ACT PREP CLASS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 Agenda 1. Cornell Notes on ACT Reading and Science Test

ACT Reading Overview  35 minutes  40 questions  Four passages  10 questions per passage  8 ½ minutes per passage

ACT Reading Overview  There are two types of ACT Reading questions: referring questions and reasoning questions.  Referring questions ask about information that is directly stated in the passage.  Reasoning questions ask a student to draw conclusions from information that is implied in the passage.

Reading Format  There are four categories of Reading passages.  Prose Fiction (novels or short stories) requires you to understand the thoughts, feelings and motivations of fictional characters  Social Studies (essays) which expects you to recognize theme, to comprehend specific facts contained in the passage, and to understand the structure of the essay  Humanities (essays) which expects you to recognize theme, to comprehend specific facts contained in the passage, and to understand the structure of the essay  Natural Science (essays) which expects you to recognize theme, to comprehend specific facts contained in the passage, and to understand the structure of the essay

ACT Reading Content CONTENT SUBJECTNUMBER OF QUESTIONS Prose Fiction Novel or short story10 Social Studies anthropology, archaeology, business, economics, education, geography, history, political science, psychology and sociology 10 Humanities architecture, art, dance, ethics, film, 10 25% language, literary criticism, music, philosophy, radio, television, and theater 10 Natural Science natomy, astronomy, biology, 10 25% botany, chemistry, ecology, geology, medicine, meteorology, microbiology, natural history, physiology, physics, technology, and zoology 10

ACT Reading Test Questions Types Type of QuestionExamples Detail Questionsfind and interpret details Main Idea Questionsidentify the main idea of a passage, paragraph, or paragraphs Comparative Relationships Questionsinterpret comparative relationships (similarities and differences) Cause-Effect Relationships Questionsinterpret cause and effect relationships Generalizations Questionsdraw generalizations Vocabulary-in-Context Questionsidentify the meaning of words in context Sequence of Events Questionsdetermine when events happened and/or the order of events Author’s Voice and Method Questionsidentify the author’s style, attitude, and point of view; the main purpose of a sentence, a paragraph, or the passage as a whole

Science Overview  35 minutes long  40 questions  7 passages  Five to seven questions per passage  Each passage is presented in one of three different formats: Data Representation, Research Summaries, and Conflicting Viewpoints.

Science Content  Biology  Chemistry  Physics  Geology  Astronomy  Meteorology

Science Format Seven passages are broken down as follows:  Three passages about tables and graphs  Three passages about experiments  One passage that presents opposing viewpoints on the same issue

ACT Science Passage Format Passage FormatAdditional Information # of Questions Data Representationunderstand, evaluate, and interpret information presented in graphs, tables, or charts 15 questions Research Summariesunderstand, evaluate, and analyze one or more experiments 18 questions Conflicting Viewpoints understand and evaluate conflicting viewpoints, theories, or hypotheses on a specific topic 7 questions