ACT Prep Student Workshop Notes



ACT Prep Student Workshop Notes

1. Seminar Learning Objectives

a. Facts About the ACT

b. Successful test-taking strategies

c. Specific strategies for each section

d. Content of each section

e. Practice with each section

f. Getting motivated & dealing with anxiety

g. How to study/practice for the ACT

2. The ACT is a Competition

a. Know the rules

b. Practice

c. Have a game plan

d. Good grades

e. Stay motivated

3. A Different Kind of Test

a. Not just the facts you know

b. Needed information is in the passages

c. Problem solving and reasoning

d. College level reading

e. Much depends on reading comprehension

f. Must deal with time pressure

g. Difficult multiple choice questions

4. ACT Sections (your strongest/weakest areas)

a. English

b. Math

c. Reading

d. Science Reasoning

e. Writing

5. ACT Scores

a. The composite score counts most

b. Composite and section scores from 1 to 36

c. 20 is the national average

d. MN/WI average is about 22

e. Two-thirds of students score from 15-25

f. Understand you scores by percentiles

g. Average student gets only half of the items correct; so don’t panic

Score % Correct

20 53

23 63

26 75

31 90

6. ACT Score Reporting

a. Sent to your school counselor, not you, except in June

b. Wait until you are satisfied with your scores before sending them to colleges

c. Can stop reporting of scores until Thursday after you take the test (call ACT to stop reporting)

7. ACT Facts

a. Can take test as many times as you like

b. $42 with Writing test

c. 3½ hour test

d. 215 questions and 1 essay

e. Test questions vary widely in difficulty

8. If Retaking Test

a. Do not have scores reported without seeing them first

b. Look at subcategory scores so you know what to study most

c. Learn some new test-taking strategies (do something to address weak areas)

d. Get a tutor

9. Getting Motivated

a. Set a goal of getting into the college of your choice

b. Plan to study a few hours each week

c. Imagine yourself taking the test and . . .

• Feeling confident while you take it

• Having enough time to complete it

• Doing well on the test

10. Top Ten ACT Strategies

Do all these strategies when taking practice tests

a. Question triage

• If doable, do right away

• If tough and time consuming, skip

• If impossible, guess right away

• Finish passage’s questions before going on

b. Underline main ideas and key terms as you skim passages

c. Stay focused on question (underline key word or idea)

d. Check back to the place in the passage where answer is; don’t rely on memory of what you read

• Be sure you have the corrected details

• Look for the choice that contains the same idea; don’t be fooled by similar words

e. Answer the right question (make sure you understand what you’re asked)

• The wrong choices are often true but answer a different question

• Read the question stem twice and carefully

• Underline the key words

• Watch for reverse questions (e.g., “not”)

• Watch for qualifiers (e.g., “never”)

• Check your answer against the question

f. Look for hidden answer (may be in different format)

• If you don’t find your answer, try to think of another way to answer the question

• Look for a less obvious correct answer; for example .5 instead of ½

g. Be careful with the answer grid

• Circle answers in booklet first

• Grid as a group/passage or page

h. Guessing Strategies

1) You must answer every question

2) B or C is not better than A or D

3) Consider opposite choices first

4) Eliminate and cross out wrong choices

5) Extreme choices (e.g., “always” or “never”) are usually wrong

i. Pace yourself

1) Memorize times per passage or item

2) Have a digital watch in front of you

3) Check pace after each passage

4) Leave difficult items until end

5) Work carefully but not slowly

6) DO PRACTICE TESTS WITHIN TIME

j. Dealing with time limits

1) Scam, skim and read quickly

2) Pause to deal with anxiety or panic

3) Slow down if you feel you are not understanding the readings and items

4) There is enough time if you don’t spend a lot of time on a few very difficult items

k. Take control of the test

1) Know the directions and time limits in advance

2) Follow strategies A-J above while taking the test

READING TEST

1. Reading Section Facts

a. 4 passages, 40 questions in 35 minutes

b. 9 minutes per passage

c. One passage each of Prose Fiction, Social Science, Humanities, Natural Sciences

d. Three question types: details, main idea, and inferences

2. Reading Questions Ask You to . . .

a. determine main ideas

b. find and interpret significant details

c. understand sequences of events

d. make comparisons

e. comprehend cause-effect relationships

f. determine the meaning of words

g. analyze the author’s voice and method

3. Reading Section Strategies

a. Do easier passages first

b. Look at questions but not choices; underline key words

c. Skim the passage

1) Underline words from the questions

2) Underline key words

3) Underline topic or main idea of paragraphs

4) Write notes in column, if you prefer

d. Back to the questions (refer to passage before looking at choices)

4. How to Read the Passages

a. Read quickly

b. Don’t worry about every detail

c. Read for main ideas

d. Try to figure out organization of passage

e. Underline or make notes

5. Reading Prose Fiction Strategies

a. Not well structured essays but a story

b. Questions relate to characters. Find out . . .

1) Who are these people

2) What is their state of mind?

3) What’s going on?

• On the surface?

• Beneath the surface?

4) Pay attention to main character

5) Spend a little more time reading this type

6. Building Vocabulary

a. Through reading challenging material

b. Look up words you can’t figure out from context clues

c. Study Latin roots, prefixes, suffixes

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