Transcript act prep english 1

Answers Questions 2 and 3 on a piece of paper
1. Look at your answers on the back of your score
sheet for questions 10, 28, 29, 47, 51, 52, 59,
67, and 69.
2. Which ones did you get incorrect?
3. Of those that you got incorrect what answers
did you choose?
The ACT
English Test
5 Passages
75 Questions
45Minutes
9 Minutes Per Passage
Usage and Mechanics
•Basic Grammar & Usage (16%)
•Sentence Structure (24%)
•Punctuation (13%)
Rhetorical Skills
•Strategy (16%)
•Organization (15%)
•Style (16%)
Top Strategies for the ACT
English Test
1. Skim the entire passage before answering
the questions.
– Don’t immediately jump to the question
without reading a couple sentences before and
after the underlined section.
For example:
her dogs has sleek, brown hair
F. No change
G. are
H. have
J. do not have
But look:
The girl walking her dogs has sleek, brown hair
F. No change
G. are
H. have
J. do not have
Top Strategies Continued
2. Guess if you don’t know the answer!
– NEVER leave a question blank.
– If you don’t know the answer right off the bat,
you probably don’t know it – either move on
and come back to it or guess.
– Use the same letter for each question you are
guessing on. For example, if you leave 7
questions blank and you know you only have 1
minute left pick a letter and bubble it in for
each of those questions.
Top Strategies Continued
3. Eliminate answer choices
– Eliminate the answers that you know are incorrect
right off the bat.
– Most of the time you can eliminate 2 of the
answers – that gives you a 50% chance of
choosing the right answer versus 25%.
Top Strategies Continued
4. Strategy for “NO CHANGE”
– Do not overlook “NO CHANGE” as a possible
answer to the problem. It is correct
approximately 20% of the time it’s offered.
– If your gut tells you there’s nothing wrong with
the underlined phrase, don’t change the phrase.
Top Strategies Continued
5. If the phrase doesn’t fit, you must OMIT
– OMIT means to take out the underlined portion.
– When an answer choice allows you to “OMIT
the underlined portion,” think hard about that
option. “OMIT,” when it appears as an answer,
is correct approximately 25 percent of the time.
We don’t suggest that you go through the test
ticking off “OMIT” for every possible question,
but we do want you to consider it as an answer.
OMIT the Material When…
• It is unnecessary
• It is repetitious, or
• It is wordy
When in doubt, take it out!
Top Strategies Continued
6. Short and sweet
– The ACT like short and to the point answers
versus long, wordy answers.
– Often times the shortest answer is the correct
answer
– If you don’t know the answer – pick the
shortest one
For example:
Let’s look at these questions to see the rules
in action:
1. #28
2. #67
3. #52
Suggested practices:
• Only pick things like OMIT, NO
CHANGE, and the shortest answer right off
the bat if you really don’t know the answer
to the question.
• The ACT knows these strategies so they
might try to trick those that ALWAYS use
them.
Top Strategies Continued
7. Strategy for using COLONS - :
– The two main uses of colons are:
• To introduce a list
• Before an example – colons replace the
phrases “and it is as follows” and “the
following”
• Let’s look at #47!
Top Strategies Continued
8. Strategy for TRANSITIONS.
– The ACT usually gives 3 transitions with one
meaning and then the right one is the opposite
of those three.
– Let’s look at #69
Pronouns
Pronouns as
Subjects
Pronouns as
Objects
Pronouns that
show Possession
I
Me
My (mine)
You
You
Your (yours)
He, She, It
Him, Her, It
His, Her (hers), It
(its)
We
Us
Our (ours)
They
Them
Their (theirs)
Who
Whom
Whose
Pronouns
• A pronoun replaces a noun
• Antecedents are the nouns to which those
pronouns refer.
• For example:
– Tim said that he would love to do the yard work
– “Tim” is the antecedent
– “he” is the pronoun
Let’s be Clear
• Pronouns must be linked clearly to a
specific noun.
• For example:
– NOT: Although the motorcycle hit the tree, it
was not damaged. (Is “it” the motorcycle or the
tree?)
– NOT: I don’t think they should show violence
on TV. (Who are “they”?)
Agreement in Number
• If the pronoun takes place of a singular
noun, you have to use a singular pronoun.
• For example:
– The team is proud of its win. (singular pronoun
and antecedent)
– The players are proud of their win. (plural
pronoun and antecedent)
Don’t be fooled
• The words that end in BODY, & ONE
(including everybody, anybody, anyone,
nobody, someone) are considered singular
antecedents and need singular pronouns.
– Everybody ought to do his or her best (NOT:
their best)
NEITHER is also considered singular.
– Neither of the girls brought her umbrella.
(NOT: their umbrellas)
Agreement for Compound
Subjects
• If your subject consists of two parts, you
have to make sure the nouns and pronouns
are in the correct form.
• For example:
– NOT: Bob and me travel a good deal. (Would
you say, “me travel”? NO! So it’s “Bob and I”)
– NOT: He gave the flowers to Jane and I.
(Would you say, “he gave the flowers to I”?
NO! It’s “me”)
– NOT: Us men like the coach. (Would you say,
“us like the coach”? NO! It’s “We”
Agreement in Gender
• Sometimes the pronoun can refer to a male
and female. If the antecedent is singular, the
pronoun must be too.
• For example:
– If a student parks a car on campus, he or she
has to buy a parking sticker.
– NOT: If a student parks a car on campus, they
have to buy a parking sticker.
MOST COMMON ERRORS:
SINGULAR AND PLURALS
Singulars and Plurals
MOST common error in this area?
The use of THEY
When a friend borrows my car, I usually ask
them to fill it with gas before they return it.
When friends borrow my car, I usually ask
them to fill it with gas before they return it.
Let’s look at #51
It’s or Its? Whose or Who’s?
The apostrophe takes the place of a letter.
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.
Who’s or Whose?
Who’s / Whose Line Is It Anyway is a
funny television show. Its /It’s on the
comedy channel.
1. Who is Line Is It Anyway…
OR
2. Whose Line Is It Anyway…
Sample Problem
Who’s / Whose Line Is It Anyway is a
funny television show. Its /It’s on the
comedy channel.
1. It is on the comedy channel
OR
2. Its on the comedy channel
It’s or Its?
•
•
•
•
•
This question WILL be on the ACT
Again, it’s replaces “it is”
Whereas, its means it owns
Let’s look at #10
Let’s look at #29
Uh-Oh What do I do here?
• Let’s look at # 59
Homework:
• Finish the Pronoun Practice Handout for
tomorrow
• There will be a quiz on ACT English test
strategies and Pronouns on Friday.