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English ACT Prep Rhetorical Skills
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The English test is a 75-question, 45-minute test, covering:
Usage/Mechanics (53% - 40 questions) Punctuation (13%) Grammar and usage (16%) Sentence structure (24%) Rhetorical Skills (47% or 35 questions) Strategy (16%) Organization (15%) Style (16%) Based on research The college readiness benchmarks on the ACT Used for placement by some colleges and universities Predict success in freshman level course Students have a 50% chance of getting a B or higher Students have a 75% chance of getting a C or higher 2
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The English test is a 75-question, 45-minute test, covering:
Usage/Mechanics (53% - 40 questions) Punctuation (13%) Grammar and usage (16%) Sentence structure (24%) Rhetorical Skills (47% or 35 questions) Strategy (16%) Organization (15%) Style (16%) Based on research The college readiness benchmarks on the ACT Used for placement by some colleges and universities Predict success in freshman level course Students have a 50% chance of getting a B or higher Students have a 75% chance of getting a C or higher 3
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Rhetorical Skills The ACT writers break rhetorical skills down into three subcategories: Strategy Organization Style
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Strategy
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Strategy Transitions
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Strategy Transitions A transition is sometimes needed at the beginning of a clause, sentence, or paragraph, as a writer attempts to move smoothly from one thought to another.
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Strategy Transitions There are really only three main kinds of sentence connectors in the (English speaking) world: But Also Thus
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Strategy Transitions Fred and Sue were looking forward to going to dinner at a Chinese restaurant with their friends, _____ their friends wanted to go to an Italian restaurant.
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Strategy Transitions Fred and Sue were looking forward to going to dinner at a Chinese restaurant with their friends, but their friends wanted to go to an Italian restaurant.
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Strategy Transitions When European children hear the word “Chicago,” the first thing they think of is gangsters; _____ it must be a disappointment to them when they get off the plane and see that no one is wearing spats or carrying a tommy gun.
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Strategy Transitions When European children hear the word “Chicago,” the first thing they think of is gangsters; thus it must be a disappointment to them when they get off the plane and see that no one is wearing spats or carrying a tommy gun.
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Transitions The campers were very tired. _____ they were very hungry.
Strategy Transitions The campers were very tired. _____ they were very hungry.
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Transitions The campers were very tired. Also, they were very hungry.
Strategy Transitions The campers were very tired. Also, they were very hungry.
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Transitions Of course there are many ways to say but, thus and also…
Strategy Transitions Of course there are many ways to say but, thus and also…
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But… (contradiction) however quite the contrary despite rather
notwithstanding contrarily on the other hand on the contrary although yet nevertheless
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thus… (cause and effect)
hence and so therefore consequently for example because of finally in conclusion
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also… (in addition) in addition for example furthermore another and
first second moreover by the same token besides so too in addition similarly
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Strategy Here’s an example: NO CHANGE in addition, rather, moreover
Funds provided by the Stafford program are not considered scholarships; so too, they are part of the extended student loan system. NO CHANGE in addition, rather, moreover
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Strategy Here’s an example: NO CHANGE in addition, rather, moreover
Funds provided by the Stafford program are not considered scholarships; so too, they are part of the extended student loan system. NO CHANGE in addition, rather, moreover
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Strategy Other strategy questions include:
Which of the following best summarizes the main point of the passage? Is the use of formal English appropriate in the context of this passage? If the passage were revised to present conflicting viewpoints, which of the following changes would best represent the other side of the author’s argument?
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Organization
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Organization Two types of organization questions:
The first asks you to reorder sentences within a paragraph. The second asks you to reorder paragraphs within the passage as a whole.
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Organization Here’s an example:
[1] Van Gogh, particularly in his later paintings, creates thick swirls of paint which perhaps mirror the emotional storm raging within. [2] DuFevre piles the paint onto the canvas in thick swatches which rise off the canvas by a good half inch at times. [3] Perhaps the most telling similarity between Van Gogh and DuFevre, the little-known modern surrealist, lies in their use of brushstrokes. [4] It is almost as if he is challenging Van Gogh to a contest to determine who was more emotionally disturbed. NO CHANGE 1, 3, 2, 4 1, 4, 3, 2 3, 1, 2, 4
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Organization Here’s an example:
[1] Van Gogh, particularly in his later paintings, creates thick swirls of paint which perhaps mirror the emotional storm raging within. [2] DuFevre piles the paint onto the canvas in thick swatches which rise off the canvas by a good half inch at times. [3] Perhaps the most telling similarity between Van Gogh and DuFevre, the little-known modern surrealist, lies in their use of brushstrokes. [4] It is almost as if he is challenging Van Gogh to a contest to determine who was more emotionally disturbed. NO CHANGE 1, 3, 2, 4 1, 4, 3, 2 3, 1, 2, 4
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Ordering whole paragraphs…
Organization Ordering whole paragraphs…
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Style
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Style The largest number of style errors stems from redundancy. Put simply, redundancy means saying the same thing twice. Cheap and inexpensive gifts can be found in the shopping district.
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Style The largest number of style errors stems from redundancy. Put simply, redundancy means saying the same thing twice. Cheap and inexpensive gifts can be found in the shopping district.
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Style The largest number of style errors stems from redundancy. Put simply, redundancy means saying the same thing twice. Cheap gifts can be found in the shopping district.
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Style The largest number of style errors stems from redundancy. Put simply, redundancy means saying the same thing twice. Weak and without strength, the old car could not make it.
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Style The largest number of style errors stems from redundancy. Put simply, redundancy means saying the same thing twice. Weak and without strength, the old car could not make it.
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Style The largest number of style errors stems from redundancy. Put simply, redundancy means saying the same thing twice. The weak, old car could not make it.
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Style The largest number of style errors stems from redundancy. Put simply, redundancy means saying the same thing twice. After birth, the newborn babies are weighed by a nurse.
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Style The largest number of style errors stems from redundancy. Put simply, redundancy means saying the same thing twice. After birth, the newborn babies are weighed by a nurse.
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Style The largest number of style errors stems from redundancy. Put simply, redundancy means saying the same thing twice. After birth, the babies are weighed by a nurse.
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Style Here’s an example: NO CHANGE memorialized by a
The Vietnam veterans were recently memorialized by a memorial sculpture in Washington. NO CHANGE memorialized by a memorialized with a new memoria memorialized in a recent
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Style Here’s an example: NO CHANGE memorialized by a
The Vietnam veterans were recently memorialized by a memorial sculpture in Washington. NO CHANGE memorialized by a memorialized with a new memoria memorialized in a recent
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