ACT ENGLISH

ACT ENGLISH Tips for English

ACT ENGLISH 75 questions, 45 minutes Tips for English 9 minutes each

Questions fall into 2 Categories USAGE & MECHANICS Straight-up GRAMMAR 40 questions RHETORICAL SKILLS What GOOD WRITING looks and sounds like 35 Questions Questions fall into 2 Categories

ACT ENGLISH Toolbox Commas Agreement Follow Directions Precisely Eliminate Redundancy Contractions Pick the Exact Right Word Sentence Structure

Know the 6 ways to combine sentences Lesson 1 TIP #1: Know the 6 ways to combine sentences Sentence Structure

Compound Sentences: 2 independent clauses (subjects and verbs) Combo 1 Combo 2 Combo 3 Independent Clause [Comma + Coordinating Conjunction] Independent Clause (IC , CC IC) A comma is NEVER strong enough to combine to sentences alone, so a conjunction must be used with it. Don’t combine them at all. Keep them separated with a period. (IC . IC) Independent Clause [SEMICOLON] Independent Clause (IC ; IC) A semicolon IS strong enough to combine two sentences together as long as they are linked in some way. Coord. Conj. FOR AND NOR BUT OR YET SO

Let’s try… (write the sentence) Every spring, there a contest where I live in northern Minnesota to see who can find the most morels, this year, I’m going to enter. F) NO CHANGE G) Morels this H) morels. This J) morels, because this This was question 8 on your diagnostic.

Independent clause then the dependent clause Complex Sentences: 1 independent clause and 1 dependent clause (subject and verb that CANNOT stand alone) Combo 1 Combo 2 Independent clause then the dependent clause (IC DC) Usually a comma is NOT needed to separate the two clauses because of the subordinating conjunction. Dependent Clause [COMMA] Independent Clause (DC , IC) If a dependent clause comes first in the sentence, a comma must be used to separate them. Dependent clauses start with a subordinating conjunction AAAWWUUBBISO Subord. Conj. AS ALTHOUGHT AFTER WHEN WHILE UNTIL UNLESS BEFORE BECAUSE IF SINCE ONCE These are just a few of them.

Let’s try… A) NO CHANGE B) elephants, since 1972, Cynthia Moss has been studying elephants, since 1972 when she started the now-famous Amboseli Elephant Research Project in Amboseli National Park in Kenya. A) NO CHANGE B) elephants, since 1972, C) elephants since 1972, D) elephants’ since 1972

Let’s try… F) NO CHANGE G) limestones, eroded caves As the limestone eroded caves formed. F) NO CHANGE G) limestones, eroded caves H) limestone eroded, caves J) limestone eroded caves,

Know how to recognize the distractors TIP #2 Know how to recognize the distractors ACT ENGLISH IC, IC IC IC IC, + CC DC IC CC IC DC IC DC A comma can’t combine two sentences alone 2 Sentences combined together = RUN ON Doesn’t work FANBOY can’t work alone—must have comma too Must put a comma between the two A dependent clause cannot stand alone

Let’s try… In the 1970s, Renaldo Garcia, a Peruvian immigrant, introduced the toy to Brazil and soon started the toy manufacturing company in Brasilia. Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable? F) Brazil. Garcia G) Brazil, and he H) Brazil; he J) Brazil he

Lesson 2 Redundancy TIP #3: Eliminate wordy expressions and avoid redundancy (repetition of the same thing) Shorter is better! Unnecessarily wordy answer choices are ALWAYS wrong (too many words) With surprising frequency, the shortest answer is correct (FOR THIS TYPE OF QUESTION ONLY) TIP #3: ACT wants clear, direct, concise simple wording…don’t get caught up in all the lingo! Redundancy

Let’s try… That’s a crucial part of the preparation to get ready for morel hunting, because often the same woods that yield morels produce poisonous mushrooms, too. NO CHANGE To make oneself fit Of someone planning to be ready DELETE the underlined portion

Let’s try… Spinning top technology really improved substantially by making a leap forward in the 1980s when designers added smoother points so the toy would spin for a longer time. NO CHANGE advanced as a result of progressively making jumped ahead and made made

Let’s try… Historians speculate that one of the world’s oldest toys is the spinning top, though they know for sure that the oldest toy is the doll. Drawings of objects adorn Greek vases and the walls of Egyptian temples . NO CHANGE Spinning top, but it is hard to know for sure, considering the spinning top’s history. Spinning top, though no one is certain why some ancient spinning tops were made out of terra cotta, a fragile clay. Spinning top.

Let’s try… Historians speculate that one of the world’s oldest toys is the spinning top, though they know for sure that the oldest toy is the doll. Drawings of objects adorn Greek vases and the walls of Egyptian temples . NO CHANGE That call attention to objects that look something like the toy that I have just mentioned That include objects that almost slightly resemble spinning tops Of objects resembling spinning tops