Fourteen days to the PSAE for Illinois high school juniors and time for a little "intensive study." If you haven't already, get a few copies of old ACT tests. The library or college department at your high school should have copies of the ACT preparation materials which include one sample. There are numerous prep manuals at bookstores. ACT publishes one and I also recommend the Barron's version because of it's similarity to real ACT questions and the clarity of answer explanations. Some online sources have samples too. Check out previous blogs for links.
YOUR 14 DAY PLAN...
1. Take a sample test, possibly over 4 days (one day for each section if you're under a time constraint) and keep track of how much time it takes to finish each section. Scoring your work will give you an indication of how much you need to study and timing will alert you to any need for pacing practice.
2 (One day) Choose the section in which you scored the lowest. Identify the concepts tested in each question you missed. Read the instructional material on that concept in the Barron's text or other answer key. Complete any sample questions available.
3. (The next day) Take another test on your #1 section. Score. Recognize improvement. Look over the rationale for the correct answer for any question you missed.
4. Repeat the process on the next lowest scoring section -- 2 days of review -- one day to study and the next day to retest and review. Repeat Step 4 until all sections have been studied.
If you used 4 days to take the original test, you've spent 12 days studying. Two more to go.
5. Take another full test. If pacing has been problematic, follow these guidelines:
ENGLISH (75 questions in 45 minutes): There are 5 articles, each with 15 questions. Try to finish all questions in an article in 9 minutes. Answer each question as you come to it. Don't skip any. Put answers directly on the scantron.
MATH (60 problems in 60 minutes): This may appear to give you 1 minute for each question, but the easier ones come at the beginning and the more difficult ones after #45. Try to spend just 30 seconds on most of the first 30 questions. From 31 to 45, plan on one minute each. From 46 through 60, you'll have about 2 minutes for each. If a problem requires too much time, skip it if you aren't looking for a perfect score. Either mark the scantron lightly so you know to return to the question, or default the question right away but lightly so you can change the answer if you have time to come back and work on it again.
READING (40 questions in 35 minutes): Each Reading passage has 10 questions. Plan to spend 8 minutes on each passage, leaving 3 minutes extra for the "extra hard" questions. Try answering direct questions first and inferential ones once you have an idea what the article is about. Mark answers directly on the test booklet until all 10 are complete and then transfer your selections to the scantron before moving to the next article.
SCIENCE REASONING (40 questions in 35 minutes): For pacing, plan to spend one less minute than the number of questions in the data set. This timing gives you 2 additional minutes; that's not much, so use it wisely. Answer questions in the order they are asked within the data set and mark your alternative choices directly on the scantron. BUT if you're not reaching for a 35 or 36 (nearly perfect or perfect score), hold an extremely difficult data set for last. Default the answers if you think you'll run out of time, but do so lightly enough so that you can erase if you get back to it and work out answers.
READY? SET? STUDY!
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
QUICK TIPS FOR THE ACT
April 10....the next national administration of the ACT. Really too late to start studying, but a few quick tips could help raise that score by a point or two. For English and Math you might need 2 more correct answers to gain one more section score point; each Reading and Science Reasoning question should usually give you a point. Four more section score points are needed to raise the composite average by just one point.
ENGLISH: Recognize the punctuation questions relating to independent sentences. You always need a full sentence in front of a period, semi-colon, comma-conjunction, or colon. For the first 3 you also need a full sentence (not a prepositional phrase) after the punctuation. A colon can be followed by either a full sentence or a list or just more detail.
Recognize prepositions. They introduce phrases, not full sentences, and might need a comma at most.
SHORTER IS BETTER. At least consider the shortest alternative since it's the right answer more often than not.
MATH: Avoid silly mistakes, especially on the first 30 questions. And work problems for the entire hour; there are some easy questions in the last 10.
READING: Keep moving. Don't get "stuck" on one difficult question. Unless you're working toward a perfect score (which means you've been studying for weeks), you don't need to get every question right. Take the loss of one point rather than denying yourself the chance to gain 2 by finding easier questions further along in the section.
SCIENCE REASONING: Get the first two questions in every data set correct. These ask if you can read the data given and the answer should be "sure." If the last 2 questions are too hard, default them and move on to the next data set where the first few questions will be easier.
