The Official ACT Prep Guide, 2018 E-Book
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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Bildung
- Sprache: Englisch
The only guide from the ACT organization, the makers of the exam, revised and updated for 2017 and beyond The Official ACT Prep Guide, 2018 Edition, Revised and Updated is the must-have resource for college bound students. The guide is the go-to handbook for ACT preparation and the only guide from the makers of the exam. The book and online content includes the actual ACT test forms (taken from real ACT exams). In addition, this comprehensive resource has everything students need to know about when they are preparing for and taking the ACT. The book contains information on how to register for the exam, proven test-taking strategies, ideas for preparing mentally and physically, gearing up for test day, and much more. This invaluable guide includes additional questions and material that contains articles on everything from preparing a standout college application and getting into your top-choice school to succeeding in college * The bestselling prep guide from the makers of the ACT test * Offers bonus online content to help boost college readiness * Contains the real ACT test forms used in previous years This new edition offers students updated data on scoring your writing test, new reporting categories, as well as updated tips on how to do your best preparing for the test and on the actual test day from the team at ACT. It also offers additional 400 practice questions that are available online.
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Copyright © 2017 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.
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CONTENTS
Preface
Part One: Getting Acquainted with the ACT Test
Chapter 1: About the ACT
Description of the ACT
ACT Test Formats: Paper and Online
Using a Calculator
Taking the Test
Summary
Chapter 2: Preparation, Skills, and Strategies
Mental Preparation
General Test-Taking Strategies and Skills
Summary
Part Two: Taking and Evaluating Your First Practice Test
Chapter 3: Taking and Scoring Your First ACT Practice Test
Simulating Testing Conditions
Scoring Your Practice Test
Scale Score Conversion Table: Practice Test 1
The ACT Writing Test Analytic Rubric
Reviewing Explanatory Answers
Chapter 4: Identifying Areas for Improvement
Reviewing Your Overall Performance
Highlighting Strengths and Areas for Improvement on the English Test
Highlighting Strengths and Areas for Improvement on the Mathematics Test
Highlighting Strengths and Areas for Improvement on the Reading Test
Highlighting Strengths and Areas for Improvement on the Science Test
Highlighting Strengths and Areas for Improvement on the Writing Test
Part Three: Improving Your Score
Chapter 5: Improving Your English Score
Chapter 6: Improving Your Math Score
Content of the ACT Mathematics Test
Types of Questions on the ACT Mathematics Test
Strategies for Taking the ACT Mathematics Test
Chapter 7: Improving Your Reading Score
Content of the ACT Reading Test
Types of Questions on the ACT Reading Test
Representative ACT Reading Test Questions
Strategies for Taking the ACT Reading Test
Chapter 8: Improving Your Science Score
Content of the ACT Science Test
Format of the ACT Science Test
Discussion of Sample Passage I (Data Representation)
Discussion of Sample Passage II (Research Summaries)
Discussion of Sample Passage III (Conflicting Viewpoints)
Strategies for Taking the ACT Science Test
Chapter 9: Improving Your Score on the Optional Writing Test
Content of the ACT Writing Test
How Your Essay Will Be Scored
Sample Prompt and Essays
Strategies for Taking the ACT Writing Test
Part Four: Taking Additional Practice Tests
Chapter 10: Taking Additional Practice Tests
Explanatory Answers
Explanatory Answers
Chapter 11: Scoring the Additional Practice Tests
Scoring Your Practice Tests
Scoring Practice Test 2
Scale Score Conversion Table: Practice Test 2
Scoring Practice Test 3
Scale Score Conversion Table: Practice Test 3
Chapter 12: Interpreting Your ACT Test Scores and Ranks
Understanding Your ACT Test Results
Planning Your Education and Career
Seeking Additional Information and Guidance
ACT College and Career Readiness Standards—English
ACT College and Career Readiness Standards—Mathematics
ACT College and Career Readiness Standards—Reading
ACT College and Career Readiness Standards—Science
Part Five: Moving Forward to Test Day
Chapter 13: Registering, Planning, and Packing for Test Day
National Testing Program versus School/District/State Testing
Registering for the ACT
Planning and Packing for Test Day
Obtaining Additional Test Details
At the Test Center
Voiding Your Answer Documents on Test Day
Testing More Than Once
EULA
List of Tables
Chapter 1
Table 1.1
List of Illustrations
Chapter 8
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Preface
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Preface
You want to do your best on the ACT® test, and this book can help. It supplements our free booklet, Preparing for the ACT, and our ACT Online Prep™ (a web-based preparation program for the ACT). This book features three actual ACT tests—all of which include the optional writing test—which you can use for practice, and it gives detailed explanatory answers to every question to help you review.
