act english preparation

ACT English Preparation

MCGEARY/LYKE ACT PREP, 2012

Schedule for Lesson #1

• Introduction to Test

•Strategies

•General

•Commas/Punctuation

• Adjective vs Adverb

Introduction to the Test:Why Prepare for the ACT?

• 2 Categories of SKILLS Tested on the ACT:

• Usage & Mechanics

Punctuation, Usage, and Sentence Structure

• Rhetorical Skills

Word Choice, Organization, and Topic Development

• These lessons will focus on TEST TAKING STRATEGIES.

Introduction to the Test

The ACT English passages test your EDITING

Skills

• There are FIVE (5) separate passages

• Each passage asks 15 questions

• 6–10 of those questions are Category 1:

(Usage and Mechanics)

• 5–9 of the questions are Category 2:

• (Rhetorical Skills)

Introduction to the Test:Order of Passages

•By practicing with these passages, you can figure out your strengths and weaknesses.

• Start with your strengths.

Introduction to the Test:Content of the English TestCATEGORY 1: Usage & Mechanics

Punctuation (10 questions)

•commas (most frequent)

•apostrophes (2nd most)

•colons & semicolons

•parenthesis & dashes


Basic Grammar & Usage (12

questions)

•agreement (subject-verb; pronoun-antecedent)

•forms (of verbs & pronouns and adjective vs.

adverb)

•cases (of verbs & pronouns)


Sentence Structure (18

questions)

•clause relationships (most frequent)

•parallel structure (2nd most)

•placement of modifiers

Introduction to the Test:Content of the English TestCATEGORY 2: Rhetorical Skills

Writing Strategy (12 questions)

•supporting a point (evidence)

•introducing or concluding a

paragraph

•transitions

•phrasing a statement


Organization (11 questions)

•sentence order

•paragraph order

•placement of a word or phrase


Style (12 questions)

•eliminate redundancy

•choose appropriate word

•choose appropriate phrase

Introduction to the Test:A CLOSER LOOK AT CATEGORY 1

Usage and Mechanics

•PUNCTUATION

•GRAMMAR & USAGE

•SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Introduction to the Test:PUNCTUATION

• Know your comma rules! These are worth

knowing and recognizing in writing; these are the most common questions in this category; getting these correct will increase your score dramatically.

• Apostrophes Apostrophes are used in two ways:

to show possession/ownership and to combine two words (it + is = it’s). It is crucial to understand the differences between the two. Placement of apostrophes are also important to know.

Introduction to the Test:GRAMMAR & USAGE

• TARGETS A SINGLE INCORRECT WORD One word in the underlined portion is incorrect (or only one word is underlined). It will be an incorrect verb form, an incorrect pronoun, or even an incorrect form of a modifier.

• Practice To do better with these questions, it is

important that you learn correct verbs, pronouns, and adjective/adverbs. You will never be asked to define these, but you need to recognize them and what is correct and what is not.

Introduction to the Test:SENTENCE STRUCTURE

•DEALS with the sentence as a whole The underlined portion may not be the whole

sentence, but you need to read the whole sentence to figure out what is wrong

•Practice To do better with these questions, it is

important that you learn the difference between a clause and a phrase; you will also need to get familiar with what a modifier is and the placement of a modifier.

Introduction to the Test:A CLOSER LOOK AT CATEGORY 2

Rhetorical Skills

•WRITING STRATEGY

•ORGANIZATION

•STYLE

Introduction to the Test:WRITING STRATEGY

• READ THE PASSAGE To do better with this, you

must read and understand the passage; this is difficult because you are also fixing the grammar errors. If you don’t understand the purpose and tone of the passage, it will be difficult to improve.

• Transitions Many of the questions in this section deal

with picking the appropriate transitions.

Introduction to the Test:ORGANIZATION

• THIS CATEGORY CAN ASK ONE OF THREE THINGS

• 1. Reorganize a sentence

• 2. Reorder sentences in a paragraph

• 3. Reorder paragraphs of the whole passage.

THE KEY is to pay attention to the whole passage and what it all means.

Introduction to the Test:STYLE

• WORD CHOICE To improve in this skill, get

familiar with the most common phrases that are redundant.

• READ THE PASSAGE Again, you need to

understand the passage as a whole to do better in this category; the tone of the piece is important. You can’t think about what you hear but rather what you know is correct.

