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ACT Reading. Class Average—1 st , 2 nd Hour: 20.1 Class Average—3 rd , 4 th , 6 th Hour: 15.6 “College-Ready”—21. Prose Fiction. KNOW Who? Detail questions Character names, how related to each other, characteristics What is their state of mind? Usually inference questions
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ACT Reading • Class Average—1st, 2nd Hour: 20.1 • Class Average—3rd, 4th, 6th Hour: 15.6 • “College-Ready”—21
Prose Fiction • KNOW • Who? • Detail questions • Character names, how related to each other, characteristics • What is their state of mind? • Usually inference questions • Note facial expressions, reactions to other characters, etc. • What’s going on? • Detail, inference or big picture questions • What is the plot? • What could have happened before to influence this situation? • What is the tone? • Inference or big picture questions • Look at DICTION, words with strong connotation to help you determine
Top Missed Prose Fiction Questions 1st, 2nd Hour—2 (22/36), 4 (31/36), 7 (28/36) 3rd, 4th, 6th Hour—6 (42/56), 9 (21/56)
Social Science and Humanities • Prior knowledge may help but keep an eye out for inference questions • You don’t have to remember the passage • Find the answers—Find and paraphrase • Flip back and forth • Underline, actively read
Top Missed Questions • 1st, 2nd Hour—19 (26/36), 20 (29/36), 22 (34/36), 23 (23/36) 29 (26/36) • 3rd, 4th, 6th Hour—11 (40/56), 26, 27, 29, 29, 30 (all 41 or 42/56)
Natural Sciences • Don’t get lost in unnecessary details • Don’t try to remember everything • Read questions first • Underline, actively read
Top Missed Questions • 1st, 2nd Hour—33, 38 • 3rd, 4th, 6th Hour—39, 40 (45/56)
Five Minutes Left • Read the questions. You will know some without the passage or can make an educated guess. • You can do this. Stop the mindset of guessing on an entire passage. • Have an answer for every question. • Watch the clock/Time yourself
ACT Writing—Position/Content • PLAN before you begin • Be yourself and express your opinions • BUT … have support to back it up • Black history month is in February to honor the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln • Other ethnicities/groups do have months set aside • March: Women’s History Month, Greek Heritage Month, Irish-American Heritage Month • May: Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month • September: Hispanic Heritage Month
Position/Content • Express yourself • BUT … Reign in some views • N-word—regardless of the ending, not okay. Especially not okay for white people. You don’t get this word. Get over it. • All boys school does not mean everyone becomes gay. • All girls school does not mean everyone becomes gay. • Careful with generalizations • Add the word some or many to avoid generalizations • Example: Some girls have trouble concentrating in co-ed classrooms.
Complexity • It’s one-fourth of your score…Make it good. • Aim for 3 points of complexity • For each point—PAR • Paraphrase the opposing view • Acknowledge the good points of it • Refute (disprove it) • Strongest essays bring up in each paragraph • If doing this option, make sure the complexity actually goes with the topic of the paragraph
Organization • Use common words and/or a transition word at the beginning of each paragraph • Basics (the first example, another example, secondly) get you a 4 • If you finish and have a few minutes, this is a good edit. Go back and double check. You can easily add a transition word if necessary. • Transition web site: • http://www.smart-words.org/transition-words.html
Language • Basic vocabulary and few/no mistakes—4 • Good vocabulary and few/no mistakes-5 • Great vocabulary, phrases the reader remembers, no mistakes—6 • Choose a few $Money Words$ to help you spice up that essay (if this is an area you struggle with) • Few minutes left? Re-read the essay, make easy changes