Preparing for the ACT English Test

1. Preparing for the ACT English Test

2. The Basics… • The ACT English Test is a 75-question, 45-minute test that measures your understanding of the conventions of standard written English (punctuation, grammar and usage, and sentence structure) and of rhetorical skills (strategy, organization, and style). • Spelling, vocabulary, and rote recall of rules of grammar are not tested. The test consists of five essays, or passages, each of which is accompanied by a sequence of multiple-choice test questions. • Different passage types are employed to provide a variety of rhetorical situations. Passages are chosen not only for their appropriateness in assessing writing skills but also to reflect students’ interests and experiences.

3. Some questions refer to underlined portions of the passage and offer several alternatives to the underlined portion. You must decide which choice is most appropriate in the context of the passage. • Some questions ask about an underlined portion, a section of the passage, or the passage as a whole. You must decide which choice best answers the question posed. Many questions offer “NO CHANGE” to the passage as one of the choices. • The questions are numbered consecutively. Each question number refers to a correspondingly numbered portion underlined in the passage or to a corresponding numeral in a box located at the appropriate point in the passage.

4. Tips • Pace yourself! • If you spend 1½ minutes skimming through each passage before responding to the questions, then you will have 30 seconds to answer each question. • If possible, spend less time on each question and use the remaining time allowed for this test to review your work and return to the questions on this test that were most difficult for you.

5. Be aware of the writing style used in each passage. • In responding to a question, be sure to understand the context of the question. Consider how the sentence containing an underlined portion fits in with the surrounding sentences and into the passage as a whole.

6. Examine the underlined portions of the passage. • Before responding to a question with an underlined portion, carefully examine what is underlined in the text. • Some questions will ask you to choose the alternative to the underlined portion that is NOT or LEAST acceptable. The answer choices for each question will contain changes in one or more of those elements of writing.

7. Be aware of questions with no underlined portions. • Questions asking global questions about the entire passage are placed at the end of the passage and introduced by a horizontal box enclosing the following instruction: “Questions ___ and ___ ask about the preceding passage as a whole.”

8. Note the differences in the answer choices. • Determine the best answer. • You can reread the sentence or sentences, substituting each of the possible answer choices for the underlined portion to determine the best choice. • Or… • You can decide how the underlined portion might best be phrased in standard written English or in terms of the particular question posed. If you think the underlined portion is the best answer, you should select “NO CHANGE.” If not, you should check to see whether your phrasing is one of the other answer choices.

9. Strategies

10. KISS • Keep it short and simple-always pick the answer that is the shortest if it is grammatically correct. • Delete = • Omit-- Omit means to delete the underlined portion. • Least, Not, Except • Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable? Always circle these when you see them. • When in doubt leave it out / commas • If you don't know where the comma goes always pick the answer with no comma.

11. Its It's Its' • It's= it is • Its=possession • Its'= does not exist • Yes vs. No • Make sure you know what they are asking in the yes vs. no questions. This is why you must read the passage. • Consistency—person / tense • As the dancers step to the music, they were also stepping in time to a sound that embodies their unique history.

12. Omit • Omit is the shortest way of saying something. Read the sentence by omitting the underlined portion first. • If it sounds correct, that is the answer. • When you can omit an entire sentence, do it. Only keep if grammatically necessary. • Who / Whom • You will most like likely never use the word "whom." • You can use the word "who" when the subject of a sentence would normally require a subject pronoun like he or she. You would only use the word "whom" when a sentence would need an object pronoun. An object pronoun is those pronouns that include the words he or she.

13. Rhetorical Skills

14. 35 of the 75 English questions will test your knowledge of “rhetorical skills.” These questions will test strategy, organization, style and transition. You will need to understand the author’s argument and think about the most logical flow of ideas.

15. Strategy Questions • These often test transitions, and they are typically easy questions. • Other strategy questions test your ability to improve the passage, rather than fix errors. • To help you on these questions, think about the flow of ideas and how to best order the author’s thoughts.

16. Organization Questions • Question Type #1: Questions that ask you to check the placement of the underlined word(s), and possibly move it according to where or what it should modify • Question Type #2: Questions that ask you to reorder sentences within a paragraph • Question Type #3: Questions that ask you to reorder the paragraphs within the passage as a whole • Example • Behind me, I heard kids oohing and aahing at the wonders of the circus. I was eight, and I fell in love with the big top and everything under it right then, even down to the musty sawdust and hay that ground underfoot, so much so that I vowed that someday, I would work under its canvas wings. • Which of the following sentences would best continue the personal theme expressed here? • A. As I grew older, I found I had a talent for numbers, and studied accountancy. • B. Twenty years later, I had gone into engineering, and soon went to work for NASA. • C. Throughout high school, I studied acting and drama, and began working with dinner theatre after graduation. • D. It took me several years, but by the time I was 20, I had graduated from clown college and begun working with a small family-run operation.

17. D. It took me several years, but by the time I was 20, I had graduated from clown college and begun working with a small family-run operation.

18. Style Questions • Style questions test redundancy, overall tone, and suitability of words. There could also be questions that test wordiness, slang, or irrelevance. Be aware that the ACT prefers formal English to casual. • 1. In the brilliant glare of the spotlight, focused on the center one of a group of rings on the dirt floor, a man in a silver suit stood proudly, top hat in hand. • A. NO CHANGE C. center one ring • B. center of the rings D. center ring • 2. Behind the ringmaster, I could see a majestic lion, pacing back and forth between the sides in the cage and snarling at the clowns that stood off to one side. • A. NO CHANGE C. between the sides • B. REMOVE D. back and forth

19. Style questions test redundancy, overall tone, and suitability of words. There could also be questions that test wordiness, slang, or irrelevance. Be aware that the ACT prefers formal English to casual. • 1. In the brilliant glare of the spotlight, focused on the center one of a group of rings on the dirt floor, a man in a silver suit stood proudly, top hat in hand. • A. NO CHANGE C. center one ring • B. center of the rings D. center ring • 2. Behind the ringmaster, I could see a majestic lion, pacing back and forth between the sides in the cage and snarling at the clowns that stood off to one side. • A. NO CHANGE C. between the sides • B. REMOVE D. back and forth