IN GENERAL: Leave nothing blank. Pick a default answer and use it to fill in bubbles for any question you can't answer. ONE DEFAULT ONLY. Pick the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth alternative and use only that one for default. Statistically you will be correct 20 - 25% of the time. Arbitrarily picking a different alternative every time could result in a success rate of 0%!
SIT UP! If you start to fade, take a second to sit up straight, stretch, breath deeply. Get the brain oxygenated again and dig back in!!
GOOD LUCK! And remember that if your score doesn't turn out to be what you hoped, there is also June, September, and October for 2011 graduates. With any of these test dates, you'll have results in time for early admission to most colleges.
ENGLISH: Recognize the punctuation questions relating to independent sentences. You always need a full sentence in front of a period, semi-colon, comma-conjunction, or colon. For the first 3 you also need a full sentence (not a prepositional phrase) after the punctuation. A colon can be followed by either a full sentence or a list or just more detail.
Recognize prepositions. They introduce phrases, not full sentences, and might need a comma at most.
SHORTER IS BETTER. At least consider the shortest alternative since it's the right answer more often than not.
MATH: Avoid silly mistakes, especially on the first 30 questions. And work problems for the entire hour; there are some easy questions in the last 10.
READING: Keep moving. Don't get "stuck" on one difficult question. Unless you're working toward a perfect score (which means you've been studying for weeks), you don't need to get every question right. Take the loss of one point rather than denying yourself the chance to gain 2 by finding easier questions further along in the section.
SCIENCE REASONING: Get the first two questions in every data set correct. These ask if you can read the data given and the answer should be "sure." If the last 2 questions are too hard, default them and move on to the next data set where the first few questions will be easier.
IN GENERAL: Leave nothing blank. Pick a default answer and use it to fill in bubbles for any question you can't answer. ONE DEFAULT ONLY. Pick the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth alternative and use only that one for default. Statistically you will be correct 20 - 25% of the time. Arbitrarily picking a different alternative every time could result in a success rate of 0%!
SIT UP! If you start to fade, take a second to sit up straight, stretch, breath deeply. Get the brain oxygenated again and dig back in!!
GOOD LUCK! And remember that if your score doesn't turn out to be what you hoped, there is also June, September, and October for 2011 graduates. With any of these test dates, you'll have results in time for early admission to most colleges.
Friday, March 26, 2010
START SLOWLY. WORK SMART. DO IT TODAY!
I know from experience how difficult it is to get moving on a task that seems as massive as working toward the score you deserve on the ACT. But this weekend of Spring Break is the perfect time to start.
Begin slowly: download a few questions from the ACT website, sign up for the question of the day while your there, get a copy of The Real ACT Prep Guide (about $25). Complete a small part of each section:
English -- answer the 15 questions in any of the 5 passages.
Math -- work 10 problems.
Reading -- answer the 10 questions in any of the 4 essays.
Science Reasoning -- pick one data set and answer all of the questions. Just for fun, keep track of the data sets as you do them and we can look later at a pattern that should tell which are the easiest and which are more challenging.
Work Smart: Stick to this daily plan and you'll gain knowledge of each of the sections. Don't time yourself yet. Concentrate on thinking about the problems you're working. It should take you only about half an hour to do this work but at the end of the week, you'll have completed 1.5 English sections, 1 Math, 2 Reading, and one whole Science Reasoning. That's a pretty good study week, especially since you may be on holiday!! CONGRATULATIONS!!
Begin slowly: download a few questions from the ACT website, sign up for the question of the day while your there, get a copy of The Real ACT Prep Guide (about $25). Complete a small part of each section:
English -- answer the 15 questions in any of the 5 passages.
Math -- work 10 problems.
Reading -- answer the 10 questions in any of the 4 essays.
Science Reasoning -- pick one data set and answer all of the questions. Just for fun, keep track of the data sets as you do them and we can look later at a pattern that should tell which are the easiest and which are more challenging.
