My ACT essay is on Saturday and I’m afraid I am feeling quite unprepared. Today I spent a good chunk of the afternoon reading and re-reading the big fat ACT prep book and taking a couple of the sample tests. Right after this post I’m going to write down another practice essay. I have also been reviewing the relevant chapters in all four books on studying and test taking that Dad got. All of the books are different, but they do agree on one thing.
Cramming is a no-no.
So apparently I’m doomed. Therefore I’m telling myself that I should just plunge into it Betty Blonde style with a smile on my face, a Black Warrior #2 pencil in my hand, and a song of hope in my heart. Easier said than done. In reality I feel like I’m wading barefoot into a dragon infested swamp with only a 10 year old calculator and a fading memory of pre-algebra and elementary grammar to help me pull through. Bleh.
In other, happier news, this one book that Dad bought, How to Become a Straight A Student (I forget, do you italicize, underline, or quote book titles?) by Cal Newport, is really interesting and fun to read. Basically it’s about the title. It tells you how to schedule your day, find good places to study, write a really good reasearch paper, and it gives you lots of tips on making good use of your worktime so you can have more time for fun activities. It’s actually made me really excited about going to college! That sort of balances out all my bad feelings about the ACT.
I gotta go finish up that essay… I’ll write more later this week.
Underline! But when you make it a link it does that automatically. Isn’t that cool?
Yes, that would be underline. And you are right, cramming is a no-no….don’t do any of it on Friday….give your brain a rest. You are not doomed. You are very prepared. Remember, this is just the first of many, you have not taken anything like this before, so yes, do your best, but don’t beat yourself up about any of it, and look at it as an opportunity to learn how to take these monsters on….BETTY BLONDE STYLE!
Ruthie
Now that you bring it up, Ruthie, I am wondering whether there will be any good Betty Blonde material in this???
You could start fasting tomorrow. I met a man once who claimed he began fasting three days before an exam (such that the exam occurred on the third day of the fast). He claimed that after the body physically adjusted past hunger pangs, his brain activity heightened dramatically and became super sharp on the third day. I had heard of this before hearing it from him, but never believed it.
Anyway, I never tried it myself. I preferred sleep-fasting before big exams. Sometimes, referred to as all-nighters. Actually, my narcissistic claim to fame is having pulled two all-nighters in a row just to outdo the other college losers/flunkies. Rest assured, brain activity does not become heightened on the third day as much as anxiety becomes heightened.
My prediction is that you will do FANTASTIC and will not need to resort to brain activity heightening strategies! Good Luck!
How much better does it get than that?!?? AN ENDORSEMENT FROM RATBOY!!!!!! If she does not get a great score now, I think we should punish her.
Kelly, don’t have any bad feelings about the ACT…your future, at this point in your life anyway, does not hinge on the score that you get. That book sounds really great….I have a 9th grader who should read it. Hmmm, I will think about that. Perhaps this part, “gives you lots of tips on making good use of your worktime so you can have more time for fun activities,” will motivate her. Ha!
Thanks Ruthie. 🙂 I know I’ll get a chance to take it again…
Haha! That part of the book was my favorite actually. Because ‘making good use of my worktime’ is not one of my fortes. 😀
Ratboy: LOL! Thank you!!!