SEMI COLON/COLON PRACTICE – INSERT EITHER A SEMI COLON OR COLON AND EXPLAIN THE RULE THAT GOES WITH IT. A few days ago, “Tobias” was a name only I knew among the Dauntless it was the piece of himself that he gave me. Amy and I both needed new careers this would be mine Like Carmen’s dad sometimes said Be careful what you wish for They became to everyone who knew them simply TullyandKate and for more than thirty years that friendship was the bulkhead of their lives strong durable solid.

IF YOU LEARN ONLY 4 THINGS TODAY! 1. Use structural clues to figure out a passage’s direction. 2. Consider the question stem and think of an answer before looking at the choices – they’re designed to throw you off track. 3. Find the correct answer in the passage – don’t try to answer from memory. 4. You should be familiar with the KAPLAN’s Five-Step Method for ACT Reading.

ACT READING TEST INCLUDES: 1 Prose Fiction with 10 questions. 1 Humanities passage with 10 questions. 1 Social Studies Passage with 10 questions. 1 Natural Sciences passage with 10 questions. = 4 Reading Passages – 40 questions – 35 Minutes. Notice the colon introducing a list.

READING: I KNOW HOW TO READ! The kind of reading rewarded by ACT is special. So what you have read every Harry Potter or Twilight book, this is DIFFERENT! You may think that success on a test like this requires that you read very slowly and deliberately, making sure you remember everything – IT IS NOT! In fact, it is a sure way to run out of time ½ way through the test.

THE KEY TO ACTIVE ACT READING… Read Quickly; but, read Actively. Actively – to get the “gist” or main idea. Determine the structure of the piece. Think ahead as you read… Where is this going? What is the point? Etc Don’t dwell on the details. You actually do this kind of “reading” all the time… For example, when watching TV or movie, you often know where it is going before you get to the end. Because they follow a pattern.

TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING… This ability to know where something is going very valuable. Use it on the ACT. Pay attention to structural clues: But, nevertheless, moreover – help you get a sense of where a piece of writing is going. Clearly, as a result, or no one can deny that – determine the logic of a piece.

LET’S PRACTICE… In the following exercise, try to fill in the word or phrase that should come next. For most, there are many possible answers, so don’t worry about getting the “right” answer. 1. You’d think that the recipe for a strawberry soufflé would be complicated, but my friend’s version was ________________.

In Sentence 1, the active reader would probably complete the sentence by saying that the friend’s version was “actually quite simple” or something similar. How do you know what’s coming next here? The structural clue but tips you off. But tells you that a contrast is coming up. You’d think the recipe would be complicated, BUT it’s “actually quite simple.”

PRACTICE CONTINUED… 2. I cant believe my good luck! The one time in my life I buy a lottery ticket, I ________________________________.

2. In Sentence 2, on the other hand, there’s no real structural clue to help you out, but the meaning of the sentence should make clear what’s coming up. The speaker here is marveling at his good luck, right? That means that he must have won some money. So, a likely completion would be something like: The one time in my life I buy a lottery ticket, I “win the jackpot.”

3. A parked car burns no fuel and causes no pollution. Once the ignition is turned on, however, __________________________________. In Sentence 3, we have another contrast, signaled by the clue however. A parked car doesn’t burn fuel or pullute. HOWEVER, once you turn on the ignition… The answer has to be something like: “The car starts burning gas and polluting.” That is the clear contract that was anticipated by the structural clue however.

4. As their habitat is destroyed, wild animals ______________________. Sentence 4 demonstrates again that you don’t need explicit structural clues to stay ahead. Sometimes all you need is common sense. What do you think would happen to animals whose habitat had been destroyed? Would they thrive? Celebrate? Buy a condo in Florida? No, they’d probably “start dying out.” They might even, “become extinct.”

5. The new word processing program was far easier to use than the old one. Moreover, the accompanying instruction booklet explained the commands in a _______________ way. 6. The new word processing program was far easier to use than the old one. On the other hand, the accompanying instruction booklet explained the commands in a ____________ way.

Sentences 5 and 6 show clearly how you can use an author’s language to anticipate what point he/she is going to make next. Here, we have identical sentences, except for one small (but very important!) difference. In #5, the second sentence begins with the word, moreover, indicating a continuation, an addition of similar information. Then blank in #5 should be filled with a phrase like: In a “clear and easy-to-understand” way. That would allow the sentences to make sense together: The program was easy to use; moreover, the instructions were easy to understand. In #6, the second sentence starts with on the other hand, indicating a contrast, the other side of the coin, something that stands in opposition. The blank in #6 should be filled with something like “ confusing and unclear” way.

DOES THIS MAKE SENSE? The program was easier to use; moreover, the instructions were confusing and unclear? The program was easier to use; on the other hand, it was easy to understand.

KAPLAN 5 STEP METHOD FOR ACT READING. Pre read the passage Consider the question stem Refer to the passage Answer questions in your own words Match your answer with one of the choices.

1. PRE-READ THE PASSAGE 1. Understand the gist 2. Get an overall idea of how passage is organized. Underline key points, circle structural clues… Label paragraphs Important Reminders: Don’t read SlOW Don’t get bogged down in individual details.

2. CONSIDER THE QUESTION STEM Don’t read answers first – focus on the question stem. Don’t let the answer choices direct your thinking (That is what the test takers want you to do!)

3. REFER TO THE PASSAGE You won’t be re-reading the whole passage of course. Refer by finding the place where the answer to a question can be found (sometimes the question stem will sometimes contain a line reference to help you out.)

4. ANSWER THE QUESTION IN YOUR OWN WORDS. It is an extremely important in Reading to make a habit of answering the questions in your own words BEFORE looking at the answer choices. Most students waste an enormous amount of time thinking about answer choices in Reading. If you do the above, you will NEVER finish.

5. MATCH YOUR ANSWER WITH ONE OF THE CHOICES. Now that you already have an answer in your head, this should be easy. Don’t let the answer choices sway you – find the one that closely matches.

BASED ON THE STRATEGIES WE JUST DISCUSSED… Try the 2 nd part of the Reading Test. Same time limit.

PASSAGE ONE. PROBABLY IN THE KAPLAN ACT BOOK TO PRINT FOR STUDENTS.

PASSAGE ONE MULTIPLE CHOICE Now that you have your own answers – look at the MC options and find the one that most matches your own.

EXIT QUESTION: Describe your greatest struggle from yesterday’s practice test? Today’s practice? How did one of the strategies help you today?