Review – Princeton Review Cracking the ACT 2014 v. Barron’s
NOVEMBER 20, 2014 BY ACTBOOKPREP LEAVE A COMMENT
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The Princeton Review Cracking the ACT is a good All-in-one guide with a moderate coverage of the Math, English, Science, Reading, and Writing Sections.
Both Barron’s and the Princeton Review Cracking the ACT are excellent study guides. Choosing which one to use really depends on the student. In general I would rank The Princeton Review higher for someone scoring in the low to mid 20s, while Barron’s would be better for someone already testing in the mid to upper 20’s.
What is the Princeton Review Cracking the ACT 2014?
The Princeton Review Cracking the ACT is an all-in-one guide for students wanting an easy to use and less boring book to study all subject areas of the ACT.
Prep Book Features:
Over 500 test and practice questions
3 Practice ACT tests
Easy to use and follow
Guidance for forming a study plan
Review of all four mandatory sections of the ACT (Math, English, Science, and Reading) plus writing
Training in multiple choice test taking techniques and time management
My Review of Princeton Review Cracking the ACT:
The Princeton Review Cracking the ACT is an excellent choice for a student wanting to develop a strategic approach to the ACT. Princeton is no novice at test prep materials and Cracking the ACT is no exception. Apart from just teaching ACT content, this book goes into strategies more in-depth than some other guides. These strategies are section specific for the Math, English, Reading, Science, and optional Writing test.
Cracking the ACT does a good job covering ACT strategy
The book also reviews high level strategies for time management and process of elimination logic. As an ACT teacher of five years myself I devoted a considerable amount of time to these strategies because they are quickly learned and lead to immediate results. Unfortunately the ACT has to use “tricks” sometimes to sort students – things like “MOST” and “LEAST” and throwing irrelevant information into questions. I would rank it above Barron’s in covering strategy and below Kaplan.
Strategy is especially for students who struggle with the content sections like Math and English because it will allow them to use time wisely, eliminate wrong answers, and plan their attack on test day on the sections that don’t test prior knowledge (Reading and Science).
The reading comprehension section will tempt users to spend too long reading passages instead of answering questions. The science section is less about memorizing science facts and more about learning to understand complicated science concepts and graphs. This book helps the would be test taker avoid the typical pitfalls in a simple and easy to understand way.
Princeton Review is approachable and is a good book for someone struggling in the English and Math content
One of the best features in the book is that it is approachable and easy to use. The book is more informal and less ‘boring’ than other books, which means a student is going to spend more time in the book, which is ultimately the goal of any guide. If a guide has questions are perfect with solid information it does no good if no one reads it because they get so bored! Better to lure students in and make them “crack” the test in a way that feels more like a game.
The book also does a good job explaining difficult concepts in a way that any student can understand. For those struggling with motivation, the book provides help in deciding how and when to find time to study. In short, this book understands and caters to its intended audience instead of treating students like they are PhD candidates at Harvard.
Supplementing Princeton Review’s Cracking the ACT with Real ACT tests
The book is not completely typo free, if that bothers you. It also struggles duplicating the feel of a real ACT test question, which in fairness all private study guides struggle with. I would place their practice questions and practice tests below Barron’s ACT and above Kaplan. It would be a good idea to pair this with the Real ACT Prep Guide to provide a source of real tests by the ACT prep makers. However, the amount and quality of the strategies and practice questions make it a worthwhile place to start. Overall, for breadth of content and proven strategy in one place, it is hard to beat Princeton Review Cracking the ACT.