Using this book will help you become familiar with the following:
The content of the ACT
The procedures you’ll follow when you’re actually taking the ACT
The types of questions you can expect to find on the ACT
Suggestions on how to approach the questions
General test-taking strategies
This book is intended to help you know what to expect when you take the ACT so you can relax and concentrate on doing your best. The more you know about what to expect on any test you take, the more likely it is that your performance on that test will accurately reflect your overall preparation and achievement in the areas it measures. Knowing what to expect can help reduce any nervousness you may feel as you approach the test.
The ACT measures your understanding of what you’ve been taught in core high school courses that you should have completed by the time you finish high school. Because it has taken you years to learn all this material, it might take you some time to review for the ACT. You can’t expect to cram for the ACT in a night or two. However, any review should be helpful to you, even if it just makes you more comfortable when you actually sit down to take the ACT. We hope this book helps you to gauge how much reviewing you feel you need to do and identify subject areas on which to focus your efforts.
How This Book Is Arranged
This book is divided into five parts:
Part One:
Getting Acquainted with the ACT.
Chapters in this part introduce the ACT, explain how to prepare, and present general test-taking techniques and strategies for you to consider.
Part Two:
Taking and Evaluating Your First Practice Test.
This part includes a practice test along with guidance on how to use the test to identify areas where you may need to invest more time and effort.
Part Three:
Improving Your Score.
Chapters in this part present test-taking strategies tailored for each subject test—English, math, reading, and science—along with suggestions for taking the optional writing test.
Part Four:
Taking Additional Practice Tests.
In this part, you have the opportunity to take two additional practice tests, see the results, and interpret your scores to determine how well prepared you are to take the ACT.
Part Five:
Moving Forward to Test Day.
This part prepares you for test day by explaining how to register for the ACT and describing what to expect on the day of the test, so you show up on time with everything you need.
The parts are identified by bars on the edge of their right-hand pages.
Before You Begin
There is no standardized way to prepare for the ACT. Everyone learns and prepares differently. Some people prepare best when they are by themselves. Others need to work with fellow students to do their best. Still others function best in a structured class with a teacher leading them through their work. Use whatever method works best for you. Keep in mind, though, that when you actually take the ACT, it will be just you and the test.
As you use this book to prepare for the ACT, consider working in 1-hour segments (except when you’re taking the timed practice tests, of course). If you want to invest more than 1 hour a day, that’s fine, but take breaks to stretch and give your mind a chance to absorb the material. Toiling to the point of burnout is counterproductive.
Part One:Getting Acquainted with the ACT Test
In This Part
This part introduces you to the ACT, the five tests that it is composed of (English, mathematics, reading, science, and the optional writing test), and testing procedures. It also features test-taking strategies and skills that apply to all of the component tests. Specifically, you will do the following:
Find out what is covered on the tests.
Determine when you can use a calculator and the types of calculators you are permitted to use and prohibited from using.
Get a preview of what you can expect on test day.
Obtain guidance on how to prepare for test day.
Learn test‐taking strategies that may improve your scores on all of the tests.
Chapter 1:About the ACT
The ACT measures your achievement in core academic areas important for your college and career success: English, math, reading, science, and (optionally) writing. It isn’t an IQ test—it doesn’t measure your basic intelligence. It’s an achievement test that’s been carefully designed—using surveys of classroom teachers, reviews of curriculum guides for schools all over the country, and advice from curriculum specialists and college faculty members—to be one of several effective tools for evaluating your college and career readiness.
The individual tests that make up the ACT consist of questions that measure your knowledge and skills. You’re not required to memorize facts or vocabulary to do well on the ACT. Of course, all the terms, formulas, and other information you learned in your classes will be useful to you when you take the ACT. However, last-minute cramming (such as memorizing 5,000 vocabulary words or the entire periodic table of elements) won’t directly improve your performance on the ACT.
