ACT Reading Preparation (for use in English)

ACT Reading Preparation (for use in English)
University of Illinois-Chicago Curriculum Framework Project Spring 2011

Introduction to Test Strategies General Prose Fiction
Schedule for Lesson #1 Introduction to Test Strategies General Prose Fiction

Introduction to the Test: Why Prepare for the ACT?
SKILLS Tested on the ACT: Main Idea Supporting Details Inference These lessons will focus on TEST TAKING STRATEGIES.

Introduction to the Test: Order of Passages
The ACT Reading passages almost always appear in the following order: Prose Fiction Social Science Humanities Natural Science

Introduction to the Test: Order of Passages
By practicing with these passages, you can figure out your strengths and weaknesses. Start with your strengths.

Introduction to the Test: Content of the Reading Test
Prose Fiction (25%) 885 words Questions based on intact short stories or excerpts from short stories or novels.

Social Science (25%) 775 words Questions based on passages that may include: anthropology, archaeology, economics, history, political science, and sociology.

Humanities (25%) 600 Words Often from first-person narrative perspective Questions based on passages that may include: art, dance, music, philosophy, and theater

Natural Sciences (25%) 545 words Questions based on passages about topics such as: astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, physics, and zoology Reading test is difficult--unknown topics purposely chosen so you are forced to read And not use background knowledge. Realize that if you don’t know anything About the topic, other students probably don’t either. Passages are edited to be very dense--very little useless info. Speed reading Techniques will not help here. Questions are not in order of difficulty. Sometimes the hardest question of the 10 Is the very first one--don’t get discouraged.

Which of the 4 passages do you feel is your biggest strength?
Pause and Consider Which of the 4 passages do you feel is your biggest strength? WHY?

Introduction to the Test: Reading Question Categories
Main Idea Questions (MI) Supporting Detail Questions (SD) Inference/Evaluation Questions (I)

Introduction to the Test: Main Idea Questions
Understanding theme/thesis Understanding author’s purpose Determine which of the answer choices best summarizes the information presented in the passage either as a whole or in a specific paragraph.

Introduction to the Test: Main Idea Question Stems
Which of the following is the main point…? The main argument the author makes about is What is the main theme of [a specific paragraph or line]?

Introduction to the Test: Supporting Details Questions
Shows understanding of individual points Demonstrate comprehension and careful understanding Determine which fact(s) best supports main idea. Sequence the events in the passage

Introduction to the Test: Supporting Details Question Stems
According to the [a specific paragraph/section/passage]… Who/when/what/where did… According to the passage, all of the following are true about EXCEPT. . . The passage makes it clear that…

Introduction to the Test: Inference-Evaluation Questions
Make judgments Identify the implications of the supporting details in the passage. Draw conclusions based on reading the passage Determine the author’s idea through generalization of the facts

Introduction to the Test: Inference-Evaluation Questions
Analyze cause-and-effect relationships Identify multiple meanings of a word and determine its definition with context clues from the passage Determine the implications of the author’s general tone or attitude

Introduction to the Test: Inference-Evaluation Question Stems
The author suggests/implies/infers that… With which of the following statements would the author agree? According to the passage, the WORD/TERM ‘…’ means which of the following? The idea….is best exemplified by which of the following quotations from the passage? The attitude of the author toward x is…

Introduction to the Test: Roman Numeral Questions
3 or 4 statements each labeled with a Roman numeral. Treat each as true-false statement. Save time by figuring out which statements are false & eliminating answers that contain that answer. Which of the following subjects are covered on the ACT: I. English Usage II. Math III. Gymnastics A. I and II only B. I and III only C. II and III only D. I, II, and III

Introduction to Test Testing Strategies General Prose Fiction
Schedule for Lesson #1 Introduction to Test Testing Strategies General Prose Fiction

Tests & Strategies: Part 1
General Strategies: Change Your Reading Habits Pace Yourself Leave Nothing Blank Concentrate on Three Passages Most Know Nonfiction v. Fiction Passages Prioritize Your Tasks

