Act exam success_4 docx

From the word choice and style—the short sentences, the very casual language—we can tell that the writer of passage A has a more informal, more friendly relationship with the reader than

A: I couldn’t believe it I mean, who would have guessed? I sure didn’t! I had no clue, no clue

at all And I was the last person to find out, too It figures

B: I was deeply shocked; I had never suspected such a thing Not surprisingly, I was the last

person to become aware of the situation

These two examples are drastically different in style and in the level of formality Though they both tell

the same story and both use the personal first-person I, there’s clearly a different relationship to the reader.

From the word choice and style—the short sentences, the very casual language—we can tell that the writer

of passage A has a more informal, more friendly relationship with the reader than the writer of passage B.The emotion of the writer in passage A is much more transparent, too, because the language is more infor-mal and natural You get the idea that passage A is addressed to a friend while passage B might be addressed

to an official

On the ACT, you probably won’t be asked directly about level of formality But you can use your ness of level of formality to draw conclusions about audience and to determine which revisions or additionswould best fit the text

aware-Practice 15

Rank the sentences below according to formality Put a 1 next to the sentence that is most formal and a 3 next

to the sentence that is most casual

1 Move faster.

Pick up the pace

Increase your speed

2 Gimme a hand, would you?

Would you please assist me?

Would you help me out here?

Answers

1 2 Move faster.

3 Pick up the pace

1 Increase your speed

2 3 Gimme a hand, would you?

1 Would you please assist me?

2 Would you help me out here?

F IGURATIVE L ANGUAGE AND I MAGERY

An important aspect of style is figurative language and imagery Figurative language includes similes and

metaphors A simile compares two things using the words like or as A metaphor is stronger than a simile

because it makes the comparison without the words like or as Here’s an example:

No figurative language: She was running around like crazy.

Simile: She was running around like the Mad Hatter

Metaphor: She was the Mad Hatter

Figurative language is so effective because it helps readers picture what the writer is describing in animaginative, original way (“She was running around like a chicken with its head cut off ” is a simile, but it’s

also a cliché—an overused phrase that should be avoided.)

For similes and metaphors to work, the two things being compared must be sufficiently different For

example, it doesn’t work to compare a moth to a butterfly However, it does work to compare a butterfly and

the way curtains flutter in the wind

Imagery does not make a comparison, but it does paint a picture for readers by engaging the senses.

Here are two examples:

The cat lay in a warm circle of sunlight just beneath the window.

The smell of freshly-baked apples and cinnamon drifted across the room to where I sat next to a crackling fire.

Of course, figurative language and imagery must be appropriate Figurative language and imagery would

be appropriate (even expected) in a narrative essay, but you probably should not include such language in alab report for your physics class And in any case, your similes, metaphors, and images should not offend orchange the style or tone of your text

Practice 16

Part A: Create similes and metaphors for the following sentences.

1 He has a quiet manner.

Part B: Use imagery to describe the following.

1 A body of water

2 A house

Answers

Part A

1 He has a quiet manner.

Simile: He is as quiet as a whisper (As quiet as a mouse is a cliché.)

Metaphor: He is a whisper

2 She was very angry.

Simile: She was as angry as a tornado

Metaphor: She was a tornado

C ONSISTENCY IN S TYLE AND T ONE

Appropriate and consistent tone is another element of effective writing that will be tested on the ACT

Eng-lish Test You may be asked to determine whether the writer’s tone is appropriate for his or her audience andpurpose and to identify whether the writer has shifted tone in the passage

Tone is the mood or attitude conveyed by words or speech Think, for example, of all the different ways to say sure or hello It’s how you say the word that conveys so much of its meaning.

When you listen to others, it’s usually pretty easy to hear the tone of their voice But how do you “hear”

tone in writing? How can you tell how the words should sound? Say you come across the word sure as you

are reading How do you know whether to whisper it or shout it?

When we speak, we create tone by how quickly or slowly we say a word, how loudly or softly we say it,

and how we use facial expressions and body language When we read, though, we can’t hear how the writer

says something And we certainly can’t see the writer’s facial expressions or body language But we can lookcarefully at word choice, punctuation, and style to help determine tone For example, recall this pair of sen-tences from our punctuation review:

Wait, I’m coming with you.

Wait—I’m coming with you!