Introduction to the Test:THE “NOT” or “EXCEPT” QUESTIONS

• 3 of the 4 answers are CORRECT.

• BE CAREFUL! You need to choose the WRONG answer for these questions.

• You need to know ALL of the grammar rules that perform the same function

• Cross off answers you know are correct.

Which of the following would NOT replace the underlined portion:

Leona was also fascinated by faraway places. She covered her bedroom walls with postcards of famous sites.

A. places, so she

B. places: she

C. places; therefore, she

D. places, she [CORRECT CHOICE because it is WRONG]

Schedule for Lesson #2

Tests & Strategies: Part 1

General Strategies:

1. Read the entire passage first

2. Answer questions in order they appear

3. Leave Nothing Blank

4. Eliminate wrong answers first if you have to guess

5. Be careful of distracters that OVER correct a

problem

6. Pick the SHORTEST answer

General Strategy #1: Read the Entire Passage first

• Read or skim the entire passage

• This will help you be familiar with what it is about.

• Several questions have to do with the passage as a whole; if you are familiar with it by reading it first, you will do better.

• Many students want to get right to the underlined parts. If you do this, you will be tricked!

General Strategy #2: Answer the questions in the order that they appear• Do not go out of order or jump around

• One question can depend on a previous question.

• A question can give you a clue to another.

• If you skip around, you may not get the whole idea of what is being asked

• Questions are NOT in order of difficulty; trying to find easier questions is not a good strategy

• Going in order will help you with the organizational questions

General Strategy #3: Leave nothing blank; guess if you don’t know• There is no penalty for guessing

• If you leave it blank, it will be marked wrong anyway; better to guess and increase your chances of getting it correct.

• In the ENGLISH TEST, it is best to guess and move on; if you don’t know the answer pretty quickly, scratching your head and trying to “work it out” will not help, it will only frustrate you.

• This test is about what you know, not what you can “figure out.”

General Strategy #4: Eliminate wrong answers first

• Even when you guess, try to eliminate something• If there is an answer that is obviously wrong,

cross it off.• Each one you cross off increases your chance of

making a correct guess.

• These are your odds:• Leave blank, it’s wrong• Guess, you have a 25% chance• Cross off one wrong answer, you have a

33% chance• Cross off two answers you identify as

wrong, you have a 50% chance. Not too bad!

General Strategy #5: Watch out for answers that OVER correct a problem

• Many of the wrong answers are there to DISTRACT you

• Be careful; these answers will over-correct the real problem

• The correct answer is NOT necessarily the one that changes the original the most

• The answer is usually the one that corrects one, maybe two problems

• Distracters will change more elements of the underlined portion; you want to just change the problem, not add more errors

General Strategy #6: Choose the SHORTEST answer

Sure enough, there was Roy, still sound asleep, curled up on the back pew, carved out of sturdy white oak.

F.NO CHANGE

G. pew, hewn from locally harvested oak lumber.

H. pew, made from mountain oak.

J. pew.CORRECT ANSWER: J (the shortest answer!)

General Strategy #6: Choose the SHORTEST answer

•When you really don’t know or are guessing, pick the shortest answer

•Never replace an underlined portion with MORE WORDS unless you know it is for sure the right answer

• Less is more!

• This test expects you to make it as concise as possible

• Never pick an answer that says something twice(EX: It was free. We didn’t have to pay for it)

• The same is true with adding information– never add extra information even if it is correct

Schedule for Lesson #3, 4, 5

Many questions deal with the COMMA RULES

RULE #1 FANBOYS

FORANDNORBUTORYETSO

These seven little words are the first KEY to correctly placing commas. They are easy to remember, so MEMORIZE them.

Once you RECOGNIZE them in a sentence, you can evaluate how they are being used so you can correctly place a comma.

COMMAS/PUNCTUATION PT. 1

IMPORTANT CONCEPT #1

FANBOYS get a comma BEFORE them if and only if there is a complete sentence on both sides of it. FANBOYS never get a comma AFTER.

My dog is a poodle, and John’s dog is a terrier.

These can be made into TWO SEPARATE sentences.

My dog is a poodle. John’s dog is a terrier.


COMPLETE SENTENCE COMMA FANBOY COMPLETE SENTENCE


FANBOYS get a comma BEFORE them if and only if there is a complete sentence on both sides of it.

