Transcript document

Test Taking
Strategies
English
Kaplan’s Three-Step Method
 Ask
the following three
questions:
 Does
this stuff belong here?
 Does this stuff make sense?
 Does this stuff sound like
English?
Does This Stuff Belong Here?

Ask yourself the following questions:
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Does the underlined section belong here?
Is it expressed as succinctly as possible?
If the answer is NO, choose the answer that gets
rid of the stuff that doesn’t belong
If the answer is YES, move on to the next question
Does This Stuff Make Sense?
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The ACT test makers want simple, easy-tounderstand prose. It should fit together
logically.
Ask:
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Does it make logical sense?
NO = Choose the answer that turns
nonsense into sense
YES= go on to the next question
Does This Stuff Sound Like English?

Many errors sound wrong to your ear.
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Correct these errors to make the sentence
sound right.
Skimming
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Skim each paragraph before looking at the
questions. You are not reading thoroughly.
You are simply getting the gist of the
paragraph.

Skim a paragraph, then answer the
questions about that paragraph. Continue
the pattern
Economy Questions
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The ACT test makers know that most people pad
their writing. They want you to keep it short,
simple and concise.
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One Third of the English questions on the ACT
are testing for long-windedness, repetition, and
irrelevance.
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When in doubt, the shortest answer wins.
Economy Question Test
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Now it is your turn.
Take the Economy Question test and see
how you do.
Twelve Classic Grammar Errors
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It and They
Commas or Dashes
Run-ons and Comma
Splices
Fragments
Misunderstood
Punctuation Marks
-ly Endings (Adverbs and
Adjectives)
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Its and It’s
There, their, and They’re
and Are, Our
Sang Sung, Brang, Brung,
etcetera
- er and –est More and
Most
Confusing Between and
Among
Confusing Less and Fewer
Error 1
It and They
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The most common error in this area
involves the use of the word they.
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Example:
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“If a student won’t study, they won’t do well.”
Student (singular) and they (plural) do not match
Correction: “If students won’t study, they won’t do
well.” or “If a student won’t study, he (or she) won’t
do well.”
Your Turn
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Fix the following sentence using either
singular or plural agreement.
When a teacher gives instruction, they
usually only teach for about 20 minutes.
Commas or Dashes
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Parenthetical phrases must begin and end
with the same punctuation mark.
You know what these phrases are because
without them, the sentence is still complete.
Example: Bob, on his way to the store,
saw a large lizard in the street.
Error 2
Commas or Dashes Examples
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Sentence: “Bob – on his way to the store,
saw a lizard.”
Problem: The parenthetical phrase starts
with a dash but finishes with a comma.
Correction: “Bob, on his way to the store,
saw a lizard.”
Error 3
Run-ons and Comma Splices
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You can’t combine two sentences into one
with a comma (though you can with a
semicolon or conjunction)
Run-ons and Comma Splices Example
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Sentence: “Ed’s a slacker, Sara isn’t.”
Problem: Two sentences are spliced
together with a comma.
Correction: “Ed’s a slacker, but Sara isn’t.”
“Ed’s a slacker; Sara isn’t.”
“Ed, unlike Sara, is a slacker.”
Error 4
Fragments
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A “fragment” is writing that could be a
subordinate part of a sentence, but not a
whole sentence itself.
You must look for a subject and a verb.
If your sentence does not have a complete
thought, it is a fragment.
Fragment Example
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Sentence: “Emily listened to music. While
she studied.”
Problem: “She studied” would be a
sentence, but while makes this a fragment.
Correction: “Emily listened to music while
she studied.”
Error 5
Misunderstood Punctuation Marks
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Period (.) – Means “full stop” or “end of
sentence.”
Question mark (?) – Serves the same
purpose, but for questions.
Exclamation mark (!) – Can be used
instead of a period, but is generally
inappropriate for all but very formal writing
because it indicates extreme emotion.
Error 5 (Continued)
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Comma (,) – Represents a pause. In many
cases a comma is optional. But never use
a comma where a pause would be
confusing, as in: “I want to go, to the,
store.”
Semicolon (;) – Used to separate two
complete but closely related thoughts.
Error 5 (Continued)
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Colon (:) - Works like an “=“ sign,
connecting two equivalent things. Colons
are usually used to begin a list.
Dash (-) – Can be used for any kind of
pause, usually a long one or one indicating
a significant shift in thought.
Error 6
-ly endings (Adverbs and Adjectives)
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These are both modifiers.
Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns.
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other
adverbs.
Adjective and Adverb examples
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Sentence: “Anna is an extreme gifted child,
and she speaks beautiful, too.”
Problem: Extreme and beautiful are
adjectives, but they’re supposed to modify
an adjective (gifted) and a verb (speaks)
here, so they should be adverbs.
Correction: “Anna is an extremely gifted
child, and she speaks beautifully, too.”
Error 7
Its and It’s (Apostrophe Use)
Its = possessive pronouns
 It’s = It is (contraction)
Example:
Sentence: “The company claims its illegal to use
it’s name that way.”
Problem: It’s is a contraction; Its is the
possessive for of it.
Correction: “The company claims it’s illegal to use
its name that way.”
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Error 8
There, Their, They’re and Are, Our (Proper
Word Usage)
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There = Place
Their = People
They’re = They are
Are is a verb
Our is a possessive
Error 9
Sang, Sung, Brang, Brung, etcetera
(Verb Forms)
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There are a few irregular verbs that simply
must be memorized.
Sing, Sang, Sung: I love to sing. I sang the
anthem yesterday. I have sung in the past.
One irregular verb commonly tested on the
ACT is bring.
Error 9 (Continued)
Bring
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Sentence: “I’ve brung my umbrella to work.
Problem: Brang and brung aren’t used in
standard English.
Correction: “I’ve brought my umbrella to
work.”
Error 10
-er and –est, More and Most
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When you see –er and –est, or the words
more or most, double-check to make sure
they’re used logically.
Words with –er or more should be used to
compare only two things.
Words with –est and most should be used
to compare more than two things.
Error 10 (Continued)
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Sentence: “Bob is the fastest of the two
runners.”
Problem: The comparison is between just
two things, so the –est ending is
inappropriate.
Correction: “Bob is the faster of the two
runners.”
Error 11
Confusing Between and Among
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Between = two things
Among = more than two things
Examples: “I will walk between the two
halves of the class.”
“I will walk among the many students
in class.”
Error 12
Confusing Less and Fewer
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Make sure that you use the word “less” only
for uncountable things. When things can
be counted, they are fewer.
Error 12 (Continued)
Less and Fewer Examples
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Sentence: “I have fewer water than I
thought, so I can fill less buckets.”
Problem: You can count buckets; you can’t
count water.
Correction: “I have less water than I
thought, so I can fill fewer buckets.”
YOUR TURN AGAIN
Take the “Listening Carefully” Practice Test
Good Luck! 