Because these are actual ACT questions, this book provides the greatest example questions. This implies that the structure, timing, and question phrasing will be the same as what you'll see on the exam (with one exception; see the disadvantages section below). It's essential to use actual practice questions when preparing so that you may become accustomed to the exam environment, understand what to anticipate, and determine which areas of the test require further preparation.

The best resource for actual ACT questions that have appeared on prior exams is the Official ACT Prep Guide. Unofficial practice questions from sources like Kaplan and the Princeton Review can be beneficial, but the best way to prepare for the ACT is to use genuine practice problems that you might encounter on test day. The principles of algebra evaluated in the Math part as well as the use and mechanics found in the English section are not covered in this thorough study guide. This book was written as a study aid and ought to be used as such.

Highlights:

• 6 full-length practice tests (this adds up to nearly 12 hours of simulated practice).
• Answers for each question are provided
• Updated writing prompts and directions
• 400 additional online practice questions
• All questions are real and can be found on previous ACT tests

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The "Red Book" and the "Black Book" are intended to be used in tandem since the Black Book offers advice on how to "beat" the ACT by using actual ACT questions from the Red Book. It becomes evident that the ACT Prep Black Book is intended to assist you grasp the technique of asking and how to answer the issues in a manner that can be applied across questions rather than to show you the "flaws" of the ACT.

By offering some advice on one of the most challenging ideas in the English section—commas—they are also assisting students in achieving their greatest score, which is something that should be applauded. The Black Book offers a complete chapter on commas and how the ACT will evaluate your comprehension of this sometimes overlooked grammar subject, in addition to guiding students through the English answer-choice pattern.

For those who may already own the First Edition, please note that there are some updates in the Second Edition, including a fully updated training for the most recent change on the ACT Essay. Similarly, Mike has enhanced multiple strategies in this book to reflect an improved learning experience for students based on feedback from its first edition.

Highlights:

• This book is empowering, as it provides you with a clear guide on how to logically answer questions quickly and confidently.
• More than 600 walkthroughs of real ACT questions in the first 3 practice tests of the latest official ACT publication.
• This book provides various strategies to answer questions, so the student can choose which strategy aligns best with their manner of thinking.
• These are by far the best explanations you are going to find for real ACT questions outside of personal tutoring.

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Manhattan Prep is the king of the 5 lb. practice books, measuring in at a size greater than the typical phone book. Numerous people have benefited from their best-selling, 5-pound GRE book, and they are ready to repeat the success with the ACT. This book, which has over 1,800 practice questions, ranks among the finest ACT prep books because it will help you improve your capacity to respond to questions on the ACT both quickly and effectively. The Manhattan Prep ACT Book, in contrast to the Red Book previously discussed, also includes in-depth explanations of questions that will aid you in better understanding the subject and teaching you how to respond to questions on the exam.

Many exam preparation books claim to offer 10 full-length practice tests but only print 2 or 3. As a result, you must print the remaining practice tests. The Manhattan Prep ACT book has the advantage of providing all the necessary practice exams in one volume.

Highlights:

• All practice tests are found in this book and require no further printing.
• Chapter 2 provides a diagnostic test so that you can identify your strengths and weaknesses moving forward.
• 610 English problems, 500 Math problems, 345 Reading problems, and 343 Science problems with answers & explanations.
• Mini-lessons are provided with each question.

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You may be confident that this prep material will offer efficient study techniques and tactics because Kaplan is a major player in almost all test preparation settings and made it onto your list of the top ACT prep books. It is thorough, offering in-depth analyses of each part that will be evaluated on the ACT.

One official ACT practice exam and answer explanations for each practice question are included in the book. You may get additional practice exams, explanations, and video lessons from Kaplan online when you buy this book.

Highlights:

• 5 practice tests and explanations (1 in print, 4 online).
• Scoring and analysis for 1 official ACT prep test.
• A full-year access to an online center with quizzes and videos.
• SmartPoints system – practice on popular topics and questions.

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The Princeton Review ACT is a very thorough prep book that offers you a full content review of every part, method, and practice question, in contrast to the Red and Black Book. The key ideas covered in the Princeton Review's ACT Premium are those that you may want to review or master, particularly for the math and English grammar parts.

This book made this list of the top ACT prep books even though the answer explanations aren't as extensive as those in The Black Book since it will guide you through the line of reasoning required to respond to particular sorts of questions. You may utilize the 8 practice exams in each subject to review your speed and accuracy. Each part also includes drills and explanations.