General Strategy #1: Change Your Reading Habits
Read editorials Editorials from good newspapers and some magazines are approximately the same length as ACT passages. They also cover a variety of topics which broadens your knowledge base. Better background knowledge = faster, more accurate reading. Read high quality texts Make it a habit to read magazines and newspapers such as U.S. News, Time, The New Yorker, NY Times, Discovery, Science, Smithsonian, Christian Science Monitor, National Geographic, The Nation, The New Republic, Harpers, and Atlantic Read reviews and criticism. Read columnists.

Be Aware of Your Reading Habits
Don’t mouth the words! Keep eyes moving! Read groups of text rather than word-by-word. Determine how fast you can skim and still comprehend.

Concentrate on Your Reading
Force yourself to pay close attention. Know the difference between your interacting voice and your distracting voice. Interacting voice: the voice that makes connections, asks questions, identifies confusions, agrees and disagrees with ideas. This voice deepens the reader’s understanding of the text. Distracting voice: the voice that pulls the reader away from the meaning of the text. Practice reading with concentration until you can do so easily.

What is the first step you can take to improve?
Pause and Consider On which of these “Reading Habits” do you MOST need to improve? What is the first step you can take to improve?

General Strategy #2: Pace Yourself
You have 35 minutes to answer 40 questions on the reading. This mean 8 minutes and 45 seconds per passage/ten questions.

General Strategy #3: Leave None Blank
There is no penalty for guessing, so it is to your advantage to answer every question during the time allowed for that test. Make sure to leave time for guessing on the reading test. Many people will have to guess on the last passage so leave at least 30 seconds to fill in extra bubbles.

General Strategy #4: Concentrate on Three Passages (if necessary)
If you: find yourself unable to push your reading to complete all four passages in the time you have, then… aim to read three really well. can answer 30 questions correctly, then… you will still find your score a 26 on this section. With some good guessing for the last ten, you might raise that to a 30.

General Strategy #5: Nonfiction vs Fiction Passages
The approach you take to reading the passages should be different for these two types of passages. Fiction and often Humanities passages are inferential (abstract, not concrete) and must be read between the lines. The non-fiction passages do not need such a close reading for you to be successful.

General Strategy #6: Prioritize Your Tasks
LOOK AT 4 PASSAGES & COMPLETE EASIEST FIRST PREVIEW FIRST AND LAST SENTENCES (prereading) A quick preview allows you to answer: “What is the topic of the selection?” PREVIEW QUESTION STEM Identify each question as MI, SD, or I.

General Strategy #6: Prioritize Your Tasks
READ THE PASSAGE Read to answer the questions. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS Don’t waste time on ones you don’t know- guess or leave time to go back . ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS FOR A PASSAGE BEFORE MOVING ON!

Prose Fiction Strategies
Watch for Word Choice for Effect Keep Track of Sequence Pay Attention to Characters Identify the Author’s Tone Watch for Satire and Irony

Strategy #1: Watch for Word Choice for Effect
Watch for metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, and allusions. Note the author’s use of connotative language (intended meaning vs. literal meaning) Connotative language brings to mind certain values and attitudes attached to the words.

Strategy #1: Watch for Word Choice for Effect
Don’t always take the author literally. Consider these examples… The inhabitants don’t even really see the décor anymore; the house itself becomes a kind of giant hallway, everyone is hurrying through. We marched into battle daily over other issues of privacy. All of these impressions came over me as I stood in that doorway-a tide of passage and movement and the cresting needs of small children.

Example from Practice Test (56A)
“Josie watched him charm his life away through high school, where, with little effort, he carried off all the prizes. How she hated it when her mother pointed out his accomplishments to her.”

