A Must-Have for ACT Students
921515
The ACT Guide is a terrific tool for preparing for the exam and the explanations for every question are truly wonderful. It is fairly well organized and very well edited. My strong recommendation for maximizing its effectiveness is breaking the book down into distinct sections (review tools; practice problems; diagnostic tests) so that its size doesn't put you off.

More practice tests would be a bonus, but at 5, it's hard not to be happy.
2986929
I received a 5 on the May 2011 test. Now onto the review: When you've studied so much information throughout the year, you forget what is most important. By the time, AP testing started rolling around I had memorized so many acts, corollaries, and court decisions (Brown Vs Board anyone?) that it began to get hazy and unclear of what was important. This book helped me so much, acting as one giant outline of what is truly important in APUSH and what the AP test makers are looking for that I could never find time to make. Let's face it- we need to STUDY, STUDY, and STUDY. I read this as soon as my class finished studying US history and began reviewing which was around one month or 3 weeks before the actual test. It is amazing; it literally stops and tells you "hey memorize this!!" and although sure, it doesn't go too in depth, it tells you why you, yourself, should go study more on it later, so mark a post-it and study it later!! The best part is that it is CLEAR and straight to the point; thank god for the bullet points! (After all who has time to read full sentences?) I read this during all my classes, walking to school, et cetera- it is that COMPACT. I was at first taken aback that it was so tiny but realized when you're on the go and you don't want to feel like you're wasting time, this is so light weight and can go anywhere with you. I literally brought this book on the day of testing and skimmed through it for 5 minutes before leaving my car. Along with the AMSCO which I read over once 2 weeks prior to the test but highlighted like a maniac and the Barrons flashcards (not so much of a help, there are way too many), I was able to receive a 5.

