PLAN ACT PLAN ACT What to expect & what to practice On the ENGLISH test

ENGLISH TEST (30 MIN) 4 reading passages along with multiple choice questions 30 Q’s- Usage/Mechanics This part of the test measures your understanding of standard written English with regard to punctuation, grammar, and usage, and sentence structure 20 Q’s- Rhetorical Skills ◦This part of the test measures your understanding of the appropriate us of strategy, organization, and style in writing.

ENGLISH PLAN TEST (30 minutes) Content/skillsNumber of items Usage/Mechanics30 Punctuation7 Grammar and Usage9 Sentence Structure14 Rhetorical Skills20 Strategy6 Organization7 Style7 TOTAL50

ENGLISH PLAN TEST (30 minutes) Content/skillsNumber of items Usage/Mechanics30 Punctuation7 -Commas -Apostrophes -Semicolons -Colons -Parentheses and Dashes -Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points

ENGLISH PLAN TEST (30 minutes) Content/skillsNumber of items Usage/Mechanics30 Grammar and Usage9 -Subject-Verb Agreement -Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement -Pronoun Cases -Verb Tenses -Adverbs and Adjectives -Idioms -Comparative and Superlative Modifiers

ENGLISH PLAN TEST (30 minutes) Content/skillsNumber of items Usage/Mechanics30 Sentence Structure14 -Connecting and Transitional Words -Subordinate or Dependent Clauses -Sentence Fragments -Comma Splices -Run-on Sentences -Misplaced Modifiers -Parallelism

ENGLISH PLAN TEST (30 minutes) Content/skillsNumber of items Rhetorical Skills20 Strategy6 -Transitions and Topic Sentences -Additional Detail and Evidence -Big Picture Purpose

ENGLISH PLAN TEST (30 minutes) Content/skillsNumber of items Rhetorical Skills20 Organization7 -Sentence Reorganization -Paragraph Reorganization -Passage Reorganization

ENGLISH PLAN TEST (30 minutes) Content/skillsNumber of items Rhetorical Skills20 Style7 -Redundancy -Appropriate Word Choice -Identifying Tone

ENGLISH TEST (30 MIN) 4 reading passages along with multiple choice questions 30 Q’s- Usage/Mechanics This part of the test measures your understanding of standard written English with regard to punctuation, grammar, and usage, and sentence structure 20 Q’s- Rhetorical Skills ◦This part of the test measures your understanding of the appropriate us of strategy, organization, and style in writing.

ENGLISH TEST (30 MIN) 4 reading passages along with multiple choice questions: ◦30 Q’s- Usage/Mechanics ◦20 Q’s- Rhetorical Skills 50 questions in 4 passages in 30 minutes 7.5 minutes per passage 36 seconds per question

Strategy #1 DON’T READ THE DIRECTIONS! ◦Get to know the directions for each section of the ACT Tests ahead of time so that you are not letting valuable time get wasted on the insignificant directions which won’t help you in any way!

English Test Directions: In the passage that follows, certain words and phrases are underlined and numbered. In the right-hand column, you will find alternatives for the underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is best, choose “No Change.” In some cases, you will find in the right-hand column a question about the underlines part. You are to choose the best answer.

Wait!! I think we missed something important! We aren’t done with the directions yet, but we need to recognize something. When the directions said, “... choose the one that best expresses the idea” and “... choose the best answer,” do you think they meant it?

Absolutely! Which brings us to Strategy #2 Notice that the directions ask for the BEST answer. That means that you cannot stop at the first correct answer you find. You must read all the choices and select the one you think is best. Okay, let’s continue with the directions!

Directions (cont’d) You will also find questions about a section of the passage, or about the passage as a whole. These questions do not refer to an underlined portion of the passage, but rather are identified by a number or numbers in a box. For each question, choose the alternative you consider best and fill in the corresponding oval on your answer folder. Read the passage through once before you begin to answer the questions that accompany it. For many of the questions, you must read several sentences beyond the question to determine the answer. Be sure that you have read far enough ahead each time you choose an alternative.

Strategy #3 Answer every question. First do the questions that are easy for you. Eliminate the answers you’re sure are incorrect. Guess the answer from the remaining choices. You won’t be penalized if your guess is wrong and you just might be right.

Strategy #4 RELAX!!!! The average score for the ACT is about 59% correct ~ 21 When you come across a problem which you don’t know the answer to, DON’T freak out! You’re not suppose to know all the answers! Just keep going!

Let’s practice together With 30 minutes with 50 questions, you have 36 seconds per question. On the following slide, there is an example question. Let’s see how long 36 seconds feels... Ready?

Here’s an example grammar Q: “Philosophy and Baseball” In the fall of 1967, the Boston Red Sox were playing in the World Series. I was a freshman at a university that was located in the Midwest 1 at the time, enrolled in a philosophy course that met at two in the afternoon. The course was taught by a native Bostonian. He wanted to watch the games on television, but he was too responsible to cancel class. So he conducted classes, those October afternoons, while actually listening to the games on a small transistor radio propped up inside his lectern, the volume turned down so that only he could hear. 1.A.NO CHANGE A. B.B.midwestern university then C.C.midwestern university D.D.university which was in the Midwest

Here’s an example grammar Q: “Philosophy and Baseball” In the fall of 1967, the Boston Red Sox were playing in the World Series. I was a freshman at a university that was located in the Midwest 1 at the time, enrolled in a philosophy course that met at two in the afternoon. The course was taught by a native Bostonian. He wanted to watch the games on television, but he was too responsible to cancel class. So he conducted classes, those October afternoons, while actually listening to the games on a small transistor radio propped up inside his lectern, the volume turned down so that only he could hear. 1.A.NO CHANGE A. B.B.midwestern university then C.midwestern university D.D.university which was in the Midwest

Here’s an example grammar Q: “Philosophy and Baseball” In the fall of 1967, the Boston Red Sox were playing in the World Series. I was a freshman at a university that was located in the Midwest 1 enrolled in a philosophy course that met at two in the afternoon. The course was taught by a native Bostonian. He wanted to watch the games on television, but he was too responsible to cancel class. So he conducted classes, those October afternoons, while actually listening to the games on a small transistor radio propped up inside his lectern, the volume turned down so that only he could hear. 1.A.NO CHANGE A. B.B.midwestern university then C.midwestern university D.D.university which was in the Midwest

Here’s an example grammar Q: “Philosophy and Baseball” In the fall of 1967, the Boston Red Sox were playing in the World Series. I was a freshman at a university that was located in the Midwest 1 enrolled in a philosophy course that met at two in the afternoon. The course was taught by a native Bostonian. He wanted to watch the games on television, but he was too responsible to cancel class. So he conducted classes, those October afternoons, while actually listening to the games on a small transistor radio propped up inside his lectern, the volume turned down so that only he could hear. 1.A.NO CHANGE A. B.B.midwestern university then C.midwestern university D.D.university which was in the Midwest