Other Examples from Practice Test (56A)
“Their intimacy was born when…” (line 9) “Miguel Chico leaned to the clinical…” (line 23) “He felt the kitchen charged with their antagonism...” (line 54)

Strategy #2: Keep Track of Sequence
These passages often move around in time and place (not in a linear manner). As you read, mark your passage every time a shift occurs in time. Keep clear what is in the present and what is in the past.

Strategy #3: Pay Attention to Characters
These passages generally are detailed descriptions of characters. Usually, there is a central character who interacts with other characters. Much of what happens is from the viewpoint of the main character. Understand the main character’s feelings and you understand the passage. Passages usually have characters who are personally conflicted. Passages like to walk a line between the imagined and the real. What goes on in a person’s head says as much as what really happens. (ABSTRACT) Generally, there is a moment in the passage when the character has a shift or flip (turning point) in his or her character. Watch for that point.

Many questions deal with the characters
Ask Yourself: Who are these people? What are they like? How are they related to each other? What is their state of mind? Are they angry? Sad? Reflective? Excited? What’s happening on the surface? What’s happening beneath the surface?

Example from Practice Test (56A)
Question: What does this tell you about the relationship between Josie and Miguel? “Their intimacy was born when they discovered that each found the wicked stepmother far more interesting than the boring Snow White, who deserved her even more boring and bland prince.” (lines 9-12)

Strategy #4: Identify Author’s Mood and Tone
Atmosphere or feeling created by a literary work, partly by a description of the objects or by the style of the descriptions. A work may contain a mood of horror, mystery, holiness, childlike simplicity, etc. word choice level of formality point of view emotional response on the part of the author towards the subject.

What MOOD/TONE is conveyed by the following phrase?
“He felt the kitchen charged with antagonism toward each other, very like when he was in his father’s presence. Here, he was an observer, but he lost his appetite in an instant.” (lines 54-56) TENSION, ANXIETY

What MOOD/TONE is conveyed by the following phrases?
“Josie watched him charm his life away through high school, where, with little effort, he carried off all the prizes.” (lines 29-31) “How she hated it when her mother pointed out his accomplishments to her.” (lines 31-32) ANGER, FRUSTRATION

Strategy #5: Watch for Satire and Irony
holding up human vices and follies to ridicule and scorn. Satire is often achieved through understatement. Know when someone is making a statement they don’t quite mean seriously. Irony expressing something other than, and especially the opposite of, the literal meaning. Something which is ironical often is not what was expected in a particular situation or is an outcome which may not have been looked for.

Satire: Example from Practice Test (56A)
“Even through he was one of Mama Chona’s pets (NOTE: play on words… “mama’s boy”), Josie adored him. Together, they loved and argued about books and movies and from the start, felt they could talk honestly to each other about most family matters. Their intimacy was born when they discovered that each found the wicked stepmother far more interesting (NOTE: making fun of their Josie and Miguel’s relationship) than the boring Snow White, who deserved her even more boring and bland prince.” (lines 5-12)

Review of Prose Fiction Strategies
Watch for Word Choice for Effect Keep Track of Sequence Pay Attention to Characters Identify the Author’s Tone Watch for Satire and Irony

Schedule for Lesson #2: Active Reading
Structural Clues (explain + model) Annotating (explain + model) Hinge Words (explain + model)

Active Reading: Structural Clues
Think of the passage as a map Questions are like hints as to where to go next The passage gives you the rest: Anticipate author’s direction by noticing structural clues (how passage is organized, where paragraphs break, what words are bold or italicized)

Each passage was written by a PERSON, and people write for a PURPOSE. A passage that traces historical causes or consequences will probably be organized chronologically. A passage that critiques a theory will first describe the theory and then explain its problems one at a time. A passage that draws a comparison between two things may first list similarities, then differences.

Why is it important to figure out WHY an author wrote a passage? Many questions ask you what the AUTHOR means, NOT what YOU think! Knowing what the AUTHOR would say can help you answer confusing questions!

Look up the answers Don’t remember them—find them! Think of the passage as a reference book and refer back. Don’t trust your memory!