Highlights:

• Optional LiveGrader for essay.
• 8 full-length practice tests (4 in the book, 4 online).
• Instant scoring for online practice tests.
• Drills and explanations after each comprehensive section.

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This book delves deeply into the ACT math section and is the closest thing on this list to a math textbook. The book is structured with a subject review followed by practice exercises. Anyone who is having trouble in high school arithmetic will get a lot out of this book and be able to review or re-learn the math skills required to perform well on the ACT.

This book focuses on fundamental concepts including fractions, decimals, percentages, and proportions as well as fundamental mathematics. It also delves into more complex issues like matrices, probability, inverse functions, polynomial division, etc. Tips for utilizing your calculator are provided (TI-84 series).

Highlights:

• The in-depth textbook that organizes and outlines types of math problems and how to solve them.
• A good primer for students who are preparing to graduate to more advanced problems in the near future.

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If commas are your bane, this book can come in very handy for your grammar on the ACT. Meltzer begins with the fundamental building blocks of speech and then progresses to more complicated grammar ideas as you learn.

Since most of you are probably attempting to forget those uncomfortable pre-tween years, this comprehensive method will likely force you to revisit grammar you haven't studied since middle school. In order to show you how to repair any potential errors, Meltzer gives both correct and wrong examples for each new grammatical idea. Short passages are used to practice during practice exercises that follow each session. These exercises are designed to mimic the format of the actual ACT.

Readers also appreciate how Meltzer breaks up her teachings into exercises after a few chapters so that you can become used to being evaluated on a variety of grammatical problems at once. Since each question on the actual exam won't be divided into distinct topics and chapters, this is a fairly practical way to approach ACT preparation. Without individualized teaching, students must be taught how to identify topics and be assessed on them.

Highlights:

• Meltzer provides strategies on how to answer questions, enabling students to find answers easily.
• The appendix breaks out grammar points for easy referencing.
• Very thorough writing and breakdown of concepts.

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The prep book For the Love of Science, created by educator and instructor Michael Cerro, is excellent for students hoping to improve their Science test results. This study guide is divided into five chapters: The Foundations 2. Complex Question Formats 3. Use of Science 4. Outwitting the last query 5. Attacking Divergent Points of View.

Each chapter is divided into smaller pieces, and each section is followed by a few drill problems to help students thoroughly understand the concepts presented there. A practice exam that will assess your knowledge of the key ideas covered follows each chapter. The scientific method—hypothesis analysis, experimentation, data collecting, data analysis using numbers and graphics, and making conclusions—will be thoroughly understood by the end of the course by the students.

Highlights:

• Plenty of practice problems after each section and chapter to reinforce learned concepts.
• Easy to digest writing style.
• Sample questions are the closest to the real ACT Science that we have seen so far.

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The Complete Guide to ACT English, which we previously identified as the top ACT prep book for the English part, was also written by Erica Meltzer. Writing this book, Erica assumes a lot of responsibility since for many kids, improving their reading score on the ACT is the hardest section score to do.

Even though reading, logical reasoning, and critical thinking are less obvious abilities to hone and develop, this book does a fantastic job of focusing on the many kinds of issues and how to approach them in a methodical way. The reading passages and practice problems in Erica Meltzer's The Complete Guide to ACT Reading are of excellent quality and realistic in nature. The abilities you must build for this area, which can be more difficult to pinpoint than, say, the math section, are well-dissected by Erica Meltzer. She talks about time-saving reading techniques and provides exercises to practice each ability.

Highlights:

• Passages and questions are extremely similar to the real ACT Reading.
• Includes 2 full-length Reading practice tests at the end.
• The suggested reading list is provided for additional, supplemental reading study.
• Different strategies are provided based on skill level while tackling this section.

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Top 50 ACT Math Skills, unlike a lot of other math review books, is written in an engaging style. It discusses 50 critical math skills you need for the ACT, along with sample questions illustrating each concept.

A particular strength of this ACT prep book is that it walks you through solving the problems from beginning to end, which can aid your thinking when you're taking the real test. This book has a diagnostic pre-test you can use to assess your skills starting out, as well as a post-test to gauge your progress, and two extra tests online. This book has fewer practice problems since it focuses more on teaching the top 50 arithmetic concepts. The Red Book and another source of practice questions should be used in conjunction with this book to review ideas.

Highlights:

• Quick read and full of practical ways to improve your ACT Essay score.
• Proven template provided that allows students to essentially “plugin” details based on the prompt.

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