Now let’s look at a FANBOYS when it is NOT doing that:

My dog is a poodle and so is John’s.

NO COMMA before “AND”

“So is John’s” is not a sentence by itself.


He not only executed the drawings for the company’s patent applications but also designed an improved incandescent lamp.

A.NO CHANGEB.applications but, alsoC.applications but also,D.applications; but also

CORRECT ANSWER: AAfter the FANBOYS (but), it is NOT a complete sentence, so it does not get a comma (or any other punctuation)“also designed an improved incandescent lamp” is not a sentence by itself

MORE FANBOYS Knowledge:

AND and OR

These two may be used in a series (list) as well. In that case, the rule is a bit different.

EX. She bought red, yellow, and white flowers.

EX. Mrs. Kildeer might go to the corner store, the mall, or Walmart.

comma before AND because it is a list

comma before OR because it is a list

MOST COMMON FANBOYS ERROR

Many of us want to put a comma before a FANBOYS when we shouldn’t.

THESE ARE ALL WRONG. Can you explain why?

It is sad, but true.

He couldn’t decide if he wanted to go, or not.

The giraffe is an animal with a long, but narrow neck.

Frankie was neither a tall man, nor a short one.

RULE #2

NONESSENTIALS

Nonessentials are just that. They are NOT ESSENTIAL/NOT IMPORTANT to the understanding of the sentence.

THE RULE:

Nonessentials are always surrounded by punctuation.

At the beginning of a sentence, they begin with a capital letter and then get a comma.

In the middle of a sentence, they get a comma before and a comma after

At the end of a sentence, a comma before and a period at the end.


IMPORTANT CONCEPT #2NONESSENTIALS: EXAMPLES

BEGINNING OF A SENTENCE:

Knowing the truth, James told his mother who did it.

MIDDLE OF A SENTENCE:

James, knowing the truth, told his mother who did it.

END OF A SENTENCE:

James told his mother who did it, knowing the truth.

“Knowing the truth” is not needed; it is nonessential and gets surrounded by punctuation.




OTHER NONESSENTIALS: EXAMPLES

Katrina, who was the homecoming queen, did not go to the prom.

I like to eat at my grandmother’s house, which is why I go there all the time.

Micky, the boy in the back, is getting an ‘A’ in this class.

Okay, I will go out with you.

Personally, I am very nervous about taking this test.

Jennifer, however, is not very nervous.

That’s easy! Take out the part that is surrounded by punctuation.

If the sentence still makes sense AND you can still tell who everyone is or what everything is, then it is

for sure a NONESSENTIAL.

Let’s go back to the ones we just looked at. We will take out the NONESSENTIAL to make sure the sentence still makes sense

HOW DO I KNOW IF IT IS NONESSENTIAL?

ARE THEY NONESSENTIAL?

Katrina, who was the homecoming queen, did not go to the prom.

Katrina did not go to the prom.

I like to eat at my grandmother’s house, which is why I go there all the time.

I like to eat at my grandmother’s house.

Micky, the boy in the back, is getting an ‘A’ in this class.

Micky is getting an ‘A’ in this class.

ARE THEY NONESSENTIAL?

OTHER NONESSENTIALS: EXAMPLES

Okay, I will go out with you.

I will go out with you.

Personally, I am very nervous about taking this test.

I am very nervous about taking this test.

Jennifer, however, is not very nervous.

Jennifer is not very nervous.

TYPES OF NONESSENTIALS

How do I recognize a nonessential?

There are 4 main types.

1.Interrupter a word or phrase that interrupts the sentence (however, for example, well, yes, no, okay)

2.WHO, WHICH, WHERE, WHOM a phrase that begins with one of these words might be nonessential

3.Participial phrases (these are verbs that end in “ING” or are the form that goes with “HAVE” ex. Broken)

4.The Appositive this is a phrase that begins with A or THE and is extra information about a subject

TYPES OF NONESSENTIALS

How do I recognize a nonessential?

EXAMPLES of the 4 main types.

1.Interrupter Well, you sure are smart.

2.WHO, WHICH, WHERE, WHOM Lawrence, who forgot to study, did not go to school.

3.Participial phrases Paulina, upset about the breakup, went to the 7-Eleven for a Slurpee.

