ACT TEST PREPENGLISH TEST

5, 45, 75

IMPORTANT FACTS• 5 passages• 45 minutes • 75 questions • Tested on punctuation, grammar & usage,

sentence construction, writing strategies, organization & style

GENERAL ACT ENGLISH TIPS

• Skim the passage• Answer the questions in the ORDER that

they appear• Use POE – Process of elimination• Last option—Educated guess• ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS

PUNCTUATION

PUNCTUATION: COMMAS

Commas separate Independent Clauses

• Lesley wanted to sit outside, but it was raining.

• Henry could tie the shoe himself, or he could ask Amanda to tie his shoe.

PUNCTUATION: COMMAS

Commas in a Series:

• A series contains three or more items separated by commas. The items can either be nouns (such as “dog”) or verb phrases (such as “get in the car”).• The hungry athlete devoured a piece of chicken, a

pound of pasta, and a slice of chocolate cake.

PUNCTUATION: COMMAS

Commas are needed to set off appositives—phrases that describe nouns or pronouns.

• Samantha Higgins, the defense counsel, marched into the courtroom.

• The judge, Mr. Peterson, arrived late.

PUNCTUATION: COMMAS

Commas with Interrupters:

Use commas surrounding words such as therefore and however when they are used as interrupters.

Examples: I would, therefore, like a response.

I would be happy, however, to volunteer for the Red Cross.

PUNCTUATION: COMMAS

Commas set off Clauses and Phrases from a Complete Sentence.

• After preparing an elaborate meal for herself, Anne was too tired to eat. (prepositional phrase)

PUNCTUATION: COMMAS

Commas Separate Adjectives:

A comma can separate adjectives only if they can be in reverse order and still makes sense and/or if they can be joined by the conjunction “and.”

• My neighbor’s new dog has long, silky hair. (comma needed)

• Robert and Elizabeth live in the house on the corner with the white picket fence. (no comma needed).

PUNCTUATION: COMMAS

Comma Splice: When Not to Use a Comma

• Don’t use a comma between two independent clauses because each clause has a subject and verb and, therefore, can stand alone as a complete sentence.

Comma Splice: Connie’s mom got a new job in Baltimore, this means that Connie will be attending a different high school. (This would be incorrect use of comma.)

PRACTICE SENTENCES FOR COMMMAS(See handout)

PRACTICE SENTENCES: COMMAS—ANSWERS

1. Rowan, regrettably, was omitted from the roster. (interrupters)

2. Stacey better call her mom on Mother’s Day, or she’ll be in big trouble. (independent clauses)

3. Jill’s brother, the one who lives in New Jersey, is coming to visit next week. (appositives)

4. Rosie’s car needs new tires, a battery, a muffler, and an oil change. (items in a series)

5. Todd asked for an extension on the assignment; however, the teacher turned him down (comma splice)

LET’S TRY A FEW TEST QUESTIONS. . .

OPEN YOUR TEST BOOKLET.

READ THE PASSAGE AND COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: # 1, 2, AND 12

YOU HAVE 1 MINUTE AND 30 SECONDS

PUNCTUATION: SEMICOLON

Semicolons separate two related but independent clauses.

• Julie ate five brownies; Eileen ate seven.

• Josh needed to buy peas; he ran to the market.

PUNCTUATION: SEMICOLON

Frequently, two independent clauses will be joined by a semicolon and a transitional adverb (such as however, consequently, furthermore, nevertheless, etc.)• Julie ate five brownies; however, Eileen ate seven.

• Josh needed to buy peas; therefore, he ran to the market.

PUNCTUATION: COLON

• Colons are used after complete sentences to introduce related information that comes in the form of a list, an explanation, or a quotation.

• When a colon is used, expect to see elaborating information.

PUNCTUATION: COLON

List: The wedding had all the elements to make it a classic: theelegant bride, the weeping mother, and the fainting bridesmaid.

Explanation: The wedding had all the elements to make it a classic: the elegant bride beamed as her mother wept and as the bridesmaid fainted.

Quotation: The mother’s exclamation best summed up the wedding: “If only the bridesmaids hadn’t fainted!”

LET’S TRY A COUPLE MORE TEST QUESTIONS. . .

OPEN YOUR TEST BOOKLET.

READ THE PASSAGE AND COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: # 62 AND #69

YOU HAVE 1 MINUTE AND 30 SECONDS

GRAMMAR AND USAGE

GRAMMAR: SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT

• Singular verbs must accompany singular subjects.• Plural verbs must accompany plural subjects.

Hint: Singular verbs usually end in “s.”Examples:

• The man wears four ties.• His favorite college is in Nebraska.• Matt, along with his friends, goes to Coney Island.• The men wear four ties each.• His favorite colleges are in Nebraska.• Matt and his friends go to Coney Island.