Here, it is the punctuation that changes the tone The first sentence is calm, neutral The second tence, on the other hand, is emotional, excited.

sen-There are endless varieties of tones when we speak Likewise, there are endless varieties of tone in ing Here’s a list of some of the more common words used to describe tone:

5 Don’t push the yellow button If you do, the system will shut down.

V ARIETY IN S ENTENCE S TRUCTURE AND R HETORICAL T ECHNIQUES FOR E MPHASIS

Some ACT English Test questions will test your ability to manipulate sentence structure and punctuation foreffect Sentence structure, as we noted earlier, is an important element of style If all of your sentences havethe same pattern, you will end up with writing that is monotonous and dry, like the following passage:

He is six feet, three inches tall He is 34 years old He loves to play golf He drives a new ible He is a doctor He works in a hospital He lives in New Jersey.

convert-Unsophisticated and quite dull, isn’t it? That is because all of the sentences are short and share the same

structure; they all start with he and a present tense verb This is quite different from parallel structure

Par-allelism means using a repeating sentence pattern to create rhythm within a sentence or paragraph This kind

of repetition, on the other hand, creates monotony and shows a lack of flexibility in creating sentence terns Here’s the same paragraph revised to show variety in sentence structure:

pat-This 34-year-old doctor measures six feet, three inches tall A New Jersey resident, he is a big fan

of golf, and he drives his new convertible to the golf course whenever he can slip away from the

hospital.

Notice how much more interesting this paragraph is now The seven sentences have been combined into

two, and they both start with something other than he Many of the short sentences have been turned into

modifiers that make for more varied sentence patterns

Sentence structure and punctuation can also be used to manipulate emphasis The best place to put tence elements that you want to emphasize is at the end (the “save the best for last” approach) What comeslast is what lingers longest in the readers’ ears.

sen-He is tall, dark, and handsome [The emphasis is on handsome If tall were the most

impor-tant characteristic, then it should come last.]

She is smart, reliable, and experienced [The emphasis is on experienced; if smart is the most

important characteristic, then that should be last in the list.]

You can also use a dash to set off part of a sentence for emphasis:

He is tall, dark, handsome—and married.

Here, the stress on the last element is heightened by the dash, which emphasizes the sense of pointment in the sentence

disap-Practice 18

Rewrite the following paragraph to create more variety in sentence structure

The coast of the State of Maine is one of the most irregular in the world Draw a straightline from the southernmost city in Maine, Kittery, to the northernmost coastal city, Eastport.This line would measure about 225 miles Follow the coastline between the same two cities.The distance is more than ten times as far This irregularity is the result of what is called a

drowned coastline The term comes from the glacial activity of the ice age The glacier

descended It expended enormous force on those mountains The mountains sank into

the sea

Answer

Answers will vary Here’s one possibility:

The coast of the State of Maine is one of the most irregular in the world If you draw a

straight line from Kittery, the southernmost city in Maine, to Eastport, the northernmost

coastal city, the line would measure about 225 miles Follow the coastline between the sametwo cities, however, and the distance is more than ten times as far This irregularity is the

result of what is called a drowned coastline, a term that comes from the glacial activity of the

ice age When the glacier descended, it expended enormous force on those mountains, and

the mountains sank into the sea

A VOIDING A MBIGUITY , W ORDINESS , AND R EDUNDANCY

An ambiguous word or phrase is one that has two or more possible meanings Take a look at this sentence,

for example:

That’s a big book.

This sentence can be read in two ways: that the book has many pages, or that the cover is large You caneliminate this ambiguity by revising the sentence in one of the following ways:

That book has many pages.

That book’s cover is large.

Another type of ambiguity happens when a phrase is in the wrong place in a sentence (see page 42 formore information on modifier placement) For example, look at the following sentence:

He was standing next to the car on the corner.

Here, the word order, not word choice, creates ambiguity Was he on the corner, or was the car on the

corner? Because the phrase on the corner is in the wrong place, the sentence is unclear It should be revised

to read:

He was standing on the corner next to the car.

or

He was standing next to the car parked on the corner.

Unclear Pronoun References

Ambiguity can also result from unclear pronoun references (For a pronoun review, see pages 75–76.) Here’s

an example:

Connor told Mark that he needed glasses.

In this sentence, there are two different people he could be referring to: Connor and Mark Clearly, this sentence needs to be revised But it would be awkward to say Connor told Mark that Connor needed glasses.

A good way out is to use dialogue:

Connor told Mark, “I need glasses.”

Here’s another kind of unclear pronoun reference:

I heard they were going to repave our street.

This is an example of a common pronoun error: using a vague “they” when there are specific peoplebehind the action You may not know exactly who those people are, but you know enough to say somethinglike the following:

I heard the township is going to repave our street.

There are always people behind their actions, and your sentences should say so

Redundancy and Wordiness

Some ACT English Test questions may ask you to identify or eliminate redundancy or unnecessary ness within sentences Redundancy is the unnecessary repetition of ideas Wordiness is the use of several

wordi-words when a few can express the same idea more clearly and concisely

On the sentence level, in general, less is more The fewer words you use to get your point across, the ter Unnecessary words often waste time and cloud meaning Sentences that don’t have any words to wasteare clear and have impact

bet-Wordiness and redundancy typically result from three different causes:

■ The use of unnecessary words or phrases

Redundant: Turn left at the green colored house.