Active Reading: Annotate
Write on your test as you read. Use different marks to mean different things. Circle names of people Underline critical phrases, terms, main ideas Number ideas in a sequence No matter what, underline “key words” in the question stem. Look for those “key words” in the passage.

Active Reading: Example from Prose Fiction (56A)
Question Text from Passage 4. According to the passage, one interest that Miguel Chico and Josie shared was: F. musical concerts. G. eating good food. H. seeing movies. J. going on family outings. “Even through he was one of Mama Chona’s pets, Josie adored him. Together, they loved and argued about books and movies and from the start, felt they could talk honestly to each other about most family matters. Their intimacy was born when they discovered that each found the wicked stepmother far more interesting than the boring Snow White, who deserved her even more boring and bland prince.” (lines 5-12)

Active Reading: Example from Prose Fiction (56A)
Question Text from Passage 8. It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that Miguel Chico’s father makes Miguel Chico feel: F. nervous. G. proud. H. satisfied. J. gratified. “Her nephew mumbled something noncommittal and was glad when his aunt and cousin did not ask him to repeat it. He felt the kitchen charged with antagonism toward each other, very like when he was in his father’s presence. Here, he was an observer, but he lost his appetite in an instant. Josie fixed three more crackers and offered him one. He took it and set it next to the other on the blue napkin in his lap.” (lines 52-59)

Active Reading: Example from Natural Science (56A)
Question Text from Passage 32. The passage suggests that polio and smallpox viruses differ from influenza viruses in that they: F. cannot reproduce. G. are more deadly. H. lack surface proteins. J. do not mutate as frequently. “More stable viruses, like smallpox and polio, are relatively easy to control with an effective one-time vaccine. Not influenza. Because the virus mutates so frequently, the flue vaccine must be concocted each year, based on scientists’ best guess of what surface proteins will determine the nature of the next season’s outbreak.” (lines 7-13)

Question Text from Passage 33. According to the passage, in order to reach the public in time for flu season, flu vaccines must be formulated approximately how far ahead of time? A. Two years B. Ten months C. Six months D. Twelve to fifteen weeks “Once they forecast the probable composition of the virus, scientists choose the appropriate antigens (substances that stimulate an immune response) to make their vaccine. They must know by mid- February of any year which antigens to include in the following winter’s formulations, if they hope to insure production of adequate amounts of vaccine for delivery by the start of flu season in December.” (lines )

Active Reading: Annotate
Underline or circle hinge words Words or phrases that are used to alert you to shifts in thought Words or phrases that are used to drive a point home Answers are often located near hinge words! Common Hinge Words but, although, however, nevertheless, on the other hand, despite, while, in spite of, consequently, alternatively

Question Text from Passage 34. The passage suggests that, as compared to the Asian and Hong Kong pandemics, the Spanish flu pandemic was more: F. mild. G.unexpected. H. deadly. J. common. “Compared with the Spanish flu pandemic, the more recent outbreaks were extraordinarily mild. When the Asian flu first emerged, the attack rate was the expected 25 percent, but the mortality rate was relatively low; about 70,000 Americans died. With the Hong Kong flu, there were just 28,000 deaths. This lower mortality rate could be traced to the fact that of the two major antigens on the virus’s surface, the Asian flue and Hong Kong flu differed in only one” (lines )

Schedule for Lesson #2: Active Reading
Structural Clues (explain + model) Annotating (explain + model) Hinge Words (explain + model)

Schedule for Lesson #3 Examine Specific Questions from Practice Test Identify Strategies to Help Answer Difficult Questions Practice the Strategies

