1. ACT Boot Camp
January 2017

2. Chapter 6: Complete Ideas

3. What makes it incomplete?
Missing subject and verb
Missing main idea
Missing rest of an idea

4. Stop Punctuation Period (.) Semicolon (;) Question Mark (?)
Exclamation Point (!)
These can only come between two complete ideas.

5. Go Punctuation This helps to keep the traffic flowing… When to use it…
For example, a comma will keep it moving.
When to use it…
Try out the “Vertical Line Test” -> Page 51

6. Commas Stop – when used in conjunction with FANBOYS
Go – link an incomplete idea to a complete idea
Lists – separate items on a list
Unnecessary Info – around the information – test it out, take it out and see if it still works

7. Colons and Single Dashes
The complete idea must come first, and the second idea will be a definition, explanation, or list….
Use the vertical line test again

8. Identical Punctuation
“ACT won’t make you evaluate those subtle differences that might make one punctuation mark better than the others when they all perform essentially identical functions.“

9. Conjunctions A way to link ideas - - What Although Which As While
Because
When If
Since
Where
Who
That
Whom
Until

10. Chapter 7: Consistent, Clear, Concise

11. Verbs
Identify the subject
Check the tense
Be concise

12. Tricky Pronouns Anybody Everyone Anyone Nobody Each Somebody Either
Someone
Everybody

13. Prepositional Phrases
“…show relationship between nouns…”
Modify the noun
“ACT will add prepositional phrases to distract you from the subject…always look to the left of the proposition to find your subject”

14. Passive Voice How to recognize:
“to be”
Preposition “by”
“Choose passive voice only when you’re confident that the other three choices contain a grammatical error.”

15. Pronouns “take the place of nouns and make your writing more concise”
HEY LOOK AT THAT … the word concise is here again!
Find the original
Check the case

16. Who Versus Whom
Who
SUBJECT OF PRONOUN HE
Whom
THE OBJECT PRONOUN
HIM

17. Apostrophes Possession Contraction Single noun? Add ‘s
Plural noun? Add ‘
Tricky plural without s? Add ‘s
Contraction
Pronoun with apostrophe
Ex. It’s

18. Transitions Like Road Signs
“Before you consider direction, make sure the sentence is complete and that all ideas within the sentence are joined correctly.”

19. Concise
“ ACT will frequently test concise in a question concerning transitions. If you don’t need a transition word for your sentence to be either complete or clear, don’t use it.”