Description of the ACT
The ACT consists of four multiple-choice tests—English, mathematics, reading, and science—and an optional writing test. Topics covered on these five tests correspond very closely to topics covered in typical high school classes. Table 1.1 gives you a snapshot of all five tests.
Table 1.1: ACT Tests
Test
Questions
Time
Content Covered
English
75 questions
45 minutes
Measures standard written English knowledge and skills along with English language conventions
Mathematics
60 questions
60 minutes
Measures mathematical skills students have typically acquired in courses taken up to the beginning of grade 12
Reading
40 questions
35 minutes
Measures reading comprehension
Science
40 questions
35 minutes
Measures the interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in the natural sciences
Writing (optional)
1 prompt
40 minutes
Measures writing skills emphasized in high school English classes and in entry-level college composition courses
Questions on the tests are intended to help assess college and career readiness. The following sections provide an overview of what you should know to perform well on each test. For additional details, check out the ACT College and Career Readiness Standards presented in chapter 12.
English Test
75 questions, 45 minutes
The English test consists of five essays or passages, each of which is accompanied by a sequence of multiple-choice test questions. Different passage types are employed to provide a variety of rhetorical situations. Passages are chosen not only for their appropriateness in assessing writing skills but also to reflect students’ interests and experiences.
Passages and their accompanying questions test knowledge and skills related to Production of Writing;Knowledge of Language; and Conventions of Standard English Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation.
You will receive four scores for the ACT English test: a total test score based on all 75 questions and three reporting category scores based on the following:
Production of Writing
Knowledge of Language
Conventions of Standard English Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation
Production of Writing
Production of Writing tests knowledge and skills in two areas of English composition:
Topic development in terms of purpose and focus
Organization, unity, and cohesion
Topic Development in Terms of Purpose and Focus
Examples of knowledge and skills tested include the following:
Determine the relevance of material to the topic or the focus of the passage or paragraph.
Identify the purpose of a word or phrase (for example, identify a person, define a term, or describe an object).
Determine whether a passage has met a specific goal.
Use a word, phrase, or sentence to accomplish a specific purpose, such as convey a feeling or attitude or illustrate a given statement.
Organization, Unity, and Cohesion
Examples of knowledge and skills tested include the following:
Determine the need for transition words or phrases to define relationships in terms of time or logic.
Determine the most logical place for a sentence in a paragraph.
Provide a suitable conclusion for a paragraph or passage (for example,
summarizing
the main idea).
Provide a suitable introduction for a paragraph or passage.
Rearrange sentences in a paragraph or paragraphs in a passage to establish a
logical
flow.
Determine the most logical place to divide a paragraph to achieve the stated goal.
Knowledge of Language
Knowledge of Language questions test your ability to clearly and succinctly express yourself in written English. Knowledge and skills tested include the following:
Revise unclear, clumsy, and confusing writing.
Delete redundant and wordy material.
Revise an expression to make it conform to the style and tone used throughout the passage.
Determine the need for conjunctions to create logical connections between clauses.
Choose the most appropriate word or phrase in terms of the sentence content.
Conventions of Standard English Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation
Conventions of Standard English Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation questions test knowledge and skills such as the following:
Determine the need for punctuation or conjunctions to join clauses or to correct awkward-sounding fragments, fused sentences, and faulty subordination and coordination of clauses.
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.
Recognize and correct disturbances in sentence structure, such as faulty placement of adjectives, participial phrase fragments, missing or incorrect relative pronouns, dangling or misplaced modifiers, faulty parallelism, run-on sentences, and weak conjunctions between independent clauses.
Maintain consistent and logical verb tense and voice and pronoun person within a
paragraph
or passage.
Note: Spelling, vocabulary, and rote recall of grammar rules are not tested.
Mathematics Test
60 questions, 60 minutes
The mathematics test presents multiple-choice questions that require you to use reasoning skills to solve practical math problems. Some questions may belong to a set of several questions (for example, several questions about the same graph or chart).
Conceptual knowledge and computational skills are assumed as background for the problems, but recall of complex formulas and extensive computation is not required.