Correct: Turn left at the green house.

■ Unnecessary repetition of nouns or pronouns

Redundant: Riva she couldn’t believe her ears.

Correct: Riva couldn’t believe her ears.

■ The use of wordy phrases instead of adverbs

Wordy: She spoke in a very convincing manner.

Concise: She spoke very convincingly.

Wordy: He had a car that was old and rusty.

Concise: He had an old, rusty car.

Practice 19

Rewrite the following sentences to correct any ambiguity, wordiness, or redundancy

1 I returned back to my room after the meeting was over.

2 I heard they are going to put a movie theater on campus.

3 Please repeat again what you said.

4 While barbecuing our steaks, a hungry dog came into our backyard.

5 The servers they really take care of you at this restaurant.

6 The circumstances are very delicate in nature.

7 It was a story that was difficult to tell.

8 Fried in butter, Sylvan likes eggs.

Answers

Answers may vary slightly Insertions are indicated in italics

1 I returned back to my room after the meeting was over.

2 I heard they the trustees are going to put a movie theater on campus.

3 Please repeat again what you said.

4 While we were barbecuing our steaks, a hungry dog came into our backyard.

5 The servers they really take care of you at this restaurant.

6 The circumstances are very delicate in nature.

7 It was a difficult story that was difficult to tell.

8 Fried in butter, Sylvan likes eggs fried in butter.

 P r a c t i c e Q u e s t i o n s

Directions

Now you have the opportunity to pull together all that you have reviewed and apply it to 80 practice ACT lish Test questions On the following pages, you will find eight passages with questions just like those you willsee on the ACT Read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow When you are taking theofficial ACT, make sure you carefully fill in the appropriate bubble on the answer document

Eng-Bicycles

(1)Today, bicycles are so common that it’s hard to believe they haven’t always been around (2)But twohundred years ago, , and the first bicycle, invented in Germany in 1818, wasnothing like our bicycles today—it was made of wood and didn’t even have pedals (3)Since then, however,numerous innovations and improvements in design have made the bicycle one of the most popular means

of recreation and transportation around the world

(4)In 1839, Kirkpatrick dramatically improved upon the original bicycledesign (5)Macmillan’s machine had tires with iron rims to keep them from getting worn down (6)He alsoused foot-operated cranks similar to pedals so his bicycle (7)It

much like a modern bicycle, though,because its back wheel was substantially larger than its front wheel (8)In 1861, the French Michaux broth-ers took the evolution of the bicycle a step further by inventing an improved crank mechanism

(9)Ten years later, James Starley, an English inventor, revolutionized bicycle design (10) thefront wheel many times larger than the back wheel, the pedals to

make the bicycle more efficient, and lightened the wheels by using wire spokes (11)Although this bicyclewas much lighter and less tiring to ride, it was still clumsy, extremely top-heavy, and ridden mostly forentertainment

(12)It wasn’t until 1874 that the first truly modern bicycle appeared on the scene (13) ,

bicy-cle” would look familiar to today’s cyclists (15)This bicycle had equal sized wheels, which made it lessprone to toppling over (16)Lawson also attached a chain to the pedals to drive the rear wheel (17)Withthese improvements, the bicycle became extremely popular and useful for transportation

1 a NO CHANGE

b there was no such thing as a bicycle,

c bicycles were uninvented,

d whoever heard of a bicycle,

2 f NO CHANGE

g Macmillan was a Scottish blacksmith

h Macmillan, a Scottish blacksmith,

j Macmillan, he was a Scottish blacksmith,

3 a NO CHANGE

b could be rode quickly

c could have been ridden fast

d could ride at a quick pace

7 a NO CHANGE

b Today there are built

c Today they, are built

d Today, they are built

8 f NO CHANGE

g H J Lawson invented by another Englishman

h Invented by another Englishman, H.J Lawson,

j Another Englishman inventor, H J Lawson,

9 If the writer were trying to convince readers to buy a bicycle, he would:

a NO CHANGE

b Add a paragraph describing the health and environmental benefits of riding a bike.

c Add a paragraph comparing the cost and quality of today’s best-selling bicycles.

d Add a paragraph about the Tour de France and other bicycle races.

10 Which of the following sequences makes paragraph 4 most logical?

The Industrial Revolution was essentially a rapid change

Products once made by hand were now able to be produced by machine or by chemical processes TheIndustrial Revolution transformed Western society, creating an international capitalist economy, urbaniza-

(1)In the first century of the Industrial Revolution, the country undergoing the most dramatic change wasEngland (2)After 1850, the Industrial Revolution throughout Europe (3)While the pace

of change during the Industrial Revolution was indeed very rapid, the Industrial Revolution itself

Several key discoveries and inventions enabled the Industrial Revolution to take machinesand tools like the cotton gin, the radio, the circular saw, the cylindrical press, and the steam engine.