GET THIS BOOK! If you're already an A student, this will make the test so easy. Truly "smooth sailing"!!
964502
As someone who is just really starting to incorporate ACT in clinical practice, this book fit the bill quite nicely! Very useful, practical, and relevant to clinical work. Especially the experiential exercises- those are super helpful and nicely organized. The metaphors are valuable- I can easily look them up before a session, and be ready with them during my therapy sessions. This is a must-have book for not only those who are doing ACT, but those who see any clients/patients at all!
191502
Karen's book is the best ACT! 6.0 book on the market.  It's well written, full of tips & tricks, and funny.  A lot of the 'funny' books out there tend to be sarcastic, but Karen incorporates humor into her book without crossing the line into sarcasm.  The result is a great book that will show you how to get up and running with ACT! and get the most out of the product.  I urge everyone to buy this book!
I'm an ACT! Certified Consultant and ACT! Premier Trainer and run the 4th largest ACT! reselling outfit in North America.  I'm a contributing editor for the ACT! magazine, and I've written 23 course manuals 100 articles on ACT! and related issues.
4885763
I really love this calculator! It saves so much time on the ACT/SAT by giving you the ability to instantly graph an equation, and then use the "G-SOLV" feature to find all the points you need! I recommend this product to any student who is looking to save time on tests, and in class, and whiz past their friends on tests! This calculator has many features, some to which I barely even need to use.
4575345
This is a great guide for someone trying to increase their Science score.  The directives are easy to understand and execute and definitely help. I tutor students that are looking for strategies to improve their ACT scores, and I have read many books.  This book does help, not all reference guides and workbooks do.
371340
With efforts, 5 steps to a 5 does what it claims to do. That being said, students need to thoroughly go through this guide and go back and read the parts that they don't understand clearly in the textbook. This book is excellent if you're short on time (say, a week to two weeks to review for the AP Exam). The AP Exam does not include too much details (what Barron's would always do), so 5 steps to a 5 is great at generalizing the big picture. It also has exclamation marks whenever there are very important concepts to remember, and also offers where the essays would usually fall on. I used this book and got a 5 on the AP Bio exam, but I also read my textbook and used this book as a last minute review. The Cliffs AP Bio review book is excellent as well. I find their questions the closest to the actual test.
703437
Students can always use more vocabulary practice.  I use this as a supplemental text and I find that there are a lot of the words that are helpful in ACT preparation.
4238251
Excellent ACT study book that focus on math. My students have struggled on math over the years. This workbook have given them additional confidence and has increased their practice test scores.
485819
This book shows multiple was to solve typical ACT problems, and is divided into levels so kids choose the approach that makes the most sense to them and master problems at their level, before being presented with harder problems. Its short enough to get through the problems with complete solutions in a day or two. There are more problems with just answers in the back of the book, but she never got to those as her prep time amounted to one full day. Using just this and "The One Hour ACT Guide", my daughter got a 34 on the Math portion of the ACT. She got B's in Honor PreCalc this year, so this was a very pleasant and unexpected result! Then, just because we had this at home for ACT prep and the SAT Math II subject test was on the weekend before her school finals, she only had time to review the Level 4 and 5 problems in this book and take 2 Barron's practice tests and still scored an 800!
1194417
My son is a terrible test taker and is completely overwhelmed by the ACT and ACT prep process.  This book has helped give him a game plan to tackle both the test as well as the test prep.  Along with a book of practice tests, we are slowly working our way through the tests and his scores are improving.  This easy-to-read guide helped him see that if he follows their advice and doesn't get overwhelmed, that he can do well on the ACT.
2238949
I got this for my daughter who's taking the ACT test soon. It helps her keep pace and lessens anxiety over the test. It's easy to use and we let her practice turning it on a few times. It also has a time screen when not used for testing. It has more of a boyish design and I don't think my daughter would use it except for the test, but she'll be taking quite a few tests until college with this.
2017594
This is a fantastic tool for helping young people learn Shakespeare.  It has both the original text and a modernized version literally side by side.  It has never failed to assist even the most struggling with grasping the concepts of how to understand Shakespeare.  I could not recommend it any more highly.  This, of course, is imho.  Thank you for reading my review.  Please consider purchasing this for your student to use in school.  It really helped my sons.
1845942
David Ball's book is a must-have for all students and professors of theatre. It demystifies the playwriting process and presents a simple, down-to-earth explanation of why a playscript works the way it does. In a word, it explains how scripts work.  I find the deceptively simple explanations help the novices in my Introduction to Theatre classes understand how playscripts are put together and make a fun game of script analysis for these students--a concept that is often hard to communicate to Intro students.  At the same time, it make so much sense that it becomes the cornerstone for Beginning Directing, Playwriting, and Script Analysis students.  Students whom I teach using Ball's ideas always come through the semester with a lot of self-esteem because having such a solid cornerstone allows their creativity to take off in unexpected directions.
4890767
I am in 10th grade, and I started using this book to get a head start in studying for the ACT. I have used numerous other books from Kaplan and the Princeton Review and I can honestly say that this book is far superior than any other ACT test prep book in that it really breaks down the test for you and gives you detailed strategies that are to the point. I definitely recommend this book to any high school student who is studying for the ACT, regardless if you are cramming right before the test date or if you are studying months in advance like me. The truth is that you don't need any other books other than this book and the Real ACT Prep Guide. I wish I had known about this book, before making my parents sign me up for a Kaplan course that was over $500. This book is all you need to get a 36
3807022
I am an Associate Professor of Mathematics, SAT and ACT Math tutor, and author of the book "The 32 Most Effective SAT Math Strategies." I also tutor the Science section of the ACT. If you are preparing for the ACT, then you must have this book since it is the only one with 3 actual exams. I only wish that this book had more actual tests, or at least more actual ACT questions. To prepare effectively for the ACT you unfortunately need more than this book simply because it doesn't have enough questions. When I tutor for the ACT I generally have my students do 5 practice tests (including these 3 and the free one you should be able to pick up at your guidance counselor's office). In addition I use another 3 tests for additional practice (these are done in class and for homework, but not under timed conditions). This amount of preparation is more than sufficient for a substantial improvement to your score. It is important however to be implementing the correct strategies as you prepare. The Science section in particular can be a bit tricky since your time must be used wisely. Let me finish this review by telling you exactly how I teach my students to take the Science section of the test.

First of all I teach my students to only use the passages to look up answers to questions - NEVER read the passages before the questions. This wastes too much time. In fact, in many questions you will not have to read the passages at all. Often you will just have to look up the answers in the appropriate charts, graphs, tables, figures, etc.

Second, always save the "arguments" passage for last. This is the wordiest passage which has two or more people giving two opposing viewpoints. This passage can suck your time away quickly if you're not careful. Again, do not read the passage first here - use the passage to look up the answers, but always start with the questions.

Third, pacing is important. Do not get hung up on one question. If you're spending more than a minute on a question it may be time to move on and come back to this question later.

Note that there is no guessing penalty on the ACT, so make sure that you answer every question even if you have to guess.

Best of luck to everyone taking the ACT!
4692786
This was a great book! It was very well written and gave tremendous tips for taking the ACT. Not only was this a great study guide, but it was also very funny! Who knew that studying could be so entertaining?!