4.The Appositive Love, a strange thing, is in the air.

Take out the nonessential and you still understand what happened. It still makes perfect sense.

Tiny’s Granny however, is very fond of her mean dog.

F. NO CHANGEG. Granny; howeverH. Granny, however,J. Granny, however

Tiny’s Granny however, is very fond of her mean dog.

F. NO CHANGEG. Granny; howeverH. Granny, however,J. Granny, however

CORRECT ANSWER: HHOWEVER is an interrupter, a nonessential, not needed.

Tiny’s Granny is very fond of her mean dog. HOWEVER can be dropped and it still makes sense, so it is a nonessential and needs to have commas around it; answer H does that

THE LAST IMPORTANT NONESSENTIAL RULE

NONESSENTIALS get surrounded by punctuation. There are two other pieces of punctuation that can be used with a nonessential.

1.The DASH.

Stephanie – what a nice girl – will make the honor roll!

Many people ride the train to work – a great option to avoid traffic.

2. The PARENTHESIS.

The dodo bird (which is now extinct) could not fly.

THE LAST IMPORTANT NONESSENTIAL RULE

THE KEY to these is CONSISTENCY. If a nonessential begins with a dash as the example below, it has to end with one. If it begins with a comma, it has to end with one.

Stephanie – what a nice girl – will make the honor roll!

And, thanks to Kali for Women, now more people can hear Granny’s voice, and the voices of other women in Truth Tales– speak about the truths common to us all.

F. NO CHANGEG. voice; andH. voice– and J. voice and

And, thanks to Kali for Women, now more people can hear Granny’s voice, and the voices of other women in Truth Tales– speak about the truths common to us all.

F. NO CHANGEG. voice; andH. voice– and J. voice and

CORRECT ANSWER: Hlook at the end of the nonessential; there is a dash, so the correct answer H makes it consistent; you can’t begin it with a comma and end it with a dash

COMMA RULE: KNOW YOUR ABBIs!

ABBI SAW A WUWUAfterBeforeBecause IfSinceAlthoughWhen(ever)

These twelve words are the second KEY to correctly placing commas. They are easy to remember, so MEMORIZE them.

Once you RECOGNIZE them in a sentence, you can evaluate how they are being used so you can correctly place a comma.


AsWhileUnlessWhetherUntil


ABBIs get a comma EVERY TIME a sentence begins with one of those words.

Because I love to read, I go to the library every week.

An ABBI word begins an INCOMPLETE THOUGHT. It must be followed by a complete sentence/thought.


ABBI CLAUSE COMMA COMPLETE SENTENCE


ABBI rule changes when the ABBI clause is at the end of a sentence. Remember this!

I go to the library every week because I love to read.

THIS IS THE MOST COMMON ERROR MADE with COMMAS.

ACT knows this; people want to put a comma before “because” but it is

NOT CORRECT! Commas do NOT go before an ABBI when the complete sentence comes before it.


COMPLETE SENTENCE NO COMMA ABBI CLAUSE


TRICK #1 with ABBIs

Sometimes the ABBI clause comes in the middle of a sentence. You have to be aware of what the complete thought is.

I, because I love to read, go to the library every week.

The complete thought/action is I GO TO THE LIBRARY.

The ABBI “interrupts” the sentence and works just like a nonessential. It gets surrounded by commas. This is the only time you will ever have a comma before an ABBI in a single sentence.



TRICK #2 with ABBIs

When an ABBI is used in a more complex sentence, you have to be very careful. You have to separate the two sentences to figure out what you need.

I am an avid reader, and because I love to read, I go to the library every week.

LET’S BREAK THIS UP AND FIGURE OUT THE RULES HERE.



TRICK #2 with ABBIs

THIS IS ONE COMPLETE THOUGHT THIS IS ANOTHER

I am an avid reader I go to the library

every week



TRICK #2 with ABBIs

THIS IS THE ABBI CLAUSE

because I love to read



TRICK #2 with ABBIs

THE ABBI CLAUSE goes with the 2nd sentence so you need the comma

because I love to read, I go to the library every week



TRICK #2 with ABBIs

The other sentence is then combined with the 2nd using a FANBOYS.

I am an avid reader, and because I love to read, I go to the library every week.

So, this other comma deals with a different rule: the FANBOYS rule we learned earlier.


