Identify the Level of Difficulty

Action: Watch the video and read the information below. Then complete the assignment at the bottom of the page.

Although some of the more basic math concepts are in the early math questions, ACT questions are generally not laid out in order of difficulty. You will need to categorize the questions as you work through each page according to your own difficulty scale. Only you can decide what is easy or difficult for you. It varies by person.

a. If the question is easy to you – answer it NOW!

b. If the question may take a little longer to work, but you know you can do it, make a note on your test booklet and move on until you find all the easy questions on that page. Although it is tempting to stop and work through these questions, answer them LATER!

c. If the question is a “never gonna happen” or you know this is one of your greatest weaknesses, don’t waste your time on it. Use your Lucky Letter and move on. Your time is better spent answering the medium difficulty questions that you know you can solve with a little time and effort.

d. Identifying the degree of difficulty and pacing yourself work hand in hand. That is why it is so important to take practice tests as part of your preparation.

Take time to go through every question in every subject on the baseline practice test and label them as Easy, Moderate, or Difficult. You can call them anything you want to. Label them as E, M, D or A, B, C, or whatever will help you remember them. Get used to picking out the level of difficulty for your ACT questions. When you take an ACT exam, always remember to answer all of the easy questions first, then go back and pick up the moderate questions that you know you can answer relatively quickly, and finally go back for the hard questions.