ACT English Review

1. ACT English Review The Easiest Test on Which to Significantly Raise Scores

2. ACT English Test • Spend most of your “study” time here • easiest to raise test scores on. • The English test—most predictable of the four ACT subtests • Practice=higher score.

3. Some Ideas to Try • Have a watch • Pace yourself • Practice with watch at home • Read quickly paying attention to • Verb tense of the passage • Person used in the passage (pronoun person) • Organization of the passage • “Edit” as you read before looking at answers • Decide whether underlined portion is correct • Guess on questions you read more than twice

4. Keep in Mind • Usually 40 usage/mechanics questions • cover punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure • Easiest questions to prepare for • Do not want to miss—answer them first. • Rhetorical skills make up remaining 35 questions • Refer to specific parts of the text • May ask about logical sequence of sentences or paragraphs • May ask about use of supporting details. • Probably best left until last. • Do not spend long on these questions.

5. Big Tip! • Only one answer can be correct per question • Eliminate choices to improve chances • Mark off eliminated distractors—don’t re-read them

6. Tip Example Sure enough, there was Roy, still sound asleep, curled up on the back pew, carved out of sturdy white oak. • No Change • pew, hewn from locally harvested oak. • pew, made from mountain oak. • pew.

7. Tip Example (ACT likes concise) Sure enough, there was Roy, still sound asleep, curled up on the back pew, carved out of sturdy white oak. (ACT 0556A) • No Change • pew, hewn from locally harvested oak. • pew, made from mountain oak. • pew. Choices F, G, and H all say the same thing. Can’t all be correct. Choose answer that is different.

8. Most Common Mistakes • Rules of punctuation • Group 1: punctuation between sentences • Periods (I am applying to three colleges. I hope I get accepted.) • Semicolons (I am applying to three colleges; I hope I get accepted.) • Colons (I am applying to three colleges: I hope I get accepted.) • :point of emphasis • : list (I am applying to three colleges: MU, UCM, and UMKC) • :direct quotation (FDR stated: “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

9. Most Common Mistakes • Rules of punctuation • Group 2: punctuation within a sentence (sets off clauses) • Commas, • Dashes — • Parentheses ( )

10. Most Common Mistakes • Possessives/Apostrophes (the cat’s food; the boys’ bicycles) • Subject/Verb Agreement (The boys with the helmets are playing safely.) • Noun/Pronoun Agreement (The ACT is dumb and it gives me a headache.) • Correct Pronoun Usage (I/me, its/it’s, who/whom)

11. Most Common Mistakes • Rhetorical Questions • Wordiness (less is best) • OMIT questions (omit the underlined portion) • “Best Word Choice” questions • “Least Acceptable” questions

12. Rhetorical Questions • “Wordiness” questions are those where the author says the same thing four ways. Ms. Smith moved her house in 1948 when she had reached the age of eighteen years old. A. NO CHANGE B. her age was eighteen years old. C. she had attained eighteen years in age. D. she was eighteen years old.

13. More Examples Two years later, she won the vote and was elected Campus Queen. A. NO CHANGE B. was elected and voted in as C. won an election in which the students vote for D. was elected

14. More Examples During World War II, the United States and Canadian governments, whose countries border each other, unjustly relocated people of Japanese descent A. NO CHANGE B. governments, who share a national boarder, C. governments, geographically linked by a joint border, D. governments

15. More Examples Ironically, this renowned writer, whose books are printed on recycled paper, did not do well in school. A. NO CHANGE B. writer, who is recognized by her orange and black eyeglasses, C. writer, who likes to write at night, D. writer

16. OMIT the underlined portion • First read the sentence with the portion omitted • Before reading any distractors • Makes sense, select OMIT and move on

17. Example Hundreds of escaped slaves who fled from their owners assisted the British during the War of Independence. A. who, when they fled from their owners, B. after having fled from their owners C. helped out and D. OMIT the underlined portion

18. “Best Word Choice” Questions • Find an answer that matches the criteria established in the question. • The writer wants to emphasize how quickly alligators move. Which choice would most dramatically achieve this effect? • NO CHANGE • proceed • streak • advance

19. “Best Word Choice” Questions • We observe thunderstorms over Stampede Pass in the Cascade Range or into Hells Canyon on the Snake River, and when lightening starts a fire, we get ready to jump. • Which choice most effectively emphasizes the vigor and energy that are an essential part of the work of smoke jumping? • NO CHANGE • follow • attend • chase

20. “Best Word Choice” Questions • It is clear that popcorn has been given a permanent role in the American diet. • Which choice most effectively emphasizes the writer’s belief that America’s interest in popcorn will continue in the future. • NO CHANGE • an early role • a genuine position • a reasonable purpose

21. “Least Acceptable” Questions • Difficult because you are switching gears • Look for WRONG answer • Read like True/False • False one is correct • Look for words like LEAST, NOT, EXCEPT • Circle key words like the ones above • Look for “odd man out” It is pleasant to see vacationers enjoying my hometown so much. Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would be LEAST acceptable here? • notice • observe • enjoy • watch

22. “Least Acceptable” Questions She worked for thirty years as a teacher and librarian in the field of education in the Baltimore public schools. Which of the following words or phrases from the preceding sentence is LEAST necessary and could therefore be deleted? • thirty • and librarian • in the field of education • Baltimore public schools

23. “Least Acceptable” Questions Soon after I arrived, my aunt said she had a gift for me. Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable here? • Not long • A short time • As soon • Shortly

24. TIP • Questions that include the words or phrases • Example(s) • Illustrate(s) • Provide relevant details • REQUIRE specific examples or details

25. Example • Given that all the choices are true, which one of these phrases would best illustrate the term “dress code” as it is used in this sentence? A. NO CHANGE B. clothing that was inappropriate C. clothing, including sandals, bell-bottom pants, and dungarees D. clothing that is permitted in some schools today

26. Grammar Rules • The ACT uses standard English grammar and conventions • Comma before the conjunction in a list is NOT optional • I like beans, peas, and spinach.

