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Welcome to ACT prep! ACT English/Reading. Please take out your ACT prep booklet and a pen or pencil. Overview:. I can’t give you magic strategies. Today: suggestions for what you can do on your own time to practice and improve your skills and scores English first, then Reading.
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Welcome to ACT prep! ACT English/Reading Please take out your ACT prep booklet and a pen or pencil.
Overview: • I can’t give you magic strategies. • Today: suggestions for what you can do on your own time to practice and improve your skills and scores • English first, then Reading.
English: • Looks like this: • Example on page 14 of your ACT prep booklet.
The Basics: English • 75 questions, 45 minutes • Usage/Mechanics: • Punctuation: 13% • Grammar/Usage: 16% • Sentence Structure: 24% • Rhetorical Skills: • Strategy: 16% • Organization: 15% • Style: 16%
Tips: English • Try skimming the passage first, then going back to the questions. • Read the whole sentence, not just the part underlined. • Be careful that you don’t correct an error by making another error. • Once you choose an answer, reread the sentence with your new answer to make sure it makes sense.
How to Improve: English • Take practice tests and READ EXPLANATIONS. Not helpful just to take the test. Reflective practice is the only way to get better at this! • Online resource: ACT.org • Barron’s ACT book in CRC
How to Improve: English • Take practice tests and READ EXPLANATIONS. Not helpful just to take the test. Reflective practice is the only way to get better at this! • Online resource: ACT.org • Barron’s ACT book in CRC • 6 types of question. Figure out which area needs most work: • Your ACT booklet, page 60 • Barron’s website online, have to pay, can do a demo • Even better, Barron’s ACT book in CRC
How to Improve: English • Take practice tests and READ EXPLANATIONS. Not helpful just to take the test. • Online resource: ACT.org • Barron’s ACT book in CRC • 6 types of question. Figure out which area needs most work: • Your ACT booklet, page 60 • Barron’s website online, have to pay, can do a demo • Even better, Barron’s ACT book in CRC
The Basics: Reading 40 questions, 35 minutes • 2 types of questions: • Referring: 35%ish • Questions that refer directly back to the text—you can “find” the answer in the text. • Reasoning: 65%ish • Questions that ask you to make inferences, draw conclusions, read between the lines. Stuff you can’t “find” in the text, but have to figure out yourself. • 4 passages: one each of Social Studies, Natural Sciences, Fiction, and Humanities.
Reading: • Looks like this: • Example on page 34 of your ACT prep booklet.
Tips: Reading • Some students skim questions first, some read passage first. • Read passage carefully or you won’t be able to answer reasoning Qs (65%!) • Write on the passage as you read-- activates more areas of your brain. • Fake interest. No, really.
How to Improve: Reading • Same resources and methods as English—figure out which types of questions give you trouble, practice just those. • Read. A lot. Focus on nonfiction (you get enough fiction in English class). Newspapers, news magazines, etc.
Time to practice! • Turn to page 14 in your booklet. • Try questions 1-5. Feel free to talk them through with the person next to you if you wish.