Transcript Day Three

ACT Prep
English
Comparisons
 The
items being compared in a sentence
must be able to be logically compared


Today, life expectancies of both men and
women are much higher compared to the turn
of the century when living conditions were
much harsher.
These are two dissimilar concepts
• Should read: compared to those of the turn of the
centuries
Sequence and Verb Tense
 Verb
tenses should be consistent and
show an accurate time sequence


As soon as Linda finished writing her
dissertation, she will take a vacation.
A recent study shows that many mothers reenter the labor force after their children left
home.
Conciseness
 The
best writing is usually short and
straight to the point.
 Sentences that are grammatically correct
can still be in need of correction in style
 The
giant condor is able to spread its
wings up to 25 feet.
 The giant condor has a wingspan of up to
25 feet.
Conciseness Con’t
 Passive
verbs often create needlessly long
sentences

Is, are, was, were, be, being, been, etc.
 One-fourth
of the market was captured by
the new computer firm.
 The new computer firm captured onefourth of the market.
Unintended Meanings
 Misplaced
or unclear phrases can change
the meaning of a sentence

A childless chairwoman’s daughter, Dr.
Roberts was a self-made woman.
Misplaced Modifiers
 Watch
placement of phrases/clauses; they
should be close to the word (s) they
modify.
How might you correct the
following sentence?
Jennifer called her
adorable kitten opening
the can of tuna and filled
the food bowl.
Better: Opening the can of
tuna, Jennifer called her
adorable kitten and filled
the food bowl.
How might you correct the
following sentence?
Portia rushed to the store
loaded with cash to buy
the birthday gift.
Better: Portia, loaded with
cash, rushed to the store
to buy the birthday gift.
Misplaced Modifiers
 Some
one-word modifiers often cause
confusion:
almost
even
just
hardly
nearly
merely
simply
only
Explain the meaning of each
sentence:



Almost everyone in the
class passed the calculus
exam.
Everyone in the class
almost passed the
calculus exam.
Which sentence indicates
that everyone in the class
failed the exam?
Idioms and Clarity of Expression
 Low-level


Instead of “ain’t”, say, “are not”
Instead of “should of”, say “should have”
 Watch


for diction (word choice)
There are less students in the class now.
There are fewer students in the class now.
 Watch

usage
for wrong prepositions
I asked him if he was from about here.
Practice
 Open
Big Book to pg. 51-52 do #:
 16,19,22,24,25,26
 Pg 57-59 do #:
2,15,17,19,20,29,30,42,48,59,66,72,74,87
 Homework : Finish Exercise 4

Big Book pg. p. 49-52 & p. 57-64