ACT PReparation

Basic NEeds

• The test starts at 8:00 AM you should get there before.
• You must be alert.
• Food must be consumed beforehand or during break.
• The reading section will consume most of your energy.

What to bring

• Bring a calculator that you are comfortable using.
• Make sure your calculator is allowed
• Dress in order to be comfortable in all temperatures.

TIme Limitations

• Not all classes will have a clock.
• You should manage your own time.
• Bring a watch

Be careful and bubble in your answers correctly!

LEAVE NOTHING BLANK!! You won't lose points for wrong answers.

English Test

Being comfortable with no change

• No change will be the correct answer about 25% of the time.
• If you cannot find any errors just mark no change. 

Focus on what makes answers different

• F. was given(no change)
• G. were given 
• H. was giving
• J. gave

Semicolons [;]

• Used to separate two closely related independent clauses
• without a coodinating conjunction
• Used to separate two closely related independent clauses
• linked with a transitional phase

COlons [:]

• Not that common on the ACT
• Colons are used to begin a business letter.
• Used to introduce a list or example.

Fragments will often be longer unfinished thoughts.

Commas [,]

• Used correctly most often to set of a parenthetical phrase.
• The weather that day was unfortunately, not very good.
• Used correctly to set off an appositive

Dashes [-]

• They can take the spot of a comma or a parenthesis.
• Commas and dashes CANNOT be mixed.
• You are the friend—the only friend—who offered to help me.

Being comfortable with omit or delete

• These options are disproportionately correct.
• Usually requiring irrelevant things to be taken out.  

Verb agreement

• There are 2 ways in ways in which verb agreement is assessed.
• Billy Bob was born in 1934. His life BEGUN normally.
• Correct verb is BEGAN.

Avoid redundancy

• Don't pick choices that look sophisticated.
• It's usually incorrect or too wordy.

Pronouns

• Pronoun Antecedent Agreement: is just if the pronoun agrees with the noun.
•  Bobby told John that he would tell about his gambling problem.
• A. No Change(correct)
• B. her
• C. our

Who vs. whom vs. which vs. that

• Who is used in subjective sentences usually at the beginning.
• Whom is used in objective sentences usually after to or for.
• That cannot be removed from the sentence.
• Which usually could be removed from the sentence.

Parrallelism

• Parallelism is when the words are consistent giving the sentence rhythm. 
• He had three dreams: to be rich, to have a great family, and to have a job.

Rhetorical Skills

• Pick the sentence that introduces the paragraph.
• Pick the sentence that best achieves the purpose.
• Think about what would happen if a sentence is removed.
• Think about what would happen if a sentence is added.
• Think if the passage a served its purpose.

Mathematics Test

content

• Algebra-33 questions
• Geometry-23 questions
• Trigonometry- 4 questions

Watch out for trick answers!
Make sure to answer the question that is being asked.

Quadratic Equations

• Solve -4x^2+7x+36
• A. (4x+9)(-x+4) CORRECT
• B. (x-4)(9x+4)
• C. (x-2)(3x+3)
• D. (2x+2)(x-4)

Angles

• Understand angle properties
• Supplementary and complementary angles
• 360 degrees in a circles
• Triangles add up to 180 degrees

PErimeter

• What is the perimeter of a regular hexagon with side length 7 cm?
• A. 8cm
• B. 36cm
• C. 42 cm
• D. 64 cm

area

• Remember the formulas
• Area of a rectangle: Base*height
• Area of a triangle: 1/2Base*height
• Area of a circle: pi*Radius^2

Remember how to find slope and their relationships between parallel and perpendicular lines.

Remember how to find the probability and use the counting principle to solve problems.

x and y intercept

• x-intercept is the value of x when y=0
• y-intercept is the value of y when x=0
• You may be asked to find it in the equation or using the graph.

Don't forget exponent rules, scientific notation, and distance and midpoint formulas.

Pythagorean Theorem

• a^2+b^2=c^2
• Know how to apply this theorem in word problems.

Trigonometry

• Remember sine, cosine, and tangent
• SohCahToa
• sin=opposite/hypotenuse
• cos=adjacent/hypotenuse
• tan=opposite/adjacent

Reading Test

Time constraints are the worst on this test. It is suggested to only read 3 out of the 4 prompts and guess on the 4th one.

Types of passages

• Prose fiction
• Social Sciences
• Humanities
• Natural Sciences

When you are crunched for time answer the specific questions first.

Watch out for lead words and reverse lead words!! It isn't suggested to study for this test!!

Extremes

•  ALL, NEVER, and ALWAYS 
• These are seldomely the right answer

Five major types of questions

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

Science test

Breakdown

• Experiment Passages (3)
• Charts/Graphs (3)
• Fighting Scientist (1)

Guide to the science test

• Ignore the introduction it isn't vital for the test.
• Find what's changing in the data.
• Find what the scientist are disagreeing on.
• It doesn't make sense to study for this section.
• Look for direct and inverse relationships in data.