Question 2: Inference – Generalizations and Conclusions
Text from Passage 2. It can reasonably be inferred that Josie feels her mother will never allow her, Josie, to: F. eat the sweet desserts she truly enjoys. G. do things with the school’s popular students. H. be comfortable with decisions she makes for herself. J. enjoy the kind of life Miguel Chico has. “Not at all, Miguelito. But Josie knows she’s not supposed to eat between meals.” She spoke as if her daughter were a stranger in the room. Miguel Chico put down the cracker he had just buttered. “Not you, Miguel. You’re a growing boy. You can eat as much as you want. It’s only natural…” “Ofelia and Serena understand why I ask them to be careful about what and when they eat,” his aunt said. …”Do you think I’m being unreasonable?” (lines 47-51)

Strategies to Help Answer This Question
Prose Fiction Strategy #1: Watch Use of Word Choice for Effect Example: “She spoke as if her daughter were a stranger in the room.” Prose Fiction Strategy #3: Pay Attention to Characters Dialogue (see example) Active Reading: Annotate: mark characters’ names

Question 2: Inference – Generalizations and Conclusions
Text from Passage 2. It can reasonably be inferred that Josie feels her mother will never allow her, Josie, to: F. eat the sweet desserts she truly enjoys. G. do things with the school’s popular students. H. be comfortable with decisions she makes for herself. J. enjoy the kind of life Miguel Chico has. “Not at all, Miguelito. But Josie knows she’s not supposed to eat between meals.” She spoke as if her daughter were a stranger in the room. Miguel Chico put down the cracker he had just buttered. “Not you, Miguel. You’re a growing boy. You can eat as much as you want. It’s only natural…” “Ofelia and Serena understand why I ask them to be careful about what and when they eat,” his aunt said. …”Do you think I’m being unreasonable?” (lines 47-51) Dialogue

Practice: Generalizations & Conclusions
PLEASE REFER TO YOUR PRACTICE PASSAGES

Question 31: Supporting Details
Text from Passage 31. According to the passage, it is NOT true that flu vaccines: A. must continually be reformulated. B. are designed based on scientists predictions. C. have generally been effective to some degree. D. can prevent a flu pandemic from occurring. The existence of the influenza vaccine may give us a sense of false security when it comes to the possibility of a pandemic outbreak of influenza. (A pandemic is an international epidemic, with disease occurring at a higher-then-expected rate on several continents at once.) (lines 1-6)

Active Reading: Structural Clues – Marking Keywords in the Question Stem and Passage Example: “The existence of the influenza vaccine may give us a sense of false security when it comes to the possibility of a pandemic outbreak of influenza.” Active Reading: Keywords in the Question Stem Example: “According to the passage, it is NOT true that flu vaccines”

Question 31: Supporting Details
Text from Passage 31. According to the passage, it is NOT true that flu vaccines: A. must continually be reformulated. B. are designed based on scientists predictions. C. have generally been effective to some degree. D. can prevent a flu pandemic from occurring. The existence of the influenza vaccine may give us a sense of false security when it comes to the possibility of a pandemic outbreak of influenza. (A pandemic is an international epidemic, with disease occurring at a higher-then-expected rate on several continents at once.) (lines 1-6)

Practice: Supporting Details

Question 38: Inference – Cause & Effect
Text from Passage 38. The passage indicates that random mutations take place during replication of the influenza virus because: F. the arrangement of its genes is abnormal. G. its genes are packaged in the form of RNA. H. its RNA is passed on to its offspring intact. J. this virus type renders antibodies ineffective. The explanation for the influenza virus’s mutability lies in the arrangement of its genes. Because its genetic material is packaged in the form of ribonucleic acid (RNA), random mutations during replication are relatively common and are passed on intact to the virus’s offspring. It takes just 12 to 15 weeks to change a flue virus’s genetic arrangement by a significant degree. (lines 47-54)

Active Reading: Structural Clues – Marking Keywords in the Question Stem and Passage Example: “The existence of the influenza vaccine may give us a sense of false security when it comes to the possibility of a pandemic outbreak of influenza.” Active Reading: Keywords in the Question Stem Example: “According to the passage, it is NOT true that flu vaccines”

