GUide to act preparation

Basic Needs: SLeep and Food

• Be there by 8:00 AM SHARP! There is no warm up time!
• Make sure you eat a big breakfast so you can be alert.
• Bring a snack during break to wake you up for Reading!
• The test will end at noon, just in time for lunch!
• The most boring section is Reading, need the most energy for that!

What to Bring: Tech and Clothing Flexibility

• Bring your own calculator! There won't be any provided.
• Make sure you know the functions of the calculator you bring. 
• Bring a sweatshirt, but wear a t-shirt under. 
• You must be ready for any climate in the testing room.

Time limitations

• Your class may not have a clock in the room with you. 
• Plan your own time management schedule. 
• TIP: Bring your own watch and set a countdown for the end of the test!

Avoid Whiplash

• English: Complete ONE passage and then bubble in answers.
• Mathematics: Complete ONE page and then bubble in answers.
• Reading: Complete ONE passage and then bubble in answers.
• Science: Complete ONE activity and then bubble in answers.
• TIP: Be careful that you don't bubble in anything incorrectly!

English

Nothing Blank

• There is no penalty for wrong answers. 
• TIP: BUBBLE IN EVERYTHING. 

Being Comfortable with no change

• NO CHANGE is answer choice A or F.
• This will be the correct answer maybe 16 times, don't spend time counting.
• If you're reading and you don't hear an error, mark NO CHANGE.
• Don't waste time thinking about it.

SEMI-COLON Rules

• Semicolons(;) are a favorite of the ACT. 
• These are used to separate two closely related independent clauses.
• They don't use a coordinating conjunction(and, but, etc.)
• They closely relate independent clauses linked with a transitional phrase.

Colons

• The semicolon's less popular cousin(:)
• Almost NEVER used on the ACT.
• Its two primary purposes are to begin a business letter.
• Or to introduce a list or example.

fRAGMENT chECKS

• On the ACT, fragments will not be obvious, short expressions.
• They will most often be longer, unfinished thoughts. 

Commas

• Easily the ACT's favorite punctuation mark.
• They are often included unnecessarily in a sentence.
• When they are used for "decoration" they will clearly interrupt the flow.
• Select the answer choice without unnecessary commas.

Dashes

• Serve as super commas.
• Can be used to set off:
• Parenthetical phrases, appositives, or to indicate an interruption.
• They can also take the place of parentheses.
• Most commonly tested is the rule that commas and dashes cannot be mixed!

Contractions VS. POSSESSIVES

• They will test your knowledge of apostrophe use!
• This will be by using contractions and possessives as options.
• When reading contractions, "break them open."
• This will help you hear if they are immediately correct.

Being comfortable with omit

• These options are disproportionately correct.
• Usually requiring irrelevant information to be deleted.
• Or for a sentence that does not match the tone of the essay to be removed.

Verb agreement

• There are primarily two ways in which verb agreement is assessed:
• Verb Tense: Use the rest of the passage to guide you here. 
• Subject-Verb Agreement:
• Most questions will challenge you by separating the subject from the verb.
• Usually the noun closest to the verb will indicate a different verb choice.

Avoid redundancy

• It often looks like "sophisticated" writing.
• Redundancy is unnecessarily wordy and often in need of correction. 

Pronouns

• Typically, two skills are tested in relation to pronouns:
• Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: the simpler of the two.
• It simply wants to know if the pronoun agrees with the noun it stands for.

WHO vs. Whom vs. which vs. that

• The word "who" is typically part of the subject.
• "Who" generally comes in the first part of a sentence.
• "Whom" is an objective pronoun, typically part of the direct object
• "That" and "which" refer to objects, not people. 
• "That" is used in restrictive clauses (cannot be deleted)

That and which continued

• "That" is used in restrictive clauses (cannot be deleted)
• "Which" is for when there is a non-restrictive clause (can be deleted)

Parallelism

• Consistency within a sentence that gives a sentence a rhythm.

Rhetorical SKills

• 1. Choose the sentence that best brings in a new paragraph.
• 2. Pick the sentence that best shows your desired effect.
• 3. Predict the effect of taking away a sentence.
• 4. Determine the effect of adding a new sentence in.
• 5. Think about whether or not the passage has created the stated purpose.

MATHEMATICS

cONTENT

• Algebra: 33 Questions
• Geometry: 23 Questions
• Trigonometry: 4 Questions 

Difficulty

• This test doesn't officially get more difficult as it goes on.
• However, the first 20 questions are the easiest, last 20 are the hardest.
• Make sure you manage your time so you can finish those last 20!
• The first 20 minutes should not be spent on the first 20 questions.