Nine scores are reported for the ACT mathematics test: a total test score based on all 60 questions and eight reporting category scores based on specific mathematical knowledge and skills. The reporting categories are:
Preparing for Higher Mathematics, which includes separate scores for Number and Quantity, Algebra, Functions, Geometry, and Statistics and Probability
Integrating Essential Skills
Modeling
Preparing for Higher Mathematics
This category captures the more recent mathematics that students are learning, starting when they begin using algebra as a general way of expressing and solving equations. This category is divided into the following five subcategories:
Number and Quantity
Algebra
Functions
Geometry
Statistics and Probability
Number and Quantity
Math questions in this category test your knowledge of numbers and fundamental math concepts and operations, including the following:
Perform calculations on whole numbers and decimals.
Recognize equivalent fractions and fractions in lowest terms.
Locate rational numbers (whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers) on the number line.
Recognize single-digit factors of a number.
Identify a digit’s place value.
Demonstrate knowledge of elementary number concepts, including rounding, ordering of decimals, pattern identification, primes, and greatest common factor.
Write powers of 10 using exponents.
Comprehend the concept of length on the number line, and find the distance between two points.
Understand absolute value in terms of distance.
Find the distance between two points with the same
x
-coordinate or
y
-coordinate in the coordinate plane.
Add, subtract, and multiply matrices (tables of numbers).
Order fractions.
Find and use the least common multiple.
Demonstrate knowledge of complex numbers and multiply two complex numbers.
Comprehend the concept of irrational numbers, such as π.
Apply properties of rational exponents.
Use relations involving addition, subtraction, and scalar multiplication of vectors and matrices.
Analyze and draw conclusions based on number concepts.
Algebra and Functions
The mathematics test contains questions that require knowledge of and skills in algebra, functions, or both. Algebra involves formulas and equations in which letters and other symbols are used to represent unknown or unspecified values. A function is a rule, equation, or expression that produces exactly one output for any given input; for example, 2x is a function in that any input used for x results in an output that is twice the input’s value.
Algebra
Algebra knowledge and skills tested include the following:
Functions
Questions that involve functions test your ability to do the following:
Understand the concept of a function having a well-defined output value at each valid input value.
Extend a given pattern by a few terms for patterns that have a constant increase or decrease between terms or that have a constant factor between terms.
Evaluate linear, quadratic, and polynomial functions expressed in function notation at the integer level.
Interpret statements that use function notation in terms of their context.
Find the domain of polynomial functions and rational functions.
Find the range of polynomial functions.
Find where a rational function’s graph has a vertical asymptote.
Use function notation for simple functions of two variables.
Relate a graph to a situation described qualitatively in terms of faster change or slower change.
Build functions for relations that are inversely proportional or exponential.
Find a recursive expression for the general term in a sequence described recursively.
Evaluate composite functions of integer values.
Compare actual values and the values of a modeling function to judge model fit and compare models.
Demonstrate knowledge of geometric sequences.
Demonstrate knowledge of unit circle trigonometry.
Match graphs of basic trigonometric functions with their equations.
Use trigonometric concepts and basic identities to solve problems.
Demonstrate knowledge of logarithms.
Write an expression for the composite of two simple functions.
Algebra and Functions
Questions that involve both algebra and functions test your ability to do the following:
Geometry
Geometry questions are based primarily on the mathematical properties and relationships of points, lines, angles, two-dimensional shapes, and three-dimensional objects. Knowledge and skills tested include the following:
Statistics and Probability
Statistics is a branch of mathematics that involves the collection and analysis of large quantities of numerical data. Probability is a branch of mathematics that involves calculating the likelihood of an event occurring or a condition existing. Statistics and Probability questions test your ability to do the following:
Calculate averages.
Read and extract relevant data from a basic table or chart and use the data in a computation.
Use the relationship between the probability of an event and the probability of its complement.
Calculate the missing data value given the average and all other data values.
Translate from one representation of data to another (for example, from a bar graph to a circle graph).
Compute probabilities.
Describe events as combinations of other events (for example, using
and, or, and not
).
Demonstrate knowledge of and apply counting techniques.
Calculate the average given the frequency counts of all the data values.
Manipulate data from tables and charts.
Use Venn diagrams in counting.
Recognize that when data summaries are reported in the real world, results are often rounded and must be interpreted as having appropriate precision.
Recognize that when a statistical model is used, model values typically differ from actual values.
Calculate or use a weighted average.
Interpret and use information from tables and charts, including two-way
frequency
tables.
Recognize the concepts of conditional and joint probability and of independence expressed in real-world contexts.