Question 38: Inference – Cause & Effect
Text from Passage 38. The passage indicates that random mutations take place during replication of the influenza virus because: F. the arrangement of its genes is abnormal. G. its genes are packaged in the form of RNA. H. its RNA is passed on to its offspring intact. J. this virus type renders antibodies ineffective. The explanation for the influenza virus’s mutability lies in the arrangement of its genes. Because its genetic material is packaged in the form of ribonucleic acid (RNA), random mutations during replication are relatively common and are passed on intact to the virus’s offspring. It takes just 12 to 15 weeks to change a flue virus’s genetic arrangement by a significant degree. (lines 47-54)

Practice: Supporting Details

Schedule for Lesson #4 Distracters Defined Examples of Distracters Practice Overcoming Distracters

Understand Distracters
Distracters = the “other” answer choices Distracters are THINKING CHALLENGES designed to make wrong answers seem correct Prey upon your tendency to rush They are supposed to DISTRACT YOU Inference Questions: seek opinions from facts The answers are not directly stated in the reading Read your “road map” differently ACT constantly tries to make distracters more distracting Practice with them!

The FOUR (4) Types of Distracters
The Distortion The Shift The Unsupported Positive The Extreme

Distracters: The Trick
There is usually ONE distracter that is REALLY DIFFICULT to get around. Watch out for this distracter. Which one depends on the question.

Distracter #1: The Distortion
The answer choice is wrong, either completely or partially. It cannot be verified by the passage. Add words Take out words Flip words Something as subtle as a not or un- in a choice or question can be the key to the correct answer.

Example of Distortion (56A, Prose Fiction)
Question Text from Passage 2. It can reasonably be inferred that Josie feels her mother will never allow her, Josie, to: F. eat sweet desserts she truly enjoys. G. do things with the school’s popular students. H. be comfortable with decisions she makes for herself. (CORRECT) J. enjoy the kind of life Miguel Chico has. He and Josie were in the kitchen spreading apple butter on saltines… “Not at all, Miguelito. But Josie knows she’s not supposed to eat between meals.” She spoke as if her daughter were a stranger in the room. Miguel Chico put down the cracker he had just buttered. “Not you, Miguel. You’re a growing boy. You can eat as much as you want. It’s only natural…” “Ofelia and Serena understand why I ask them to be careful about what and when they eat,” his aunt said. …”Do you think I’m being unreasonable?” (lines 47-51)

Distracter #1: Distortion
Which distracter is a “DISTORTION”?

Example of Distortion (56A, Prose Fiction)
Question Text from Passage 2. It can reasonably be inferred that Josie feels her mother will never allow her, Josie, to: F. eat sweet desserts she truly enjoys. (DISTORTION) G. do things with the school’s popular students. H. be comfortable with decisions she makes for herself. (CORRECT) J. enjoy the kind of life Miguel Chico has. The details in the passage show that Josie’s mother gets on her case about what she eats, and the details show that Josie was just eating sweets. However, it would be incorrect to say that Josie’s mother will never Josie to eat sweet desserts. Their conflict is more about Josie herself, not about her food choices. He and Josie were in the kitchen spreading apple butter on saltines… “Not at all, Miguelito. But Josie knows she’s not supposed to eat between meals.” She spoke as if her daughter were a stranger in the room. Miguel Chico put down the cracker he had just buttered. “Not you, Miguel. You’re a growing boy. You can eat as much as you want. It’s only natural…” “Ofelia and Serena understand why I ask them to be careful about what and when they eat,” his aunt said. …”Do you think I’m being unreasonable?” (lines 47-51)

Distracter #2: The Switch
Answer choices may actually appear in the text BUT…it’s not the answer to the question you’re trying to answer Watch for choices that are worded substantially like statements in the passage-direct repetition. Remember-this is not a matching test!

