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Transcript of ACT English Test Preparation
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ACT English Test Preparation
Dakota State University
February 18, 2008Maureen Murphy, PhD
Assistant Professor of English
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Overview
Understanding the ACT English Test
Categories & kinds of questions
Basic usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills Punctuation, grammar, sentence structure
Style, organization, strategy
----------- Break Sample Test Passage
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Understanding the Test
Usage/
Mechanics
53%
Rhetorical
Skills
47%
ACT English Test
Strategy
Organization
Style
Punctuation
Grammar &
Usage
Sentence
Structure
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Practice Tests Preparing for the ACT
Pages 14-25 (5 passages, 15 questions each)
Page 60, scoring key
2 subscores: Usage/Mechanics & Rhetorical Skills
ACT English: Improving College Admissions Test Scores
Instructivision, Inc.
PO Box 2004
16 Chapin RoadPine Brook NJ 07058
www.instructivision.com
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Kinds of Questions
Punctuation
13%
Grammar &
Usage
16%
Sentence
Structure
24%
Strategy
16%
Organization
15%
Style
16%
ACT English Test Content
Rhetorical Usage/
Mechanics
rhetoric
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Punctuation13%
Internal & end of sentence punctuation
Commas, apostrophes, semicolons, colons,
quotation marks
Periods, question marks, exclamation marks
Relationship of punctuation to meaning
?How happy I am exclaimed the bride.?How could you say that.
? The car ride was long, and exhausting.
?The boys bicycle was broken, so he took his sisters.
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Grammar & Usage: 16%
Subject-verb agreement? The boys in the bandwas late for rehearsal.
?Every man, woman, and childwere searched.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
? Everyone wantedtheirown room. Modifier agreement
? These kind of pears taste sweet.
Verb formation
?If he hadntran, he wouldnt havefallen.?The sun had shinedall morning.
Adverb use
?You do these problems easy.
?The pie smells deliciously.
Indefinite pronouns
(anybody, anyone,
anything, each, either,
every, everyone,
everybody, everything,
neither, nobody, no
one, one, somebody,
someone, something)
generally use singular
verbs
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Verb Tenses
Past
Simple was, jumped,took
Progressivewas being, was taking
Past perfect
had been, had beenjumping
Present
Simple is, jump,take
Progressiveis being, is taking
Present perfect
has been, has beenjumping
Future
Simplewill, will take
Progressivewill be taking,will be jumping
Future perfect
will have been,will have been jumping
?The crowd is cheering because they justfound outthat their candidate
had won the election.
Purdue OWL (online writing lab):http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/esltensverb.html#pastprog
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/esltensverb.htmlhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/esltensverb.html -
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Sentence Structure24%
Sentence (Main or Independent Clause)
Subject, verb, can stand alone
She slept.
Dependent Clause
Subject, verb, cannot stand alone
When she slept.
Phrase
does not contain both a subject and a verb; cannot stand
alone
inside the tent.
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End of sentence punctuation
Two main or independent clauses can be joined into a single sentence in 4ways
1. a semicolon only, indicating a close relationship and equal importance:
Women athletes work hard to achieve their goals; they deserve our recognition.
2. a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so), indicating the
relation of meaning between the two clauses:Women athletes work hard to achieve their goals, so they deserve our recognition.
3. subordinating one of the clauses, indicating
that one of the clauses is more important
the relation between the two clauses
Because women athletes work hard to achieve their goals, they deserve ourrecognition.
4. a semicolon, a conjunctive adverb (however, nevertheless, consequently,
however, therefore) , and a comma:
Women athletes work hard to achieve their goals; therefore, they deserve our
recognition.
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Elements of Sentence Structure
Relationships between and among clauses? I want to get my brother a video game for his birthday he loves to play
video games.
Placement of modifying phrases
?Walking down the produce aisle, the oranges looked tempting.?Sara took belly-dancing lessons to improve her figure at the community
center.
Shifts in construction (subject, person, number, tense, voice)
?Crickets could be heard chirping as we entered the meadow.
?If someone works hard, they can become successful.
visual
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Style: 16% Precise and appropriate words and images
Join, combine, link
Manner, demeanor, presence
Outlive, outlast, survive
Maintain level of diction and tone (conversational formal)
Kids, children
Manage sentence elements for effectiveness
Glancing at the newspaper, Jack noticed the headline about the plane
crash.
Jack glanced at the newspaper, noticing the headline about the planecrash.
Avoid ambiguities & redundancies
After the Blue Team beat the Orange Team, they gave them the
second-place trophy.
His imperceptible mistakes went unnoticed.
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Redundancies
advance notice alienated from others
along the lines of
attractive in appearance
by means of
despite the fact that
due to the fact that
divide up
for the purpose of
four A.M. in the morning
give consideration to
In order to in view of the fact that
make an inquiry
needless to say
of a confidential nature
one and the same
refer back
repeat again
same identical
up until
where at
as to whether
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Organization: 15%
Organize ideas according to a pattern
Chronology, compare-contrast, cause-effect, advantages-disadvantages
Paragraph development: elaboration, definition, classification, summary,
analysis, comparison, refutation, examples, quotations,
What method of development is used in paragraph 4?
