Administered by ACT Incorporated, the ACT was first developed as a competitor for the SAT. It is one of the two admission tests needed to gain admission into universities in the United States of America. Only of the two is necessary to complete you applications, and the ACT measures students’ skills in four areas: English, Math, Reading, and Science, and like the new SAT, also has an optional essay that the student can choose to do. The test is 2 hours, 55 minutes long – or 3 hours, 15 minutes long if you have opted for the essay – and is scored out of 36, by subject area. The scores of each subject area are then averaged together to give you your final score.
While there are a variety of coaching classes available for students aiming to appear for the ACT, one of the most important tools in any student’s arsenal is the availability of good study material. It is because of this need that students should be aware of the best books available to study for this test.
Top 5 Books for ACT
1. The Real ACT Prep Guide
Released by ACT Incorporated, who also administer the ACT examinations, this book contains 5 full-length practice tests, along with answers and answer explanations. This is a good amount of material to start with. However, 5 practice tests is nowhere near enough, and the book is not enough for students looking to learn concepts instead of simply practicing.
You can choose not to buy the book, as all official practice tests are available for free online. However, the free online tests do not contain answer explanations, though the answers themselves are provided. You can also choose to take the free online practice tests if you are looking for more practice that 5 tests offered by The Real ACT Prep Guide.
2. The Complete Guide to ACT English
Written by Erica Meltzer, this book guides you through all the grammar that you will need to know for your ACT. It also contains only what you will need for your ACT, making certain that you aren’t wasting time with extraneous material. Furthermore, it contains several practice questions, and these are in a realistic ACT format, allowing you to get in extra practice. However, like all of Meltzer’s books, this one tends to be rather expensive.
3. Ultimate Guide to the Math ACT
If you find yourself struggling with the basics of the math topics that the ACT tests you on, like with SAT prep, the best option is to look at Khan Academy’s free online modules. Unlike with the SAT, Khan Academy does not have modules that are specifically designed for ACT prep – however, looking for topic specific modules can help lift your grade at the beginner level.
For others, Ultimate Guide to the Math ACT by Richard Corn offers a great way to better you skills in weak areas. It focuses solely on the topics needed for the ACT, which means that you don’t waste time on topics you won’t need in your exam. It also offers up strategies that can help you go about your ACT preparation in a more effective manner. However, the answer explanations can be lacking.
4. The Complete Guide to ACT Reading
Another book by Erica Meltzer, this book breaks down the ACT reading section by question type and skill required. It also contains several realistic passages and practice question, as well as techniques that will train you on how to approach and skim through passages. However, this is another book that tends to be on the more expensive side.
5. Science
There are few recommended books that cover the science section in complete depth, and several students comment that as unlikely as it sounds, the science section does in fact have some things in common with the reading section – specifically, the need to closely read through passages in order to get to the correct answer.
Because of this fact, one of the best books for science is McGraw-Hill’s Top 50 Skills for English, Reading, and Science. While the combination of science with reading and English may seem unlikely, as noted above, the science section does have aspects in common with them. It also provides you with a strong support structure for basic concepts, especially in science.
Barron’s ACT Math and Science Workbook is a great source of practice questions for both math and science, and is another useful book to use when studying for the science portion of the exam.
The books mentioned in this article merely touch the surface of the breadth of books available to help you prepare for the ACT. While these are broadly some of the best texts available, you should keep in mind that everyone learns in different ways, and that you may benefit from another choice that what is mentioned here.
Libraries usually have several preparation texts, helping with access to not only the texts mentioned above, but others as well. What you should concentrate on is learning as thoroughly as possible, once you do hit upon a text that suits your style of learning the best.
-Rishika Aggarwal