GRAMMAR: SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT

An audience of thousands of expectant people who have come from afar to listen to live music in an outdoor setting seem terrifying to a nervous performer.

A. No Change What is the subject?B. seemsC. have seemedD. to seem

GRAMMAR: SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT

Collective Nouns:• Hint: “The” is usually singular/“A” is usually pluralSingular:

The number of people waiting in line varies hour to hour.Plural:

A number of people living in Florida vary the time of year they head to cooler weather.

Singular:Today the class starts its semester final exam at 2:00.

Plural: After taking a test, the class start their papers on Shakespeare’s sonnets.

GRAMMAR: PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT

An antecedent is a word to which a later pronoun refers. When the pronoun does not agree in gender or number with its antecedent, there’s an agreement error.

Pronoun-Antecedent Example:

Whether its bright and jaunty or haunting and melancholic, the music of the Andes highlands has a mellow sound unique in the musical world.

A. no changeB. they’reC. it’sD. its’

PRACTICE SENTENCES

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENTAND

PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT

(See handout)

PRACTICE SENTENCE ANSWERS SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT:

1. Many teachers and parents agree that new policies in the school have had a positive effect on morale.

2. Arthur Miller, along with his contemporary Tennessee Williams, is among the most impressive playwrights.

3. Katie Green, one of the best pianists in the school, and her brother Gene, who also plays extremely well, have been invited to provide musical accompaniment.

4. Here are the costumes that were used last year.

5. On second thought, either Brian or Cory is going to be the male lead in the play.

PRACTICE SENTENCES

PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT

PRACTICE SENTENCE ANSWERS PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT

1. The library put its collection of rare books on display.

2. Each of the horses in the procession followed its rider down to the creek.

3. The school’s chess team has just won its first match.

4. The teacher announced that everyone in the class must turn in his or her paper no later than Friday.

5. The person chosen as team captain will find himself working very hard.

MODIFIER AGREEMENT

Modifiers come in two forms, and must agree with the word that they are describing.• Comparative – compares one thing to another

-er or more• Superlative – tells you how one thing

compares to everything else.-est or most

MODIFIER EXAMPLE:

The Andean panpipe has its origins in the Incan civilization, once the more richer and morepowerful empire in South America.

A. No changeB. richer and mostC. richest and mostD. richer and more

SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION

These questions test your knowledge of how sentences and ideas should be joined, separated, or put together. These errors will typically be tested through clauses.

• INDEPENDENT CLAUSES = stand alone• DEPENDENT CLAUSES = cannot stand alone

SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION: RUN-ONS AND FRAGMENTS

Run-on sentences are usually pretty easy to spot because it will be immediately clear that the sentence is long and confusing! The run-on sentence occurs when independent clauses are joined without any punctuation.Fragments are incomplete sentences.

EXAMPLE

At the very low tides of the full moon, when almost all the water was sucked away, we found the hideaways where crabs, snails, starfish, and sea urchins hid.

A. No changeB. away. Then weC. away. WeD. away; we

EXAMPLE

Due to the limited number of notes that can be played on an antara early musicians’ most likely worked in groups, coordinating the timing and pitch of their instruments to extend the range of sounds produced.

A. No changeB. antara, early musiciansC. antara, early musicians’D. antara early musician’s

SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION: MISPLACED MODIFIERS

Modifiers are descriptive words or phrases that are used to add depth or dimension to the phrase that they modify. Modifiers are misplaced if they do not actually refer to what they are modifying. Modifiers are dangling if you are unsure of what they modify.

EXAMPLE

Because he was tall, Carmelo was a great basketball player. “Because he was tall” is the modifying phrase in the sentence. It tells you why he was a great ball player.

MODIFYING PHRASES GENERALLY MUST BE PLACED DIRECTLY NEXT TO THE PHRASE IT IS MODIFYING.“Because he was tall” modifies __________________.

EXAMPLE

Many years later, living in an upstairs apartment, I am moreoften sorry I didn’t follow my father out to the garden.The best placement for the underlined portion would be:

A. Where it is nowB. After the word sorryC. After the word followD. After the word garden (ending the sentence with a

period).

SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION: PARALLELISM

In a parallel sentence, ALL VERBS must be in the same form

TIP: When you see a list underlined on the test, look for a parallelism error!!!!!!

EXAMPLE

My father was an avid gardener - he still is – and every Saturday morning he would put on his work clothes, pick up his hoe and trowel, and would head out the back door.

A. No changeB. picked up his hoe and trowel, and headedC. pick up his hoe and trowel, and headD. picking up his hoe and trowel, and headed

EXAMPLE

The few times that I’ve helped a friend with yard work have given me the joy of touching the soil with an open palm, to get the earth under my fingernails, of patting down the berm around a newly transplanted sapling.

