ACT PREP English

Day #1 Bell Ringer When winter comes, the town will look virtually the same except for a few feet of snow covering the roads. The miners can, however, have sixteen tons of coal and a sore back to show for their efforts. F.         NO CHANGE G.         miners did, H.         miners will, J.          miners,

Bell Ringer Answer The correct answer is H. The sentence refers to a time in the future after winter has come, as shown by the verb will look, so the verb tense should be consistent with this. Choices F and J are present tense and are incorrect. Choice G uses the past tense and is also incorrect. Students may be tempted to match the present tense verb comes, but point out that they need to look at the meaning of the sentence. The work and sore backs of the miners will occur after the snow comes, which is in the future.  

Scoring Your COMPOSITE SCORE is the average of all of your scale scores. Use your RAW SCORE, or the number of questions that you answered correctly for each section, to determine your SCALE SCORE. Example: If you correctly answer 60 out of 75 questions, your RAW SCORE is 60.

Scoring Formula to determine your SCALE SCORE: English : __________× 36 = _______ ÷ 75 = _________ (-2) Raw Score =______________ Scale score

ACT Practice Test Review

ACT English Test Five passages and 75 questions that challenge your editing ability Passages will check your grammar and composition skills 45 minutes for English section

Test Taking Strategy Allow 8 minutes for each passage. If you don’t know the answer to a question, skip it and move on. Guess if you don’t know: No penalty for guessing Never leave an answer blank When you skip, fill in your best guess before moving on to the next question. Mark the question in your test booklet so you can come back to it If you finish under the time limit, use your remaining time to review your answers.

The Best Answer If you find yourself debating between two or three different possibilities that all look correct to you, try to narrow it down with these criteria: The best answer choice: has nothing wrong with the grammar. is consistent. clearly communicates. is concise.

The “Box” Questions Test your skills at organizing the passage and developing its main ideas Work for consistency Choose the option that best flows with what is already in the passage Select the option that continues the main idea already established Make sure you are answering the exact question being asked, not just the answer that you like best.

Practice!!

Day #2 Bell Ringer Parenthetical Elements It took longer, though for me to realize that Spark needed quite a bit of training, as well as love and affection. A. NO CHANGE B. took, longer though, C. took longer though, D. took longer, though,

Bell Ringer Answer The correct answer is D. The word though is nonessential and should be set off with two commas. Choices A and C are incorrect because they are missing one of these commas. Choice B is incorrect because it incorrectly places the first comma after took, interrupting the initial phrase.  

Punctuation Semicolon Used instead of a period to connect two related independent clauses. If the ACT offers a choice between a semicolon and a period, Both Answers are wrong, because these two marks of punctuation are essentially interchangeable This rule only works if everything else about the two answer choices is exactly the same.

Example The first thing that struck me as we entered the room where the painting was displayed; was the size of the painting. A. No Change C. displayed. Was B. displayed, was D. displayed was

Punctuation cont. Colons Typically what comes after a colon is an example, further information, or a list. Used in two different ways: To begin a list ; before the list there must be a complete statement To separate two independent clauses or to introduce a quote The group of words to the right of the colon does not have to be a complete thought. The group of words to the left does have to be a complete thought.

Example Maria just purchased all of the camping supplies for our trip: a backpack, a sleeping bag, and a pair of hiking boots. I didn’t know what to do: could either go camping or stay home and study for the ACT.

Punctuation cont. Dashes Separate unrelated words from the rest of the sentence Will usually be in pairs; Exception – if they are at the end of the sentence, you can have a dash and a period.

Example I need to express my gratitude—not that any words could be adequate— but she just nodded and walked away. Just outside the door to the cabin, we heard the howling of wolves—a sound that made our hair stand on end.

Commas are tested in six main ways on the ACT: Punctuation cont. Commas are tested in six main ways on the ACT:

Commas Items in a series We packed our bags, jumped in the car, and headed on our way toward Chicago.

Commas 2. With a conjunction, between two independent clauses Carrie played tennis competitively, but her brother enjoyed swimming more. * If there are two verbs, but not two subjects, do not use a comma.

Commas 3. After a leading phrase or clause As in many of these cases, the initial evidence seemed convincing. Still, the credibility of some witnesses was in question.

Commas 4. After the word “said”…but only if there is a direct quote following. She said, “Follow me to the classroom.” She said that we should follow her to the classroom.

Commas 5. When separating two or more adjectives, but only if order doesn’t matter. She wore pale pink nail polish. David chose the cutest, quietest puppy.

Commas 6. Around nonessential words in the middle of a sentence My father, who snores frequently, always sleeps on his back. Necessary? No commas! Extra? Yes commas

Commas Appositives: When the person is named first, and the description follows, use commas. When the description occurs first, followed by the person’s name, do not use commas.

Practice!!