Distinguish among mean, median, and mode for a list of numbers.
Analyze and draw conclusions based on information from tables and charts, including two-way frequency tables.
Understand the role of randomization in surveys, experiments, and observational studies.
Demonstrate knowledge of conditional and joint probability.
Recognize that part of the power of statistical modeling comes from looking at regularity in the differences between actual values and model values.
Integrating Essential Skills
Students learn some of the most useful mathematics before grade 8: rates and percentages; proportional relationships; area, surface area, and volume; average and median; expressing numbers in different ways; using expressions to represent quantities and equations to capture relationships; and other topics. Each year, students should grow in what they can accomplish using learning from prior years. Students should be able to solve problems of increasing complexity, combine skills in longer chains of steps, apply skills in more varied contexts, understand more connections, and increase fluency. In order to assess whether students have had appropriate growth, questions in this reporting category are at a cognitive level of at least depth of knowledge level 2 for high school students, with a significant portion at depth of knowledge level 3.
Modeling
Modeling uses mathematics to represent with a model an analysis of an actual, empirical situation. Models often help us predict or understand the actual. However, sometimes knowledge of the actual helps us understand the model, such as when addition is introduced to students as a model of combining two groups. The Modeling reporting category represents all questions that involve producing, interpreting, understanding, evaluating, and improving models. Each modeling question is also counted in the other appropriate reporting categories previously identified. Thus, the Modeling reporting category is an overall measure of how well a student uses modeling skills across mathematical topics.
Reading Test
40 questions, 35 minutes
The reading test measures your reading comprehension in three general areas:
Key Ideas and Details
Craft and Structure
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
The test comprises four sections, each containing one long or two shorter prose passages that are representative of the level and kinds of text commonly encountered in first-year college curricula. Passages on topics in social studies, natural science, literary narrative (including prose fiction), and the humanities are included, and the passages vary in terms of how challenging and complex they are.
Four scores are reported for the ACT reading test: a total test score based on all 40 questions and three reporting category scores based on specific knowledge and skills.
Key Ideas and Details
Questions that test reading comprehension focus primarily on identifying key details in the passage and grasping the overall meaning of the passage. Reading skills tested are divided into three categories:
Close reading
Central ideas, themes, and summaries
Relationships
Close Reading
Close-reading skills involve your ability to do the following:
Locate and interpret facts or details in a passage.
Draw logical conclusions.
Paraphrase statements.
Central Ideas, Themes, and Summaries
Questions that focus on central ideas, themes, and summaries challenge your ability to do the following:
Identify the topic and distinguish it from the central idea or theme.
Identify or infer the central idea or theme of a passage.
Summarize key supporting ideas or details.
Relationships
Relationship questions involve the ability to do the following:
Identify the sequence of events or place events in their correct sequence.
Identify stated or implied cause-effect relationships.
Identify stated or implied comparative relationships.
Craft and Structure
Some reading questions go beyond the meaning of the passage to challenge your understanding of how the author crafted and structured the passage. Reading skills tested in this area are divided into three categories:
Word meanings and word choice
Text structure
Purpose and point of view
Word Meanings and Word Choice
Reading questions may focus on the meaning or impact of a word or phrase, challenging your ability to do the following:
Interpret the meaning of a word or phrase, including determining technical,
academic
,
connotative
, and figurative meanings.
Understand the implication of a word or phrase and of descriptive language.
Analyze how the choice of a specific word or phrase shapes the meaning or tone of a passage.
Text Structure
Text-structure questions ask you to analyze how various structural elements function to serve a specific purpose in the passage. To answer such questions, you may need to do one of the following:
Analyze how one or more sentences in passages relate to the whole passage.
Identify or infer the function of one or more paragraphs.
Analyze the overall structure of a passage.
Purpose and Point of View
The reading test may include questions that challenge your ability to do the following:
Identify or infer the author’s or narrator’s purpose or intent.
Determine how an author’s or narrator’s purpose or intent shapes the content and style of the passage.
Recognize an author’s or narrator’s point of view.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Reading questions may require that you go beyond simply reading and understanding a passage to analyzing one or more passages. Reading skills tested in the area of Integration of Knowledge and Ideas are divided into two categories:
Arguments
Multiple texts
Arguments
Questions related to argumentative essays may test your ability to do the following:
Identify or infer the central claim being presented in the passage.