Choose effective openings main ideas, thesis statements
What is the main idea of paragraph 3?
Use appropriate transitions: connecting terms consistent with organizationalpattern
Time: after, before, until, soon
Place: here, there, beyond
Result: consequently, hence, therefore
Emphasis: in particular, most important, note that
I have always loved working with test tubes; ________________, I
majored in chemistry.A) nevertheless, b) after that, 3) therefore, 4) however
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Strategies for English Test Pace yourself
Skim an entire passage1 minutes
30 seconds per question
Mark any clear errors
Focus on underlined portionswhat elements are included:word use? Verb tense? Punctuation? Tone? Purpose? NOT or
LEAST?
Examine alternativesnote especially the differences among
them (do not select an answer that solves one problem while
creating another)
Determine BEST answereliminate poor choices
Reread the sentence inserting your choice
-------------------------------------------------------------
Passa e 1: 15 uestions ?? Time?
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Passage 1[2]
The valley center consists of a salt lake that had almost dried up.
Called and named Badwater, it is the lowest place in the
Western Hemisphere. Nearby are the remains of a town once
inhabited by miners who worked the borax deposits. Kings
Canyon National Park, 90 miles away, is located in a beautiful
natural setting.
5.
[ ] A. NO CHANGE[ ] B. has
[ ] C. had been
[ ] D. was
6.
[ ] F. NO CHANGE[ ] G. by the title of
[ ] H. there and elsewhere
[ ] J.OMIT the underlined portion
7.
[ ] A. NO CHANGE[ ] B. was working
[ ] C. would be working
[ ] D. are working
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Passage 1[2]
The valley center consists of a salt lake that had almost dried up.
Called and named Badwater, it is the lowest place in the
Western Hemisphere. Nearby are the remains of a town once
inhabited by miners who worked the borax deposits. Kings
Canyon National Park, 90 miles away, is located in a beautiful
natural setting.
8. Does the information about the distance between the ghost town and
Kings Canyon National Park contribute to the description of Death Valley in
this paragraph?
[ ] F. Yes, because it is a good idea to provide as much information as possible aboutdistances between tourist attractions.
[ ] G. Yes, because the information supplements the information about Badwater.
[ ] H. No, because the focus of this paragraph is on the valley center and its environs
[ ] J. No, because the emphasis of this paragraph is on Telescope Peak.
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Passage 1[2 cont.]
Badwater its actually a bed of an old lake. Close inspection of the
lake reveals salt crystals in infinite variations. Driving to
Dantes Point from Badwater, a half hours drive, where you
can view the highest and lowest points in the continental
United States. In an hours drive, you can visit a ghost won,
hike up Telescope Peak, explore any of the colorful canyons,or climb down into a volcanic crater. A short trip will take you
to the castle constructed by millionaire, Albert Johnson. Built
in the middle of the desert, the castle took ten years to
complete.
9.
[ ] A. NO CHANGE[ ] B. its
[ ] C. is
[ ] D . OMIT theunderlined portion
10.
[ ] F. NO CHANGE[ ] G. When you have driven to Dantes Point, from the
lake, a half hours drive,
[ ] H. A half hours drive from the lake takes you to
Dantes Point, where[ ] J. After you are taking a half hours drive,
11.
[ ] A. NO CHANGE[ ] B. desertthe
[ ] C. desert; the[ ] D. desert: the
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Passage 1[3]
Although Death Valley remains open all year, the summer
months extending from May through October, is too hot to be
enjoyable. Despite this extreme heat and lack of rain, various
forms of life flourish; the many plants and animals living in
Death Valley, and there are a large number of them,
demonstrate Darwins theory that those who survive mustadapt to their environment.
13.[ ] A. NO CHANGE[ ] B. Because
[ ] C. On account of the
decision that
[ ] D . Due to the fact
that
14.
[ ] F. NO CHANGE[ ] G. months, extending from May
through October, are
[ ] H. months, extending from May
through October are
[ ] J. months extending from May
through October are
15.
[ ] A. NO CHANGE[ ] Valley, and there are a lot of
them,
[ ] C. Valley
[ ] D. Valley, and the area also has
a wealth of geological
phenomena,
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Error analysis--Instructivision1. C grammar & usage
2. J sentence structure3. B sentence structure
4. H grammar & usage
5. B sentence structure
6. J style
7. A sentence structure
8. H strategy
9. C grammar & usage
10. H strategy
11. A punctuation12. J strategy
13. A organization
14. G punctuation
15. C organization
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Next Steps Identify & work on weak areas
Practice pacing
Skim an entire passage1 minutes
30 seconds per question
Mark any clear errors
Focus on underlined portionswhat elements are included:
word use? Verb tense? Punctuation? Tone? Purpose? NOT or
LEAST?
Examine alternativesnote especially the differences among
them (do not select an answer that solves one problem while
creating another)
Determine BEST answereliminate poor choices
Reread the sentence inserting your choice