ACT
Total Prep
2022
ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc., which neither sponsors nor endorses this product.
Lead Editor
Kathryn Sollenberger, M.Ed.
Contributing Editors
Dr. Brandon Deason, M.D.; M. Dominic Eggert; Paula L. Fleming, MA; Glen Stohr; Alexandra Strelka, MA
Special thanks to our writers and reviewers:
Laura Aitcheson, Michael Collins, Michael Cook, Maria Cuffe, Sterling Davenport, Boris Dvorkin, Mark Feery, Emily Graves, Jonathan Habermacher, Laurel Haines, Jack Hayes, Peter Haynicz-Smith, Stephanie Jolly, Samee Kirk, Jo LAbbate, Melissa McLaughlin, Lauren Miller, Aishwarya Pillai, Gail Rivers, Anne Marie Salloum, Gordon Spector, Caroline Sykes, Heather Waite, Bonnie Wang, and Ethan Weber
Additional special thanks to
Deborah Becak, Isaac Botier, Brian Carlidge, Tim Eich, Joanna Graham, Rebecca Knauer, Camellia Mukherjee, Kristin Murner, Narender Patyal, Ashley Stussy, Oscar Velazquez, Michael Wolff, Amy Zarkos, and the countless others who made this project possible.
ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc., which neither sponsors nor endorses this product.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Colleges will consider your ACT score as part of your application, so its no surprise that its a pretty tough test. It can feel intimidating, like a barrier you need to climb over. At Kaplan, its our goal to help you look at the ACT as an opportunitya chance to demonstrate your knowledge, as well as your critical thinking skills, which will be key to your success as a college student. Looking at the ACT as an opportunity will help you do better on the test.
Besides committing to a positive attitude toward the test, give yourself a head start with these tips:
- The ACT is a standardized test, meaning that scores for every testing administration mean the same thing. To achieve this reliability, the test maker must always ask questions on the same topics and in the same way. This makes the test predictable and, therefore, easier to prepare for. Weve distilled how high-scoring students approach each section into Kaplan Methods. In fact, each method gets its own chapter. Learn these simple, step-by-step methods, and youll approach questions like an expert.
- The ACT is not like the tests you take in school. When colleges want to know how you do on tests in school, they look at your transcript. Acing the ACT requires different skills. This book highlights these skills, from taking math shortcuts to avoiding wrong-answer traps to managing your time. By studying this book, youll learn to think like the test.
- Your skill level now has nothing to do with your skill level on test day. Getting some questions wrong? Having trouble with a specific topic? That just means youve found an opportunity to raise your score. Be patient with yourself! In your life so far, youve already learned thousands of things. You can learn a few more things to succeed on the ACT.
Read on to learn how your book and online resources are organized and how to make the best use of them. Good luck on the testyoure going to nail it!
Congratulations on taking this important step in your college admissions process! By studying with Kaplan, the official partner of live instruction for the ACT, youll maximize your score on the ACT, a major factor in your overall application.
Our experience shows that the greatest ACT score increases result from active engagement in the preparation process. Kaplan will give you direction, focus your preparation, and teach you the specific skills and effective test-taking strategies you need to know for the ACT. We will help you achieve your top performance on test day, but your effort is crucial. The more you invest in preparing for the ACT, the greater your chances of achieving your target score and getting into your top-choice college.
Are you registered for the ACT? Kaplan cannot register you for the official ACT. If you have not already registered for the upcoming ACT, visit the official website at www.act.org to register online and for information on registration deadlines, test sites, accommodations, and fees.
Chapter Organization
The chapters in this book follow a standard format to make this book as easy to use as possible.
How Much Do You Know?
At the beginning of most chapters, you have an opportunity to assess how much you already know about the topics by answering a set of test-like questions. If you answer most or all of the questions in a set correctly and in the most efficient way, you may want to skip one or more lessons in that chapter. If you answer some or all of the questions in a set incorrectly or in an inefficient way, you will want to review most or all of the lessons in that chapter. The answers and explanations for these sections are provided in the Check Your Work section immediately after the question set.
Try on Your Own
The lessons within each chapter start with a question (or passage) typical of the way the ACT tests a given topic and ends with a set of practice questions called Try on Your Own. These sections are designed to provide immediate, targeted practice. Complete these questions and review their explanations at least once after reviewing the lesson. You might consider completing these questions multiple times if you are preparing for the ACT over an extended period of time. The answers and explanations for these sections are provided at the end of each chapter.
On Test Day
Most of the Math chapters include an On Test Day section that highlights one or more ways a question can be approached strategically. Complete these sections after you have reviewed the lessons but before you complete the How Much Have You Learned? question set.
How Much Have You Learned?
You need to reinforce what you learn in each chapter by practicing the Kaplan methods and strategies. Most chapters include a section called How Much Have You Learned? that features additional practice questions reinforcing the concepts explained in that chapter. The answers and explanations for these sections are provided at the end of each chapter.
Reflect
These sections can be completed during or after a chapters completion. You might prefer to use the Reflect sections to evaluate your retention over time or reflect on the chapter as a whole when you complete all of the lessons. However you choose to reflect on your ACT studying, whats important is taking the time to do so.
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