ACT common mistakes
ACT · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Choosing an English answer because it sounds sophisticated or formal rather than checking whether it satisfies the grammar of the sentence (subject-verb agreement, pronoun case, punctuation joining clauses).
Students transfer a 'fancy writing = correct answer' heuristic from essay grading, and the test writers plant wordy, formal-sounding distractors precisely to exploit it.
What to do instead
For every English question, name the rule being tested before looking at the choices (e.g., 'two independent clauses need a period, semicolon, or comma+conjunction'), then eliminate any choice that violates that rule regardless of tone.
Deleting a portion of text on 'rhetorical' questions (does the essay need this sentence?) without first reading the surrounding sentences to see whether the deleted material is needed for context, transitions, or the paragraph's stated purpose.
These questions look like editing/style judgment calls, so students answer from gut feel instead of treating them as comprehension checks with an objective answer.
What to do instead
Before deciding, reread the sentence before and after the target, state the paragraph's main point in your own words, and test the deletion against that point; if the surrounding text becomes unclear or the transition breaks, keep it.
Spending equal time on every math question, sinking several minutes into one hard item and leaving later, easier questions unanswered.
The math section is ordered roughly by difficulty, so early success creates momentum and students feel they 'should' be able to solve whatever they're on, and they fear leaving a blank.
What to do instead
Adopt a two-pass strategy: on pass one, give any question about 60-90 seconds, mark and skip the rest, and guarantee an answer bubble for every question; return to marked items only with leftover time.
Solving for x and then bubbling x when the question asked for 2x+1, a perimeter, or a count of something else.
Under time pressure the brain treats 'find the variable' as the goal and stops at the first computed number, which is usually a planted answer choice.
What to do instead
Before computing, underline what the question actually asks for and write it as a target (e.g., 'want: 3x-4'); after solving, do a five-second check that the final value answers that target, not the intermediate variable.
Reading the passage first at full attention, then reading the questions, so time runs out before finishing the last passage.
Students are taught to 'read carefully' in school, but the ACT rewards efficient targeted reading; careful front-loading burns minutes that the questions need.
What to do instead
Practice a question-first or skimming hybrid: read the passage once at a brisk pace for main idea and paragraph locations (about 2-3 minutes), then answer questions by returning to the cited or relevant lines rather than rereading the whole passage.
Answering detail questions from memory of the passage instead of going back to the exact lines, and choosing an option that 'seems true' but is not supported by the text.
The passages are dense and the answer choices are written to sound plausible; memory reconstructs gist, not exact wording, so plausible-but-unsupported options feel correct.
What to do instead
For every detail or inference question, locate the specific line(s), cover the choices, predict the answer in your own words, then match; reject any choice that requires information not present in the passage even if it is factually true.
On data-representation questions, reading the graph's trend from the overall shape or the first data point instead of checking axis labels, units, and the specific values the question names.
Graphs are processed quickly and visually, and the ACT deliberately uses similar-looking figures with different axes, scales, or units across questions.
What to do instead
Before answering, verbalize the x-axis, y-axis, and units, then point to the exact data point or interval the question references; for 'which figure supports' items, verify the claim against each figure's actual numbers rather than its visual pattern.
Bringing outside science knowledge into conflicting-viewpoint or experimental-design questions, choosing the answer that matches real-world science instead of what the passage's scientists actually claim.
Strong students have learned the correct science and assume the test rewards it, but these questions test reading the arguments as presented, including deliberately simplified or hypothetical views.
What to do instead
Treat each scientist as a character with a stated position; for each choice, ask 'which scientist, and which sentence, says this?' and eliminate any answer that is true in reality but not stated in the passage.
Outlining or writing the essay without first taking 8-10 minutes to read the prompt, take a position, and plan specific evidence, then running out of time mid-body or writing a vague, example-free essay.
The 40-minute limit invites panic-writing, and students believe more words equals a better score, so they start typing immediately and discover mid-essay that they have no concrete support.
What to do instead
Budget explicitly: about 8-10 minutes to read, choose a side, and list two or three concrete examples plus a counterpoint; 25 minutes to draft; 5 minutes to revise for clarity and grammar. Practice this timing on at least three full essays before test day.
Writing an essay that summarizes the issue or argues both sides evenly instead of committing to one perspective and analyzing it in depth.
School essays often reward balanced discussion, and students fear that picking a side looks simplistic, so they hedge and never develop an argument.
What to do instead
Take a clear position in the first paragraph and use every body paragraph to develop that one perspective with specific reasoning and examples; acknowledge the other side only briefly to strengthen your own case, not to split the essay.