Taking advantage of the answer choices

• Some may find that plugging in answers is quicker than solving.
• When you can't figure out how to solve a problem, use the choices!
• Using the answer choices can help you eliminate some.

trADITIONAL mETHOD

• David: x, Shawn: 3x, Heidi: 3x 
• x+3x+3x=210
• 7x=210
• x=30

Plug-in method

• A. 30         30+90+90=210                      CORRECT
• B. 70          70+210+210=490
• C. 90         90+270+270=630
• D. 140
• E. 180

Quadratic Equations

• Most of these questions ask for solutions and have very few options.
• For the difficult ones, use the answers given to start from!
• Form: x^2+x+1=y
• If you can't factor, use the quadratic equation.
• x=-b+/-sqrt(b^2-4ac)/(2a)

Angles

• It's very important that you understand angle properties.
• These concepts would be:
• Triangle Sum Theory: all angles in a triangle add up to 180 degrees
• 360 degrees in a circle
• Supplementary Angles: add up to 180 degrees

ANGLES continued

• Complementary Angles: add up to 90 degrees
• Vertical Angles: the angles opposite each other when two lines cross
• Corresponding Angles: the angles in matching corners

Perimeter

• These are the easier questions 
• This is where they will use real life situations. 
• You will have to determine which information is relevant.

Area Formulas

• Area of a Triangle: 1/2 Base x Height
• Area of a Circle: PI x Radius^2

Slope

• You must be able to find the slope from either:
• the two points given  OR the equation of a line.
• You must also know the relationship of parallel and perpendicular slopes.

Probability

• Most of these questions will be simple.
• Make sure you're answering the correct question with these problems.

X/Y-Intercepts

• X-intercept: when y is zero, the value of x is this
• Y-intercept: when x is zero, the value of y is this

More math rules

• Exponent Rules: The most common rule is multiplying exponents 
• Scientific Notation: Basic skill usually part of a larger question
• Distance and Midpoint Formulas: NOT GIVEN, study these
• Pythagorean Theorem: review this before taking the test

Trigonometry

• You must know the relationships of sine, cosine, and tangent
• SOH-CAH-TOA: 
• sin=opposite/hypotenuse 
• cos=adjacent/hypotenuse
• tan=opposite/adjacent

Special Triangle side lengths

• If you see two of these sides, you can know the third by memorizing these!
• 3, 4, 5 
• 1, 1, sqrt(2)
• 1, 2, sqrt(3)

READING

Types of passages

• Prose Fiction
• Social Sciences
• Humanities
• Natural Sciences

Specific References

• These are where the question will refer to a specific line or paragraph
• When in time crunch situations, seek out these questions.

Lead Words

• Look for words that will be easily identifiable when reading questions

Reverse Lead wORDS

• These questions most likely have the word "EXCEPT" in them.
• This is where you must look for what the passage did not mention.

Extremes

• Look out for words like "ALL," "NEVER," and "ALWAYS." 
• These answers are usually never the correct one.

Five major questions

• Main Idea
• Specific Detail
• Conclusion/Inference
• Extrapolation
• Vocabulary

Science

Breakdown Time

• Experiment Passages- chances are they won't be too interesting to read(3)
• Charts and Graphs- make sure you're reading the CORRECT chart/graph (3)
• Fighting Scientists- sometimes the view points are very similar..(1)

Ignore the INtro

• Don't even waste time reading those beginning paragraphs.
• All they do is give useless information.
• This will confuse you more than you would think.
• It's not in your best interest to waste time studying that part.

Spot the difference

• Make sure you figure out the following main things:
• Controlled Variable- what isn't changing
• Dependent Variable- what is changing
• The Data Being Collected- what they want to know from the graphs/charts

Fighting Scientists

• Read through both of their view points carefully
• See what makes them different!
• They both will have one thing that makes them differ.
• If you find that difference, then you should be good!

Don't study!

• You don't need to be a scientist to take this test.
• You need to read graphs, not understand the test subjects.
• The thing you must worry about is the question they're asking.
• Don't focus on figuring out the science behind it.

Identify Trends

• Look for positive or negative correlations in your graphs!
• Finding these relationships can help answer future questions.
• Sometimes they will ask questions about "direct/inverse" relationships.
• Direct means positive, and inverse means negative.
• Don't let graphs psych you out!

Good luck on the act!