Cement, dynamite, and aluminum were invented, as were the bleaching and paper-making processes Atthe same time, there was a tremendous growth in population and urbanization In fact, the population

growth in England was so dramatic that the country’s population doubled between 1750–1820 This meant

Indus-trial Revolution

Mass production of goods was made possible in large part the steam engine The steam engineenabled factories to move from the countryside (where they were by bodies of water, their source ofpower) into cities and towns, which were becoming increasingly crowded

11 The writer changed the underlined text to in how material goods were produced The result is a sentence

g was quickly spreading

h spread with great rapidity

15 a NO CHANGE

b from the middle of the century eighteen

c from the mid-1700s

d beginning in the middle of the 1700s, around 1750,

16 f NO CHANGE

g place These included

h place Thus including

j place, including

17 a NO CHANGE

b which had become the driving force of

c that forced the driving of

d that drove the force behind

18 f NO CHANGE

g by

h from

j in regard to

19 Which of the following alternatives provides the most logical and effective conclusion for paragraph 4?

a Today, we are living in an Information Revolution.

b In cities and towns, factories found a ready workforce and large consumer base for their products.

c Railroads took goods out of the city back to the countryside.

d Overcrowding was a major problem to be dealt with in the cities.

20 The writer wishes to add a fifth paragraph Which of the following topics would best fit the audience

and purpose of this essay?

f the work conditions in the factories

g child labor

h the impact of mass production on the economy

j the population explosion and its effects

Annie Smith Peck

, the highest mountains in South America have lured climbers from all over the world But until 1908, Peru’s Mt Huascaran resisted the efforts of all those who attempted

to reach its summit One mountaineer, Annie Smith Peck, vowed to overcome the obstacles and

be the first to the top of Mt Huascaran In order to succeed, she would have to organize

climb steep cliffs of ice and rock

Peck was born in the United States in 1850 Although she didn’t start mountain climbing until she was inher soon became clear that she had found her life’s work A natural mountaineer, Peck wassoon setting records on expeditions in North America and Europe She traveled to Bolivia in 1903 and

(1)Peck mounted four expeditions and made five attempts before she finally conquered Mt Huascaran.(2)Between those expeditions, Peck returned to the United States to raise money (3)She received helpfrom many scientific organizations, including the Museum of Natural History (4)The Museum had alsosupported Admiral Peary on his trip to the North Pole (5)Still, Peck struggled at least as much to raisemoney as she did her beloved mountains

In 1908, Peck scraped together the funds for yet another expedition to Mt Huascaran This time, she hiredtwo Swiss guides her with the climb On their first trip up the mountain’s slopes, one of theguides became ill, and the entire team was forced to turn back even though they were very close to the top.Being so close to success was very frustrating for Peck, who could not even prove how close they had comebecause she had accidentally brought the wrong kind of film and was unable to photograph the climb

The team rested for a few days, the guide recovered, and on August 28th, they set off again The climb wasextremely difficult Steps had to be one by one into the steep ice; snow bridges and crevasses had to becarefully crossed The weather was so cold that everyone suffered from frostbite When Peck and her twoguides were just a short distance from the top, they stopped to determine the exact height of the moun-tain At that moment, one of the guides took advantage of Peck’s distraction and climbed the few remain-ing feet to the summit so that he was the first to reach the peak Although Peck was

understandably focused on the triumph of achieving her goal: standing at last on the top of

Mt Huascaran

21 a NO CHANGE

b Through the passing of a hundred years

c For over a hundred years

d In the time of the last century

22 f NO CHANGE

g expeditions, deal with reluctant companions, survive bad weather, and

h expeditions; deal with reluctant, companions; survive bad weather; and

j expeditions: deal with reluctant companions, survive bad weather, and

h and just had to climb it

j the one mountain she just had to climb to the top of

h He was such a jerk.

j OMIT the underlined passage.

29 a NO CHANGE

b angry; she

c angry—she

d angry She

30 In revising paragraph 3, the writer would be wise to:

f switch sentences 2 and 3

g eliminate sentence 4

h combine sentences 3 and 4

j explain why Peck’s previous attempts to climb Mt Huarascan had failed

The Gateway Arch

The skyline of St Louis, Missouri, is fairly unremarkable, with one huge Gateway Arch thatstands on the banks of the Mississippi Part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the Arch is

built to honor St Louis’ role as the gateway to the West

Construction on the 630-foot high structure , and was completed four years later in 1965.The monument includes an underground visitor center that explores westward expansion through gal-leries and a theater Two passenger trams take visitors to the Observation Room and the Museum of West-ward Expansion at the top