27. Pronouns in Compound Elements • I or me (he or him) (she or her) etc. • Eliminate the other person in a compound eliminate to choose correctly • Jeff and me went hunting last year. During dinner, my father asked about the loss of the cobblestone road, which Grandpa and him had helped lay and maintain. A. NO CHANGE B. Grandpa and himself C. he and Grandpa D. himself and Grandpa

28. It’s (it is) or “its” (possessive) • Its is a possessive like her • It’s is a contraction meaning it is • There is NO such word as ITS’

29. Example • The Fleet corporation named it’s new product Double Bubble. A. NO CHANGE B. named its C. called they’re D. called it’s

30. The Apostrophe • Stands for something left out when the word is a contraction • It’s=it is • They’re=they are • Don’t=do not

31. The Apostrophe also possession • The boy’s blue hat • Singular possessive • All of the boys’ blue hats • Plural possessive • All of the men’s hats • Irregular plural possessive

32. Example • You have to admire the honesty of a company who’s slogan is “Just About the Best.” A. NO CHANGE B. whose C. that’s D that the

33. The Comma • Comma before coordinating conjunction FANBOYS (, for ,and ,nor ,but ,or ,yet ,so) • Separate two complete sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction • Sarah wanted to succeed in English, but her grammar was so poor she failed. • NOT between incomplete sentences • Sarah wanted to succeed in English but wasn’t able to because of her grammar skills. • DO NOT use a comma to separate sentences without a conjunction

34. The Comma • Items in a list • I like bean, pears, and peaches. • Words in direct address • Excuse me, Bill, do you know John? • Appositives • John, a freshman in college, eats too much. • Introductory phrases or clauses • After eating jelly donuts, John felt bloated. • When John feels bloated, he pukes. • Having grown up a puker, John feels like a loser.

35. Punctuation Examples • Those artists who look good on camera have a greater chance of success than those who do not, examples are not difficult to find. A. NO CHANGE B. not examples, C. not. Examples, D. not. Examples

36. Punctuation Examples • Even the parts of a chili vary the seeds and veins of a pepper are hotter than the flesh. A. NO CHANGE B. vary; C. vary, D. vary but

37. Nonessential and Essential Clauses • The boys one has on a yellow shirt are at the front of the room.—nonessential—take it out and the sentence does not change • The boys who are bullying the student are in trouble.—essential—take it out and the meaning changes

38. Punctuation Examples • Not all visitors, however, have been so welcome, years ago, an escaped convict made his way to her mountain retreat and threatened her. A. NO CHANGE B. welcome: C. welcome, since the time D. welcome, although

39. Practice—add or subtract commas as needed • Jim was usually a confident student but he panicked when he read the biology test. • I am off my diet and am going to order a steak, baked potato, salad and huge piece of pie. • The aviator who set the world record, was honored at the White House. • At the end of the rather long class the students stood and yawned. • Any student, who graduates as the class valedictorian, has studied hard. • Bill may I borrow your class notes tonight? • The dog lying by the car looked hurt but he may have been resting. • When Bob started playing his drums his parents went to the basement. • Mr. Zanina my favorite math teacher is retiring in June. • Here the plants sweltered in summer. Defenseless against heat and wind that cracked the earth.

40. Other Common Mistakes • Change of tense • Subject/verb agreement • Wordiness • Sentence structure—lack of parallelism, fragments, run-on sentences

41. Brackets and Squares • Brackets indicate a question about paragraph ordering—page 19 • Brackets also sentence ordering—page 19 • Squares indicate a rhetoric question (page 14 number 18; page 16 number 28)

42. A Few Things to Keep in Mind • Don’t hesitate to use “no change.” (Usually 20% of the answers are “no change.”) • The shortest answer is often correct in wording questions. If you are unsure of the correct answer, plug in the shortest answer to see if it works. • Punctuation usually includes these marks: periods, commas, dashes, semicolons, colons, and sometimes parentheses. • Don’t hesitate to use “omit the underlined portion”—do still read the passage, but this is often the correct answer.

43. Questions That Eat Up Time • As a rule, leave these until last so they do not use too much time: • The “rearranging sentence or paragraph order” questions. • The “additional sentence” questions.

44. Rearranging the format of the text • Whenever you see numbers in brackets between sentences, be warned they you may have to answer a question about sentence order. • To tackle a question about sentence order, find the topic (or main) sentence in the paragraph (usually this is the first sentence in the paragraph on the ACT). • Once you’ve determined the topic sentence, you can usually determine the order of the remaining sentences fairly quickly. • The same is true of paragraph order. Quickly skim the first sentence of each paragraph to see which one is the broadest and covers what the entire essay is about. This sentence functions as an introduction and is the first paragraph of the passage. • After finding your main paragraph, it is usually easy to determine the order of paragraphs by looking at transitional words and phrases.

45. The “Additional Sentence” Questions • A common type of “what if” question found on the English test sets up a hypothetical situation such as: • Suppose a magazine editor were to ask the writer of this essay to write a sentence that would serve as a summary for this essay. Which of the following would most effectively accomplish this purpose? OR • The writer wishes to add a sentence here that will emphasize the point that the change in the narrator’s life occurred swiftly. Which of the following would most effectively accomplish this? • Read the instructions very carefully, noting key words so you are sure you understand what information you need. • In example one, you are asked to find a summary statement, thus you know you are looking for an answer that gives a general statement rather than one with examples and details. • In contrast, in the second example you want to look for an answer that specifically addresses some type of fast change in the narrator’s life.