1. ACT Reading Class Average—1 st, 2 nd Hour: 20.1 Class Average—3 rd, 4 th, 6 th Hour: 15.6 “College-Ready”—21

2. Prose Fiction KNOW – Who? Detail questions Character names, how related to each other, characteristics – What is their state of mind? Usually inference questions Note facial expressions, reactions to other characters, etc. – What’s going on? Detail, inference or big picture questions What is the plot? What could have happened before to influence this situation? – What is the tone? Inference or big picture questions Look at DICTION, words with strong connotation to help you determine

3. Top Missed Prose Fiction Questions 1 st, 2 nd Hour—2 (22/36), 4 (31/36), 7 (28/36) 3 rd, 4 th, 6 th Hour—6 (42/56), 9 (21/56)

4. Social Science and Humanities Prior knowledge may help but keep an eye out for inference questions You don’t have to remember the passage Find the answers—Find and paraphrase – Flip back and forth – Underline, actively read

5. Top Missed Questions 1 st, 2 nd Hour—19 (26/36), 20 (29/36), 22 (34/36), 23 (23/36) 29 (26/36) 3 rd, 4 th, 6 th Hour—11 (40/56), 26, 27, 29, 29, 30 (all 41 or 42/56)

6. Natural Sciences Don’t get lost in unnecessary details Don’t try to remember everything Read questions first Underline, actively read

7. Top Missed Questions 1 st, 2 nd Hour—33, 38 3 rd, 4 th, 6 th Hour—39, 40 (45/56)

8. Five Minutes Left Read the questions. You will know some without the passage or can make an educated guess. You can do this. Stop the mindset of guessing on an entire passage. Have an answer for every question. Watch the clock/Time yourself

9. ACT Writing—Position/Content PLAN before you begin Be yourself and express your opinions – BUT … have support to back it up Black history month is in February to honor the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln Other ethnicities/groups do have months set aside – March: Women’s History Month, Greek Heritage Month, Irish- American Heritage Month – May: Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month – September: Hispanic Heritage Month

10. Position/Content Express yourself – BUT … Reign in some views N-word—regardless of the ending, not okay. Especially not okay for white people. You don’t get this word. Get over it. All boys school does not mean everyone becomes gay. All girls school does not mean everyone becomes gay. Careful with generalizations – Add the word some or many to avoid generalizations – Example: Some girls have trouble concentrating in co-ed classrooms.

11. Complexity It’s one-fourth of your score…Make it good. Aim for 3 points of complexity For each point—PAR – Paraphrase the opposing view – Acknowledge the good points of it – Refute (disprove it) Strongest essays bring up in each paragraph – If doing this option, make sure the complexity actually goes with the topic of the paragraph

12. Organization Use common words and/or a transition word at the beginning of each paragraph Basics (the first example, another example, secondly) get you a 4 If you finish and have a few minutes, this is a good edit. Go back and double check. You can easily add a transition word if necessary. Transition web site: – http://www.smart-words.org/transition-words.htmlhttp://www.smart-words.org/transition-words.html

13. Language Basic vocabulary and few/no mistakes—4 Good vocabulary and few/no mistakes-5 Great vocabulary, phrases the reader remembers, no mistakes—6 Choose a few $Money Words$ to help you spice up that essay (if this is an area you struggle with) Few minutes left? Re-read the essay, make easy changes