A. No changeB. with gettingC. of gettingD. got

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

CONTRACTION OR POSSESSION?It’s or Its? Whose or Who’s?

It’s = It is Who’s = Who is

STRATEGY:Slow down when you come to these.Read the sentence as “It is” or “Who is” to be SURE you’ve chosen the correct answer.

There, Their, and They’re

• There =locationThere contains the word here.

• Their = possession

• They’re = contraction for They areSubstitute “They are” in the sentence and see if it

makes sense.

WHO, WHOM, WHOSE?????Who = subject pronoun like “he”, “she”, and “they”.

Used to ask which person did an action or which person is in a certain state

Whom = an object pronoun like “him”, “her”, and “us”

Whose = possessive pronoun like “his” and “our”

RHETORICAL SKILLS

• 35 of the 75 questions• Divided into three categories• Writing Strategies (12 questions)• Organization (11 questions)• Style (12 questions)

WRITING STRATEGY

This involves improving the effectiveness of a passage through revision and editing. These questions will test your ability to identify effective topic sentences, to flesh out the paragraph through adding evidence, and to determine the passage’s overall purpose.

As a ten-year-old, I was supremely unenthusiastic about swinging a hoe in the garden when I could be out playing with my friends. Having tried and failed, my father was unable to make a gardener out of me.

Which of the choices best emphasizes how much the father wanted his son to share his avid interest in gardening?

a. No changeb. Because of my indifference to his hobby,c. Contrary to his thinking,d. Despite his repeated attempts,

ORGANIZATION

These questions deal with the logical structuring of the passage on the level of the sentence, the paragraph, and the passage as a whole. These questions ask you to organize section to maximize their coherence, orderand unity.

(1)Often, my brother and I joined our mother on her adventures into tidal lands. (2) At the very low tides of the full moon, when almost all the water was sucked away, we found the hideaways where crabs, snails, starfish, and sea urchins hid in order not to be seen. (3) Sometimes we would dig with shovels in the mud, where yellow worms lived in their leathery tunnels.

Which of the following sequences of sentences makes this paragraph most logical?

A. No changeB. 2, 1, 3C. 2, 3, 1D. 3, 1, 2

STYLE

Style questions generally concern the use of effective word choice in terms of tone and clarity. These questions test your ability to choose the most appropriate word for a sentence in terms of its tone and clarity or redundancy.

TIP: The ACT English loves short, newspaper type writing. When it comes to editing sentences, THE SHORTEST ANSWER IS USUALLY RIGHT – as long as it makes sense!!!!

Having studied, my mother is a marine biologist.A. No changeB. As my mother’s interest is science, she isC. My mother’s occupation is that ofD. My mother is

LET’S TRY A PASSAGE FROM THE TEST BOOKLET!

OPEN YOUR TEST BOOKLET.

TURN TO PAGE 19—PASSAGE IV “Beaux Arts Architecture in the Spotlight”

SKIM THE PASSAGE AND COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: # 46-60

YOU HAVE 8 MINUTES!

EXTRA PRACTICE SENTENCES

PRONOUN PROBLEMS

PRONOUN PROBLEMS—ANSWERS:

1. My dog Cooper and I took a long walk in the woods.(Reflexive pronouns “myself” may not be used as the subject of a sentence.)

2. People whom I like best have a good sense of humor.(Use “whom” when it functions as the object of the verb.)

3. The candy bar was split between Carrie and me.(Use the objective case when the pronoun is the object of a preposition.)

4. The book, which once belonged to President Kennedy, was sold at auction for $5, 000.(Use “which” to refer to nonessential information in a relative clause.)

5. To whom should I give my change of address form?(Use “whom” in a prepositional phrase.)

PARALLEL STRUCTURE

PARALLEL STRUCTURE—ANSWERS MAY VARY BUT SHOULD DEMONSTRATE PARALLEL STRUCTURE

1. Steve likes canoeing, biking, reading good books, and writing.

2. The lawyer insisted that her job took more hours than a doctor’s job.

3. It has been said that walking is better for you than jogging the same distance.

4. Like Tony, the accountant found that business was bad during the third quarter.

5. To endure extreme cold, you need to be well trained in survival tactics and be in excellent physical condition.

PREPARATION BEFORE THE APRIL 3 ACT TEST

• USE NAVIANCE (FOUND ON FAMILY CONNECTION)• COMPLETE THE TESTS IN YOUR ACT TEST BOOKLET• ASK YOUR CORE TEACHERS TO HELP EXPLAIN ANY QUESTION(S) YOU MIGHT

MISS• PRACTICE ACT FLASH CARDS OR APPS YOU MIGHT FIND ONLINE.

DAY OF THE APRIL 3 ACT TEST• WEAR LAYERS• BRING #2 PENCILS• BRING CALCULATOR• NO PHONES OR APPLE WATCHES ALLOWED

DO YOUR

BEST!!!