ACT Course

1. ACT Course Week 3

2. Agenda: • 1. Reading Review • 2. Reading Quiz

3. Warm-up: • Match the following vocabulary words with their definitions: • Abhor 1. to satisfy or relieve • Adulterate 2. detest; to shrink from in disgust or hatred • Appease 3. provide with some talent or quality • Commend 4. not genuine; to make inferior or impure • Deference 5. praise; to express approval of • Endow 6. courteous regard or respect

4. Reading Review • 35 minutes—40 multiple choice items • Familiarize yourself with the directions: • The passages presented in the test are each followed by a set of items. Read the passage and choose the best answer for each item. Fill in the corresponding oval on your bubble sheet. You may refer to the passage as often as necessary to answer the passage items.

5. Why is the Reading section of the ACT so difficult? • Many students find they do not have enough time to read without “speed reading,” but the questions usually require careful reading. • Passages can be about any subject—and are designed to be unfamiliar because they want to test your reading comprehension, not your subject knowledge. • The test-makers usually make the passages difficult on purpose. • BUT…there is good news! Since you are not expected to know anything about the subject matter beforehand, everything you need to know to answer the questions can be found in the passage!

6. General guidelines: • Remember! The three categories of reading questions are: • General Theme (GT) • Specific Points (SP) • or Evaluation (E)

7. PRACTICE: Identify the following question starters as General Theme (GT), Specific Points (SP), or Evaluation (E) • The author suggests that... ______ • According to the fourth paragraph… ______ • The passage is probably taken from what source? ______ • What is the main theme of the third paragraph? ______ • Which of the following is the main point of the paragraph? ______ • The author mentions which of the following? ______

8. As if it wasn’t hard enough already… • Sometimes the reading questions are even more complicated! Example: According to Dante, he cannot abase himself because he is: I. a philosopher II. an innocent man III. infamous • I only B. II only C. III only D. I and II only E. I and III only • The best way to answer this type of question is by using the process of elimination. Test each of the answer choices and see which one makes sense within the passage. These questions can be frustrating, but try not to get overwhelmed and just take it step by step. • **TIP: If you know that roman numeral I is not a possible choice, then you have already eliminated A, D, and E!**

9. 5 Steps to completing the reading section: • Label Passages as “easy” or “hard”(Work through easy ones first.) • Preview first and last sentences of passages (asking yourself to identify the topic.) • Preview the Stems (but not answer choices) and code them. • Read the passage • Answer the items

10. Final Tips: • **Do not waste time on questions that you do not understand!!! Just fill in an answer and go on. If enough time remains at the end of the section, go back to the hard questions and look at them more carefully to double-check your answers. • **Do not read a passage, or even part of one, more than once! You can double-check for details, but this should not take much time at all. Guess if needed, but answer all of the questions for a passage before moving on. If time remains after you’ve finished the last question, you can go back and double-check questions about which you were unsure.**

11. HOMEWORK!!! • HW: Do the two practice sections about that you did not do in class, and do one timed quiz. (p. 586, 588, 590, 592, or 594)