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Our tips will help you stay focused and improve your exam performance.
The American College Testing (ACT) exam is one of the most challenging exams that students appear for. Divided across sections of English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and Writing (optional), the total testing time ranges anywhere between 3 and 3.5 hours, which poses the biggest challenge to a student’s focus and performance.
Thus, it becomes imperative to be well prepared with not just the exam syllabus but also the conditions that the brain needs to train under to produce the best results.
1. Build your Anti-Distraction Bubble
In order to study effectively for the ACT exam, your brain must be locked in completely in a sort of bubble that cannot be penetrated by anything! We call this the “Anti-Distraction Bubble”. How do you build one? Lock away your phone, gaming console or anything else that causes distraction, in a closet and entrust the key with a responsible adult. Tell everybody around you to disturb you only if there’s a calamity to be escaped or an urgent cake-eating situation.
2. The 52/17 Rule
Forget those marathon 3-hour sessions. Your brain's fuel tank doesn't last that long in one go. That’s where the 52/17 Rule works. It’s simple: Study 52 minutes with full focus. Then a break for 17 minutes guilt-free. This combination mirrors your brain's natural Ultradian Rhythm. You're not a robot. You're a rhythm machine. Sync with that rhythm, and you'll focus deeper, longer, and remember more.
Bonus: Use the 17 minutes to stretch, breathe, or dance like nobody's watching. This releases your feel-good hormones like Dopamine, Serotonin and Norepinephrine.
3. One Subject, One Tab
More often than not, we have multiple tabs open on our browser, while we just need one to research a topic in Chemistry. The extra tabs of say, YouTube, DC Comics, shopping websites, etc., have absolutely nothing to do with your study, but your brain is already distracted. Studies show task switching destroys up to 40% of productive time. So what is the solution? Close all those extra tabs and go full screen. Pretend the only page on the internet is the one you're studying.
4. Fuel Your Brain like your Dream Car
Let’s be honest. You cannot function on brain power alone. Keep a water bottle next to you on your study desk. Dehydration makes you tired and cranky, thus affecting your ability to study. Another genius but often ignored way is to snack smart. Munch on nuts, dark chocolate, blueberries, and an occasional study cookie. Make them an earned reward for yourself after completing each task. Also, caffeine can be a friend, until it becomes an enemy and fries your brain. Don't overdo it.
5. Practice more of Reading Comprehension and Science Sections
These are the most common sections in the ACT where attention lapses occur. Skim through the passages to identify topic sentences and paragraphs’ function. For science, note the experiment’s independent/dependent variables and controls. Use the method of annotation effectively by underlining, circling numbers/units, and putting brackets around contrasting viewpoints. Annotation anchors attention and reduces re-reading. Give a time limit to each question: 60 to 90 seconds, and then move on to the next. You can always return to the questions later. Avoid over-investing time on particular questions that erode your focus for later questions.