Analyze how one or more sentences offer reasons for or support the claim.
Multiple Texts
Multiple-text questions involve reading two passages and doing the following:
Compare the two passages.
Draw logical conclusions using information from the two passages.
Science Test
40 questions, 35 minutes
The science test measures the interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in the natural sciences: life science/biology; physical science/chemistry, physics; and earth and space science. (See chapter 12 for a more detailed breakdown of science content covered on the test.)
The test assumes that students are in the process of taking the core science course of study (three years or more) that will prepare them for college-level work and have completed a course in earth science and/or physical science and a course in biology. The test presents several sets of scientific information, each followed by a number of multiple-choice test questions. The scientific information is conveyed in the form of reading passages and graphic representations—graphs (charts), tables, and illustrations.
Four scores are reported for the ACT science test: a total test score based on all 40 questions and three reporting category scores based on scientific knowledge, skills, and practices. The reporting categories are:
Interpretation of Data
Scientific Investigation
Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results
Interpretation of Data
Interpretation of Data involves the following skills:
Select data from a data presentation (for example, a food web diagram, a graph, a table, or a phase diagram).
Identify features of a table, graph, or diagram (for example, units of measurement).
Find information in text that describes a data presentation.
Understand scientific terminology.
Determine how the values of variables change as the value of another variable changes in a data presentation.
Compare or combine data from one or more data presentations (for example, order or sum data from a table).
Translate information into a table, graph, or diagram.
Perform a interpolation or extrapolation using data in a table or graph (for example, categorize data from a table using a scale from another table).
Determine and/or use a mathematical relationship that exists between data.
Analyze presented information when given new information.
Scientific Investigation
Questions that apply to scientific investigation are typically related to experiments and other research. Such questions challenge your ability to do the following:
Find information in text that describes an experiment.
Understand the tools and functions of tools used in an experiment.
Understand the methods used in an experiment.
Understand experimental design.
Identify a control in an experiment.
Identify similarities and differences between experiments.
Determine which experiments use a given tool, method, or aspect of design.
Predict the results of an additional trial or measurement in an experiment.
Determine the experimental conditions that would produce specified results.
Determine the hypothesis for an experiment.
Determine an alternate method for testing a hypothesis.
Understand precision and accuracy issues.
Predict the effects of modifying the design or methods of an experiment.
Determine which additional trial or experiment could be performed to enhance or evaluate experimental results.
Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results
Some questions on the science test challenge your ability to evaluate models, inferences, and experimental results. (A model is a description of an object or phenomenon intended to explain and predict its behavior.) To answer such questions, you must be able to do the following:
Find basic information in a model.
Identify implications in a model.
Determine which models present certain information.
Determine which hypothesis, prediction, or conclusion is, or is not, consistent with one or more data presentations, models, or pieces of information in text.
Identify key assumptions in a model.
Identify similarities and differences between models.
Determine whether presented information or new information supports or
contradicts
(or weakens) a hypothesis or conclusion and why.
Identify the strengths and weaknesses of models.
Determine which models are supported or weakened by new information.
Determine which experimental results or models support or contradict a
hypothesis
, prediction, or conclusion.
Use new information to make a prediction based on a model.
Writing Test (Optional)
1 prompt, 40 minutes
The writing test is a 40-minute essay test that measures your writing skills—specifically those writing skills emphasized in high school English classes and in entry-level college composition courses.
The test asks you to produce an essay in response to a contemporary issue. You will be given a prompt that presents the issue and provides three different perspectives on it. Your task is to write an essay in which you develop a perspective on the issue and explore how it relates to at least one other perspective.
Trained readers will evaluate your essay for the evidence it provides of a number of core writing skills. You will receive a total of five scores for this test: a single subject-level writing score reported on a scale of 2–12 and four domain scores based on an analytic scoring rubric. The four domain scores are
Ideas and Analysis
Development and Support
Organization
Language Use and Convention
Ideas and Analysis
Effective writing depends on effective ideas. It is important to think carefully about the issue in the prompt and compose an argument that addresses the issue meaningfully. In evaluating the ideas and analysis in your essay, readers will look for your ability to do the following:
Generate a clear main idea that establishes your perspective on the issue.
