Introduction

Welcome to ACT Prep 2026/2027 For Dummies. This is a nondiscriminatory, equal-opportunity book. You're welcome to participate whether you're a genius or (like us) you need a recipe to make ice. Besides, the book's title is not a slam at you. You're not the dummy; the test is (and we've heard it called worse, believe us - especially on the Friday night before the exam).

The goal of this book is to show you exactly how to survive the ridiculous situation called the ACT. No matter how excellent your high school teachers are (or were), they've prepared you for the real world, a world that, alas, has very little connection to the ACT. High school teachers can give you a good foundation in grammar, reading, math, science, and writing skills (the areas tested on the ACT), but you may want to think of them as the friendly old GPs, the general practitioners whose job it is to keep you well and handle the little day-to-day problems. What do you do when you have a crisis, like the ACT, that's making you really sick? We like to think of ACT Prep 2026/2027 For Dummies, as a loony but gifted specialist you can call when your situation becomes desperate.

No one wants to deal with the eccentric specialist for too terribly long. The goal of this book, just like the goal of the expert, is to come in with the Code Blue crash cart, deal with the situation, and then leave rapidly with as few lives destroyed as possible. This book has one goal: to prepare you for the ACT - period. We're not here to teach you every grammar rule ever created or every math formula that Einstein knew. We don't include any extra "filler" material to make this book look fat and impressive on bookstore shelves. If you want a thick book to use as a booster seat for the vertically challenged, go find War and Peace. If you're looking for something that you can use to prepare you for the ACT as quickly and painlessly as possible, again, we say to you, welcome to ACT Prep 2026/2027 For Dummies.

About This Book

You likely have to at least consider taking the ACT. Many colleges expect (but don't require) you to take an entrance exam as a component of your application. Virtually every college accepts scores from either the ACT or the SAT. (Wiley just so happens to publish Digital SAT Prep For Dummies as well, should you choose to take that exam.) Many students decide to take both tests to see which one results in a better score. Is that a good idea? Absolutely. Even better, take practice tests for both (you can download a free full-length ACT from www.act.org and access six complete SATs from www.collegeboard.org) to see which one suits you best and then concentrate on just that test.

Many colleges emphasize ACT scores to compensate for grade inflation. That is, some high schools may give you an A for doing the same level of work that would gain you a C at other high schools. Because the ACT is the same for everyone (students all over the world take the exact same exam), colleges can use the scores to get inside your head and see what's really there. Think of this test as an opportunity, not a crisis: A good ACT score may help offset a low GPA. In just a few hours, one fine Saturday morning, you can make up a little for a few mishaps in school.

In ACT Prep 2026/2027 For Dummies, you find out what types of questions are on the exam, which questions you should work on carefully, and which ones you're better off guessing at quickly. (Good news: The ACT has no penalty for wrong answers, so guess on absolutely every question you don't know.) We also help you figure out which approach to use for each type of question, and, perhaps most importantly, we show you some traps that are built into each question style. We've been test-prep tutors for many years and have developed a list of the "gotchas" that have trapped thousands of students over the years. We show you how to avoid being trapped, too.

This book is also full of the substantive information that you need to know, including grammar rules, geometry, algebra, and arithmetic formulas. And this edition has been updated to reflect the recent enhancements to the ACT. We add information throughout about the scoring changes and other modifications to the ACT as of April 2025, and the practice tests match the multiple-choice sections' new formats and timing. Occasionally, we include some truly sick humor on the principle that, as you're groaning at our jokes, you won't notice that you're suffering from the questions. (Hey, as the mushroom said to his friends, "Of course, everyone likes me. I'm a fun-gi!")

Note to nontraditional students: The days of high school may be just a fading memory for you (along with your thin waistline and full head of hair). We recognize that not everyone taking the ACT is a high school junior or senior. Maybe you took a few years off to build your career or to nurture a family (or to pay your debt to society) and are now having to go back and review what you thought you had left behind years ago. It can be totally frustrating to have to deal with proper punctuation or quadratic equations all over again. Postpone your nervous breakdown. Things aren't as dismal as they look. You'll probably be surprised how quickly material comes back to you as you go through this book.

Foolish Assumptions

Although you could've picked up this book just because you have an insatiable love for English, math, reading, and science, we're betting you picked it up because you need to take the ACT. (Isn't it good to know at the outset that your authors have a remarkable grasp of the obvious?) And because we weren't born yesterday, we figure that you're taking the ACT in anticipation of applying to college. How exciting for you!

Because we've rarely met a person who actually looks forward to taking standardized entrance exams, we're lumping you into the category of "readers who are going into the ACT kicking and screaming." Okay, maybe we're being overly dramatic, but we've got a hunch that you're not especially excited about the prospect of spending four hours of precious sleeping-in time sitting in a stark classroom, darkening endless ovals on a bubble sheet under the watchful eye of a heartless proctor who continues to yell "Time!" before you've finished the section. Call us crazy!

Nevertheless, you picked up this book, so we assume that getting the best ACT score you can is important to you and that you care enough to sacrifice some of your free time to achieve that goal. Good for you!

Here are the other assumptions we've made about you while writing this book:

• You're a high school student, and, like most high school students, you carry a full course load, participate in a number of extracurricular activities, may even have a job, and prefer to carry on a social life. Or you may have already graduated from high school and may hold down a career and tend to a family. Either way, you don't want us to waste your time with a bunch of stuff that isn't on the ACT. For instance, as much as we enjoy creating vocabulary flashcards, we don't share those with you in this book because you don't need to memorize word meanings to ace the ACT.
• You're not all work and no play. We want to make studying for the ACT as painless as possible, so we've tried to lighten things up a bit with a few jokes. Forgive us, please. Some are really lame.
• Because you're college-bound, you've spent some years engaged in a college-prep curriculum that includes algebra, geometry, and likely a little algebra II and trigonometry. We're pretty sure you've had your fair share of English, social studies, and science classes, and you've written an essay or two. Therefore, we don't bore you too much with the elementary stuff. (We do, however, cover the basic math and grammar concepts that you may have forgotten.)

Icons Used in This Book

Some information in this book is really, really important. We flag it by using an icon. Here's a list of the icons we use and details about what they mean:

Follow the arrow to score a bull's-eye by using the tips we highlight with this icon.

Burn this stuff into your brain or carve it into your heart; it's the really important material. If you skip or ignore the Remember icons, you won't get your money's worth out of this book.

This icon marks sample problems.

Pay heed to this advice and avoid the potential pitfall.

Beyond the Book

In addition to what you're reading right now, this book comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that includes tips to help you prepare for the ACT. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type "ACT For Dummies Cheat Sheet" in the Search box.

You also get access to all the full-length online practice tests, more than 100 math and science flashcards, and extra resources for understanding your scores for the test (including the essay!). To gain access to the online practice, all you have to do is register. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Register your book or e-book at Dummies.com to get your pin.

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