Work Smart: Stick to this daily plan and you'll gain knowledge of each of the sections. Don't time yourself yet. Concentrate on thinking about the problems you're working. It should take you only about half an hour to do this work but at the end of the week, you'll have completed 1.5 English sections, 1 Math, 2 Reading, and one whole Science Reasoning. That's a pretty good study week, especially since you may be on holiday!! CONGRATULATIONS!!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
IMPROVING ACT READING
Perhaps the most difficult area in which to alter an ACT score is Reading. Even though the test generally gives one point for each correct answer in this section (unlike English and Math where two more correct questions may be needed to gain just one point), improvement depends on understanding the structure of the test and altering your reading style to match the requirements of a passage. Changing your reading style requires knowing what that style is in the first place, something most of us don't think about after elementary school. The foundational skill was formulated as early as 4 or 5 years of age and honing it has occurred almost imperceptibly ever since. There are no rules or formulas, only unique strategies which are largely undocumented but have become second nature to the individual reader.
Reading tests in elementary school tend to examine comprehension on a very superficial level. In upper grades and higher level English courses, reading becomes more than just fact-finding, moving into identifying implications or "reading between the lines" and identifying literary devices. The ACT Reading test is a mutation of the two functions.
To change the way in which someone has become accustomed to reading may take open-minded experimentation. The goal in preparing for the ACT Reading section is to try out different strategies, practice each sufficiently, and select the approach or approaches which garner the most points, possibly picking the modus operandi based on the topic of the essay.
FOR EVERYONE
FIRST, EXAMINE YOUR CURRENT READING STRATEGY. Do you read every word? Reread? Skim or scan? Do you "create mental pictures?" Do you pause to digest what has been read? Does your mind wander either to related information useful in synthesizing the reading with prior knowledge or to unrelated information to entertain and distract?
How do you take note of important information? Mentally? In writing? Do you circle or underline facts?
Are you compelled to thoroughly read or are you satisfied to simply answer required questions? (Think about a history class, for example. If given the assignment to read a chapter and answer the 5 questions at the end, how do you proceed? Questions first? Reading and note taking first? Scanning for answers?)
NEXT, TRY SOME STRATEGIES THAT ARE EXPECTED TO WORK REGARDLESS OF YOUR READING STYLE.
1. Take notes from the questions by underlining or circling clue words. This will focus attention on key elements that can be used to search through the text for related information.
2. Take notes as you come across relevant information within the passage. Circling may be more helpful than underlining because it limits the amount of copy highlighted and can be easier to find among all the words in a paragraph.
3. Do not try to learn anything. The goal of the Reading section is to temporarily find immediate, correct answers. Note taking will help maintain information long enough to select an answer while allowing you to "release" it when it is no longer useful, therefore leaving more brain space for short term memory.
JUST FOR YOU...
To find the best personal reading strategy, try each of these suggestions at least twice before deciding its value.
4. Review the questions first in order to establish a purpose for reading.
5. Identify each question as direct ("As stated in the passage...") or inferential ("It can be inferred from the passage..."or "Based on the passage as a whole...")
6. Answer direct questions first. Since these answers are usually quotes from the text, using a word search approach will help locate where the needed information is and finding answers will provide a basic knowledge of what the passage is about.
7. If a question has a line reference, go directly there to read for an answer.
8. If referred to a paragraph, read it in isolation if the question asks what is written. If the question asks what would be missing if the paragraph were omitted, save it until you know more about the passage.
9. For vocabulary issues, try substituting the alternatives in the sentence when dealing with common words. If the vocabulary is technical or topic specific, look for a definition close to the first use of the terminology.
10. Inferential questions could benefit from an elimination strategy. Reject an answer that is too inclusive, e.g. "Tests are always hard." Avoid disparaging comments, like "This scientist's opinion is irrational." Eliminate answers that are unrelated to the topic.
11. If you are compelled to read the entire passage, try skimming or scanning.
12. To conduct a word search, try scanning by looking at text lines from Right to Left in order to preclude the distraction of creating meaning before isolating the relevant word.
13. When answering questions out of order, mark choices on the test booklet until all 10 answers for a single essay have been selected. Then transfer the picks to the scantron sheet and move on to the next passage.
PACING
14. Many exceptional readers feel no compunction toward speed. If timing is a persistent problem, try pacing exercises. Try to answer all 10 questions from a passage in 9 minutes. Direct questions may take less time to answer, leaving added seconds for inferential ones.