Engage with multiple perspectives on the issue by analyzing the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective.
Clarify your understanding of the issue and differing perspectives on it by providing a relevant context for discussion.
Analyze critical elements (e.g., implications and complexities) of the issue and perspectives under consideration.
Development and Support
Even the best ideas must be developed and supported to be effective in a written argument. By explaining and illustrating your points, you help the reader understand your thinking. In evaluating this dimension of your essay, readers will look for your ability to do the following:
Clarify your ideas by explaining your reasoning.
Bolster your claims with persuasive examples.
Convey the significance of your perspective by exploring reasons why your ideas are worth considering.
Extend your argument by considering qualifications, exceptions, counterarguments, and complicating factors.
Organization
Organizational choices are essential to effective writing. Guide the reader through your discussion by arranging your ideas according to the logic of your argument. As readers evaluate the organization of your essay, they will look for your ability to do the following:
Unify your essay by making strategic use of a controlling idea and other organizational techniques (e.g., theme or motif).
Group ideas clearly, with each paragraph limited to the discussion of related ideas.
Produce a sequence of ideas that follows a clear logic, both in terms of the argument’s overall structure (e.g., introduction, body, conclusion) and within the argument itself, with each point following from the last.
Use transitions to connect ideas, both within paragraphs (e.g., relating claims to support) and across paragraphs (e.g., moving from one discussion into another).
Language Use and Convention
Skillful language use enhances argumentative writing. Strategic choices in the vocabulary you use and the style you employ can make your essay more effective. To evaluate your use of language, readers will look for your ability to do the following:
Make precise word choices that communicate your ideas with clarity.
Demonstrate control over a variety of sentence structures.
Match the style of your writing to the audience and purpose (e.g., more evocative language to convey emotional appeals versus a more neutral voice to convey an argument based on reason).
Accurately apply the conventions of grammar, word usage, syntax, and mechanics.
ACT Test Formats: Paper and Online
The ACT is available as a paper test and as an online test in certain states and educational districts. Regardless of format, what is most important is the knowledge and skills you have developed over your course of study. If you know the material, whether you choose answers by marking them on paper or clicking an option on a computer screen will likely make little difference.
Using a Calculator
You may use a permitted calculator only on the mathematics test, but you are not required to do so. All math problems on the test can be solved without a calculator, and you may be able to perform some of the math more quickly in your head or on scratch paper.
Note: You may use any four-function, scientific, or graphing calculator as long as it is a permitted calculator modified, if necessary, as described in the following. For additional details and ACT’s most current calculator policy, visit www.act.org.
Certain types of calculators, including the following, are prohibited:
Calculators with built-in or downloaded computer algebra system (CAS)
functionality
, including the TI-89, TI-92, TI-Nspire CAS, HP Prime, HP 48GII, HP 40G, HP 49G, HP 50G, fx-ClassPad 400, ClassPad 300, ClassPad 330, and all Casio models that start with CFX-9970G. (Using the TI-89 is the most common reason students are dismissed from the ACT for prohibited calculator use.)
Handheld, tablet, or laptop computers, including PDAs.
Electronic writing pads or pen-input devices (the Sharp EL 9600 is permitted).
Calculators built into cell phones or any other electronic communication devices.
Calculators with a typewriter keypad (letter keys in QWERTY format, but letter keys not in QWERTY format are permitted).
The following types of calculators are permitted but only after they are modified as noted:
Calculators that can hold programs or documents (remove all documents and all programs that have CAS functionality).
Calculators with paper tape (remove the tape).
Calculators that make noise (mute the device).
Calculators with an infrared data port (completely cover the infrared data port with heavy opaque material such as duct tape or electrician’s tape).
Calculators that have power cords (remove all power and electrical cords).
Accessible calculators (such as audio-talking or braille calculators) may be allowed under the accessibility policies for the ACT test. (Visit
www.act.org
for details.)
If you choose to use a calculator during the mathematics test, follow these guidelines:
Use a calculator you are accustomed to using. A more powerful, but unfamiliar, calculator may be a disadvantage. If you are unaccustomed to using a
calculator
, practice using it when you take the practice tests in this book, so you are
comfortable
with using it in a test situation.
Do not share a calculator during the test.
Make sure your calculator works properly. If your calculator uses batteries, the batteries should be strong enough to last throughout the testing session.