Review of COMMA RULES

1. KNOW your FANBOYS

2. Watch for NONESSENTIALS

3. Recognize your ABBI phrases

4. Remember to be consistent with dashes and parenthesis

5. Know the three combo options

TWO MORE IMPORTANT CONCEPTS:

The SEMICOLON and The APOSTROPHE

Know how to use a semicolon. It is a simple rule that will help you answer some questions.

Know the basics of apostrophes.


THE SEMICOLON

A semicolon is used to combine two complete sentences.

Let’s look at three ways this is done.


THE SEMICOLONSentence #1 I like to read.

Sentence #2 The library is my favorite place to visit.

We can combine these to make one sentence by using a semicolon.

I like to read; the library is my favorite place to visit.


THE SEMICOLONA semicolon can replace a comma and FANBOYS

I like to read, so the library is my favorite place to visit.

Drop the comma and the FANBOYS, replace with a

semicolon


THE SEMICOLONA semicolon can combine two sentences with a connector word in between. In this case, you will need a comma too.

I like to read; therefore, the library is my favorite place to

visit.


SEMICOLON CONNECTOR WORD COMMA

THE SEMICOLONThe important thing to remember with a semicolon—

Look to the left of the semicolon. There should be a complete sentence. Look to the right. Another complete

sentence.

If one of these isn’t true, the use of a semicolon is WRONG.


ANSWERS

6.

F. NO CHANGE

G. over, the family had returned home,

H. over the family had returned home,

J. over the family had returned home;

Text from Passage

The evening church service was over, the family had returned home; and everyone was sitting around in the living room.

ANSWERS

6.

F. NO CHANGE




Text from Passage


F is wrong. Look to the left. “The evening church service was over, the family had returned home” is NOT a sentence by itself, it is TWO sentences with a comma between them. We know we have to change it

ANSWERS

6.

F. NO CHANGE




Text from Passage


J is wrong. It takes out the comma and makes the two sentences to the left into one that doesn’t make sense– it is still two sentences. So, this choice is WRONG.

ANSWERS

6.

F. NO CHANGE




Text from Passage


H is wrong. It takes out the comma and makes the two sentences to the left into one that doesn’t make sense– it is still two sentences, so taking out the comma doesn’t fix the problem. So, this choice is WRONG.

ANSWERS

6.

F. NO CHANGE




Text from Passage


G is CORRECT. It takes out the semicolon and makes it a comma. Now we have a list.

IF you know semicolons, you know it doesn’t belong anywhere in this sentence. F and J are automatically WRONG.

ANSWERS

24.

F. NO CHANGE

G. Granny; however,

H. Granny, however,

J. Granny, however

Text from Passage

Tiny’s Granny however; is very fond of her burqua because she has found a variety of innovative uses for it.

ANSWERS

24.

F. NO CHANGE

G. Granny; however,

H. Granny, however,

J. Granny, however

Text from Passage

Tiny’s Granny however; is very fond of her burqua because she has found a variety of innovative uses for it.F is WRONG. Look to the left of the

semicolon in the sentence.

“Tiny’s Granny however” is NOT a complete sentence. If you know semicolon rule, you know that you can’t have that.

ANSWERS

24.

F. NO CHANGE

G. Granny; however,

H. Granny, however,

J. Granny, however

Text from Passage

Tiny’s Granny however; is very fond of her burqua because she has found a variety of innovative uses for it.G is WRONG. Look to the left of the

semicolon with this answer.

“Tiny’s Granny” is NOT a complete sentence. If you know semicolon rule, you know that you can’t have that.

ANSWERS

24.

F. NO CHANGE

G. Granny; however,

H. Granny, however,

J. Granny, however

Text from Passage

Tiny’s Granny however; is very fond of her burqua because she has found a variety of innovative uses for it.J is WRONG. Remember nonessentials?

“however” interrupts the sentence.

NONESSENTIALS have to be surrounded by commas. This choice only puts in one.

ANSWERS

24.

F. NO CHANGE

G. Granny; however,

H. Granny, however,

J. Granny, however

Text from Passage

Tiny’s Granny however; is very fond of her burqua because she has found a variety of innovative uses for it.

H is CORRECT.

NONESSENTIALS have to be surrounded by commas. This choice puts in both.

Again, if you know SEMICOLON Rule, you know automatically that F and G are WRONG.

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