Keep in mind that no single strategy is right for everyone. In fact, you may want to use different approaches for different topics. Fiction, for example, may lend itself to creating mental pictures, while Social Science may seem like so much jibber jabber. Remember always that your objective is to find 10 correct answers, not to prepare for an upcoming essay exam.
To find actual ACT Reading samples, log on to
http://www.actstudent.org/
Reading tests in elementary school tend to examine comprehension on a very superficial level. In upper grades and higher level English courses, reading becomes more than just fact-finding, moving into identifying implications or "reading between the lines" and identifying literary devices. The ACT Reading test is a mutation of the two functions.
To change the way in which someone has become accustomed to reading may take open-minded experimentation. The goal in preparing for the ACT Reading section is to try out different strategies, practice each sufficiently, and select the approach or approaches which garner the most points, possibly picking the modus operandi based on the topic of the essay.
FOR EVERYONE
FIRST, EXAMINE YOUR CURRENT READING STRATEGY. Do you read every word? Reread? Skim or scan? Do you "create mental pictures?" Do you pause to digest what has been read? Does your mind wander either to related information useful in synthesizing the reading with prior knowledge or to unrelated information to entertain and distract?
How do you take note of important information? Mentally? In writing? Do you circle or underline facts?
Are you compelled to thoroughly read or are you satisfied to simply answer required questions? (Think about a history class, for example. If given the assignment to read a chapter and answer the 5 questions at the end, how do you proceed? Questions first? Reading and note taking first? Scanning for answers?)
NEXT, TRY SOME STRATEGIES THAT ARE EXPECTED TO WORK REGARDLESS OF YOUR READING STYLE.
1. Take notes from the questions by underlining or circling clue words. This will focus attention on key elements that can be used to search through the text for related information.
2. Take notes as you come across relevant information within the passage. Circling may be more helpful than underlining because it limits the amount of copy highlighted and can be easier to find among all the words in a paragraph.
3. Do not try to learn anything. The goal of the Reading section is to temporarily find immediate, correct answers. Note taking will help maintain information long enough to select an answer while allowing you to "release" it when it is no longer useful, therefore leaving more brain space for short term memory.
JUST FOR YOU...
To find the best personal reading strategy, try each of these suggestions at least twice before deciding its value.
4. Review the questions first in order to establish a purpose for reading.
5. Identify each question as direct ("As stated in the passage...") or inferential ("It can be inferred from the passage..."or "Based on the passage as a whole...")
6. Answer direct questions first. Since these answers are usually quotes from the text, using a word search approach will help locate where the needed information is and finding answers will provide a basic knowledge of what the passage is about.
7. If a question has a line reference, go directly there to read for an answer.
8. If referred to a paragraph, read it in isolation if the question asks what is written. If the question asks what would be missing if the paragraph were omitted, save it until you know more about the passage.
9. For vocabulary issues, try substituting the alternatives in the sentence when dealing with common words. If the vocabulary is technical or topic specific, look for a definition close to the first use of the terminology.
10. Inferential questions could benefit from an elimination strategy. Reject an answer that is too inclusive, e.g. "Tests are always hard." Avoid disparaging comments, like "This scientist's opinion is irrational." Eliminate answers that are unrelated to the topic.
11. If you are compelled to read the entire passage, try skimming or scanning.
12. To conduct a word search, try scanning by looking at text lines from Right to Left in order to preclude the distraction of creating meaning before isolating the relevant word.
13. When answering questions out of order, mark choices on the test booklet until all 10 answers for a single essay have been selected. Then transfer the picks to the scantron sheet and move on to the next passage.
PACING
14. Many exceptional readers feel no compunction toward speed. If timing is a persistent problem, try pacing exercises. Try to answer all 10 questions from a passage in 9 minutes. Direct questions may take less time to answer, leaving added seconds for inferential ones.
Keep in mind that no single strategy is right for everyone. In fact, you may want to use different approaches for different topics. Fiction, for example, may lend itself to creating mental pictures, while Social Science may seem like so much jibber jabber. Remember always that your objective is to find 10 correct answers, not to prepare for an upcoming essay exam.
To find actual ACT Reading samples, log on to
http://www.actstudent.org/
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