Bring a spare calculator and/or extra batteries.
Taking the Test
Knowing what to expect on test day can alleviate any anxiety you may feel. The following list describes the steps you will take through the testing day:
You must report to the test center by the reporting time.
If you are testing on a
national test
date the reporting time is 8:00
am
.
You will need to bring the following:
– A printed copy of your ACT admission ticket
– Acceptable photo ID
– Sharpened no. 2 soft-lead pencils with good erasers (no mechanical pencils or ink pens)
– A calculator, if you would like to use one
If you are testing during the week day at your school through
state and district
testing the reporting time will be at the same time you usually report for school.
You will need to bring the following:
– Acceptable photo ID
– Sharpened no. 2 soft-lead pencils with good erasers (no mechanical pencils or ink pens)
– A calculator, if you would like to use one
(Note: You will not be admitted to test if you are late or if your ID does not meet ACT’s requirements.)
When all examinees present at the reporting time are checked in and seated, wait until you are notified to start the test.
A short break is scheduled after the first two tests. You are prohibited from using a cell phone or any electronic device during the break, and you may not eat or drink anything in the test room. (If you take the ACT with writing, you will have time before the writing test to relax and sharpen your pencils.)
When time has expired, tests are collected and you are dismissed.
Note: If you do not complete all your tests for any reason, tell a member of the testing staff whether or not you want your answer document scored before you leave the test center. If you do not, all tests attempted will be scored.
For more about registering for the ACT and being well prepared for test day, turn to chapter 13.
Summary
This book should help you to understand how to get ready to take the ACT. Knowing the basics should get you started. By now, you should have a fair idea of what to expect at the test center and know where to find more information: on ACT’s website at www.act.org. Now that you know the basic information, you should be ready to start preparing for the ACT.
Chapter 2:Preparation, Skills, and Strategies
Performance on the ACT is largely influenced by two factors: the knowledge and skills you acquire over your many years of formal education and your familiarity with the test format and questions.
The best preparation for the ACT is taking rigorous high school classes. If you’ve taken challenging courses, paid attention in class, and completed your assignments satisfactorily, you’ve already done much of the preparation required to do well on the ACT.
Your familiarity with the test format and questions and your comfort and confidence in tackling the ACT also play an important role in how well you do on the test. Of course, no test-taking strategy can help you choose the correct answer when you don’t understand the question or don’t have the knowledge and skills to answer it, but certain strategies and skills can help you avoid common mistakes that will lower your score, such as misreading an answer choice or spending too much time on any given question.
The suggestions in this chapter are designed to help you build on the preparation that you have already completed. They’re taken from advice gathered over years—from education specialists, testing specialists, and people who, similar to you, have taken lots of tests. Read the advice, try it out, and see whether it helps. Realize that you can choose how you will take the ACT. Then make intelligent choices about what will work for you.
Mental Preparation
The best mental preparation for the ACT is rigorous course work, but mental preparation also involves confidence and clear thinking. The following tips will help make you feel calmer and more confident so that you’ll do your very best on the ACT.
Identify Strengths and Address Areas of Improvement
One of the best ways to prepare mentally for the test is to identify your strengths and areas of improvement, then work toward addressing the areas that may hamper your performance on the test. For example, if time expires before you have a chance to answer all of the questions on a practice test, you need to work on pacing. If you struggle to comprehend word problems in math, you need to practice solving more word problems. However, if you breeze through reading comprehension questions, you might not need to spend time improving your reading comprehension skills.
The following sections explain how to identify strengths and areas of improvement and address issues that may hamper your performance on the test.
Take the First Practice Test
To evaluate your ACT readiness take the first practice test in chapter 3 and analyze the results, as instructed in chapter 4. The test-taking experience and the results will help reveal your strengths and areas of improvement. If you do well on the first practice test, you can be confident that you know the material and are comfortable with the test format. You may decide to take additional practice tests for confirmation or review the test-taking skills in this chapter and in chapters 5 through 9 to see whether they can help you do even better.
If your performance on the first practice test falls short of your goal, you may need to do additional course work in certain subject areas or invest additional time and effort developing effective test-taking strategies and skills. Do not be discouraged if you do not meet your goal on the practice test. Be thankful that your areas for improvement were identified prior to test day and that you now have the information you need to formulate your improvement plan.