Example of Switch (56A, Prose Fiction)
Question Text from Passage 2. It can reasonably be inferred that Josie feels her mother will never allow her, Josie, to: F. eat sweet desserts she truly enjoys. G. do things with the school’s popular students. H. be comfortable with decisions she makes for herself. (CORRECT) J. enjoy the kind of life Miguel Chico has. Miguel Chico leaned to the clinical, if not the scientific, and took Josie’s side in most family quarrels. Enjoying his popularity and the privileges of a favorite grandchild, he was still denying what he saw in himself, let alone others, in those early years of learning to be the consummate pleaser. (lines 23-28)

Which distracter is a “SWITCH”?
Distracter #2: Switch Which distracter is a “SWITCH”?

Example of Switch (56A, Prose Fiction)
Question Text from Passage 2. It can reasonably be inferred that Josie feels her mother will never allow her, Josie, to: F. eat sweet desserts she truly enjoys. (DISTORTION) G. do things with the school’s popular students. (SWITCH/DISTORTION) H. be comfortable with decisions she makes for herself. (CORRECT) J. enjoy the kind of life Miguel Chico has. (SWITCH) The concept of “enjoying” appears in both the distracter and the passage. Additionally, in other parts of the passage, the narrator describes Josie’s jealousy of Miguel. However, the details in this paragraph are actually about Miguel. Miguel Chico leaned to the clinical, if not the scientific, and took Josie’s side in most family quarrels. Enjoying his popularity and the privileges of a favorite grandchild, he was still denying what he saw in himself, let alone others, in those early years of learning to be the consummate pleaser. (lines 23-28)

Example of Distortion/Switch Blended (56A, Prose Fiction)
Question Text from Passage 2. It can reasonably be inferred that Josie feels her mother will never allow her, Josie, to: F. eat sweet desserts she truly enjoys. (DISTORTION) G. do things with the school’s popular students. (SWITCH/DISTORTION) H. be comfortable with decisions she makes for herself. (CORRECT) J. enjoy the kind of life Miguel Chico has. (DISTORTION) The word “popularity” is used to describe Miguel, amid other details about his and Josie’s relationship. The repetition of the words makes it an enticing choice. Miguel Chico leaned to the clinical, if not the scientific, and took Josie’s side in most family quarrels. Enjoying his popularity and the privileges of a favorite grandchild, he was still denying what he saw in himself, let alone others, in those early years of learning to be the consummate pleaser. (lines 23-28)

Distracter #3: The Unsupported Positive
Choices that sound great - warm and fuzzy SEEM reasonable and correct Know your own biases and prejudices Just because the choice says “because love is all we need,” doesn’t mean it’s is the answer to the question you are being asked!

Example of Unsupported Positive (56A, Prose Fiction)
Question 8. It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that Miguel Chico’s father makes Miguel Chico feel: F. nervous. (CORRECT) G. proud. H. satisfied. J. gratified.

Distracter #3: Unsupported Positive
Which distracter is a “UNSUPPORTED POSITIVE”?

Example of Unsupported Positive (56A, Prose Fiction)
Question 8. It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that Miguel Chico’s father makes Miguel Chico feel: F. nervous. (CORRECT) G. proud. (UNSUPPORTED POSITIVE) H. satisfied. J. gratified. There is neither text that really supports this answer, nor text that would even lead one to choose this answer. This choice is distracting solely because it plays on the bias image of a father as an encouraging figure who makes his son feel “proud.”

Distracter #4: The Extreme
An incorrect answer choice may include extreme words such as “always” and “completely.” If you can think of one exception, or if the answer is debatable, then the extreme answer choice is incorrect. Not all extreme answer choices are incorrect.

Extreme: Examples Indians won all their battles.” _________
D. they established an ideal community.” the bank was always busy. H. Impressionism was an entirely different style of painting.

You can do this!!! Be better tomorrow than you were yesterday!
Focus, discipline, and PRACTICE are the keys to success!!! Be better tomorrow than you were yesterday!

ACT Reading Preparation (for use in English)

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "ACT Reading Preparation (for use in English)"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

ACT Reading Preparation (for use in English)

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "ACT Reading Preparation (for use in English)"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback