Take a snack and a bottle of water just in case you get hungry There’s nothing worse than testing on an empty stomach Keep Your Answers to Yourself Please don’t let anyone cheat off you Test companies have developed sophisticated anti-cheating measures that go way beyond having a proctor walk around the room We know of one test company that gets seating charts of each testing room Its computers analyze the results of people sitting in the immediate vicinity for correlations of wrong answer choices Innocent and guilty are invited to take the exam over again, and their scores from the first exam are invalidated Using the Nav Tool On the ACT Online Test, use the Nav Tool to make sure you’ve answered every question before time runs out We recommend doing so at the minute warning Beware of Misbubbling Your Answer Sheet Probably the most painful kind of mistake you can make on the ACT is to bubble in choice (A) with your pencil when you really mean choice (B), or to have your answers one question number off (perhaps because you skipped one question on the test but forgot to skip it on the answer sheet) Aargh! The proctor isn’t allowed to let you change your answers after a section is over, so it is critical that you either catch yourself before a test section ends or—even better—that you don’t make a mistake in the first place We suggest to our students that they write down their answers in their test booklets This way, whenever you finish a page of questions in the test booklet, you can transfer all your answers from that page in a group We find that this method minimizes the possibility of misbubbling, and it also saves time Of course, as you get near the end of a test, you should go back to bubbling question by question If you get back your ACT scores and they seem completely out of line, you can ask the ACT examiners to look over your answer sheet for what are called “gridding errors.” If you want to, you can even be there while they look If it is clear that there has been an error, ACT will change your score An example of a gridding error would be a test in which, if you moved all the responses over by one, they would suddenly all be correct Write Now Feel free to write all over your test booklet Don’t computations in your head Put them in the booklet; you paid for it Go nuts! Should I Ever Cancel My Scores? We recommend against canceling your scores, even if you feel you’ve done poorly If you have registered as we recommended and not sent the scores to any colleges and possibly not to your high school, then the score you receive won’t go anywhere unless you send it on later There is no need to panic and cancel your score without knowing what it is if no one will ever see it You never know—perhaps you did better than you think Furthermore, if you’ve taken the ACT two or more times (something we heartily recommend), you can choose which score you want colleges to see or send a superscore when you request reports from ACT If you decide to cancel your scores, ACT allows you to it only at the test center itself However, you can stop scores from reaching colleges if you call ACT by 12:00 P.M (CST) on the Thursday following the test The number to call is 319-337-1270 ... VIII: The Princeton Review ACT Practice Exams 26 Practice Exam 27 Practice Exam 1: Answers and Explanations 28 Practice Exam 29 Practice Exam 2: Answers and Explanations 30 Practice Exam 31 Practice. .. real ACT The same test can be downloaded for free from ACT? ??s website More great titles by The Princeton Review 1,523 ACT Practice Questions offers the equivalent of whole ACT practice tests. .. basically the same as the pencil-and-paper ACT, who would take the ACT Online Test? WHO TAKES THE ACT ONLINE TEST? ACT has been offering versions of the ACT on the computer since about 2016 The first