STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU TEST BETTER ON THE ACT & SAT English TEST

JOAN GEYER KALIHER

Score 28, 30, 32 or 34 points on your ACT English section; or the equivalent on your SAT English Test. Wouldn't that be great? I can hear you thinking, "How am I going to do that?" Obviously you're going to have to start with some basic intelligence about English Usage/Mechanics & Rhetorical Skills along with some test strategies in the ACT or SAT English Test area.

You probably have more knowledge in the English subject area than you give yourself credit for. So, in addition to applying your own natural capabilities, here are strategies to improve your ACT or SAT English test score, and maybe even earn that Top Score of 36.



ACT ENGLISH TEST

Read the 5 essays and answer the questions quickly; 75 questions must be answered in 45 minutes; that allows 36 seconds per question. Put another way, you have 45 minutes to read 5 essays and answer their questions, or at most 9 minutes for each essay and its questions.

SAT ENGLISH TEST

The SAT English Subject is found in The Writing and Language Test. You will have 35 minutes to complete 44 questions in 4 passages, just under 9 minutes per passage. In the SAT writing and language test, you will be tested on English language conventions and rhetorical skills.The four passages are narrative or prose passages, natural science, social science, humanities, & paired passages.

The English convention questions will test your knowledge of English usage & mechanics, such as rules, use of English, sentence structure, gammar and punctuation. The rhetorical skills questions will test your knowledge of language expressions and command of evidence and editing.

•Try to get an understanding of what the writer is trying to say.

• Eliminate answer choices that are clearly wrong or ridiculous; Look for degrees of correctness as several answers may appear to be correct.

• Avoid making new mistakes when selecting answers to correct mistakes in an essay; do not be too quick to judge. A comma or apostrophe can change the meaning and make a real difference.

• Pay attention to the wording of each question. Watch out for absolutes in the answer choices (for example; Always, Never). Some questions will ask you to choose the alternative for the underlined portions that is NOT acceptable or LEAST acceptable, rather than the best choice.

• Choose the BEST answer based on the question and the essay. Reread the sentence and substitute each answer choice and decide which is best. Reread your selected answer. If the underlined portion is already correct, then select the NO CHANGE answer.



• Some questions ask about a section of the entire essay. They are identified by a question number contained in a "ACT Test box" after the relevant section. At the end of an essay, you may find questions which ask about the essay as a whole with instructions in a box telling you this.

• In the SAT Test, the writer wants a conclusion that restates the main themes of the passage: ie: which choice accomplishes this goal?

Typical main idea questions are phrased as follows:

• - The primary purpose of the passage is...?
• - The main idea of the passage is….?
• - Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
• - The passage as a whole can best be characterized as which of the following?
  
  

• Use care in 2 part questions such as those with a yes or no answer, followed by a supporting reason for the answer. You have to decide which option is best, and then which reason best supports that option and most accurately reflects the essay

• Awareness of the type of question helps, but the most important thing is for you to focus on exactly what the question asks and then select the best answer.

• With all your preparation, you will score better than you would have before the preparation. Maybe even that coveted 36 or 1600. And, even if you don't like your score, you can take the test again and keep the best score.

Good luck and here's to you scoring your best on the ACT or SAT English Test.

Joan Geyer Kaliher is a Certified Illinois Teacher and has been tutoring students in the Naperville area for 25 years. She is an expert in the English & Reading Subjects for SAT & ACT Tests. Naperville Tutoring is a local leader in SAT & ACT PREP & has been offering preparation for College readiness testing for 14+ years.

"We can help your son and daughter with SAT & ACT English Test strategies to accomplish their goals in either the SAT or ACT Test. We approach each student by customizing and individualizing SAT or ACT subject tutoring in the areas of weakness and review the areas of strength. Included are ACT & SAT PREP strategies for all subject reviews. Naperville Tutoring's SAT & ACT Test PREP strategies have been prepared by review of the ACT.org Real ACT PREP Guide, The Official SAT Study Guide & the Barron's ACT Math & Science and English, Reading & Writing Workbooks.

Excelling on the high stakes SAT or ACT test can impact your son or daughter's potential to chose the college of his or her choice & excel in life long learning."

It quickly becomes evident that a higher SAT or ACT test result can mean thousands of extra dollars in your pocket because you don't have to spend them on college costs.

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