<p>Guys I did some practice questions from the Red Book and I have some questions which I need clarification on, can you guys help me out on these?</p>
<p>The court remained unconvinced, [therefore], that wearing jeans would actually impair the learning process of Kevin or of his fellow classmates.</p>
<p>F. NO CHANGE
G. thus,
H. moreover,
J. however, (Right answer) </p>
<p>Can some please explain to me what each of these transitional phrases actually mean. I know that however is something contrasts a previous statement.</p>
<p>His challenge initiated a review of students’ rights and administrative responsibility [in] public education.</p>
<p>F. NO CHANGE (Right answer)
G. on
H. with
J. about </p>
<p>Is this one of those idiom type questions? I really don’t know why F is the right answer, I circled G as the right answer.</p>
<p>Kudos to whoever that can answer this! :)</p>
<p>I have another question and it is about commas. Basically sometimes I wonder if words like itself need to have commas on both ends of the word. What is that comma rule? I do not want to be adding unnecessary commas just because it sounds better.</p>
<p>How do I know if the author of the passage wants commas around a specific word?</p>
<p>F. NO CHANGE
G. thus,
H. moreover,
J. however, (Right answer) </p>
<p>Thus = therefore = “so” (ie: I like apples, so I eat them. I like apples, therefore I eat them. I like apples, thus I eat them).
moreover = in addition to</p>
<p>“however” is needed because it provides the contrast that the sentence implies.</p>
<p>F. NO CHANGE (Right answer)
G. on
H. with
J. about </p>
<p>This isn’t an idiom type question. The “in public education” is referring to the “student’s rights and administrative responsibility.” No other option makes sense in context.</p>
<p>Regarding commas, there are a couple rules like place, names, lists, etc cetera. However, you’re asking more of like “when do I know when to put a comma in.”</p>
<p>John, a big, balding man, has a dog.
the two commas between “John” and “has” are there because the sentence (John has a dog) could be read without that information. It is “unnecessary” (note that this doesn’t mean remove it as an answer choice).</p>
<p>Hopefully someone else hasn’t already given this same advice.</p>
<p>Anyway, for the reading section, you should definitely try writing on the margins after every paragraph you read of a passage. You’ll be reading actively when doing that, then you’ll barely have to look back at the passage when answering the questions. It rose my reading score from a 24 when practicing to a 31.</p>
<p>Wow first off, I’m really sorry about your situation.</p>
<p>Secondly, I’m also most likely going to be taking the ACT this September…wanna study together?</p>
<p>@Emc2Fma That’s a wonderful idea! Maybe you could ask questions here and I’ll try to answer them and vice versa. </p>
<p>@oFg5x3o I will definitely implement that strategy! That way I can know whats happening in paragraph but the problem is I am a slow reader. For me the first passage is the hardest and the easiest is the science one, also known as the passage IV (4).</p>
<p>@skirtsteak Thanks! I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Guys I really appreciate all the tips, thank you!</p>
<p>-6/26/2012- </p>
<p>Dear Diary, </p>
<p>Today I focused solely on the English portion of the ACT. In the morning I spent time learning the transitional phrases, more specifically what each one is used for. But I still need to practice those because that was something I missed on a practice English portion test today. I also reviewed all the perfect tenses. I feel like I have a decent understanding, but once again I need to practice more questions involving those. Personally I was quite frustrated today because of the results I got on the practice English ACT test.</p>
<p>Test Name: Official 2005-2006 ACT Test (The Free one) Link: <a href=“http://■■■■■■/t4BsD[/url]”>http://■■■■■■/t4BsD</a></p>
<p>I missed 10 questions with 1 minute and 53 seconds. The ones I missed were question number 14, 16, 36, 42, 45, 54, 57, 63, 70, 71 (If you guys could explain to me the reasons behind the correct answer I would love it, right now I can’t really explain what the question is testing and what type of question I am missing. If you guys could give me explanation I know I could definitely improve!) </p>
<p><em>Just come to realize that many of the questions which I missed were were questions were less grammar questions and more rhetoric type. There were also two strange questions on adding a quote and removing a word from a sentence which I have never seen before.</em></p>
<p>There were a couple strange questions on this one which I have never seen before I am not sure if it is because its a old test. One of the questions was about adding a quote, and another one was which word could best be deleted. Overall I got a 28, which I am quiet disappointed about. Oh well it is the first practice test, but I feel like for some reason that I am stuck with a 28. </p>
<p>It’s been a very long day, I am probably going to do more practice English tests tomorrow most likely from the the Princeton Review. P.S I am running low on ACT test sources. Any ideas? I want to save the actual red book ACT tests, although I have done all of them.</p>
<p>If there is one thing I learned, its that I a lot to learn if I want to get into the 30’s.</p>
<p>Today my plan is to go over the Sparknotes grammar, take notes over it and then take another English test.</p>
<p>Hi GoldenMonkey. I just went through and did the English Section on that ACT(I’m also ACT prepping so I thought it’d be great). I got 5 wrong for a score of 31(ugh aiming for a 36 considering I got 80/80 on SAT). However, I did get all of the ones you had questions on right so I will explain why.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The answer is can be narrowed down to F and H. G is incorrect because the sentence does not support the opening sentence of the essay which refers to the narrator’s feelings towards the subway as positive while implying that most people would not like riding on the subway, thus contradicting the opening sentence. The answer is not J because in the sentence, the narrator is not doing anything; rather, the strangers are. Now to F and H. This question is one of those “choose the best answer” questions. While F is somewhat true, H is the better answer and is more clearly stated in the sentence.</p></li>
<li><p>“known as the Navajo code talkers” modifies “group” therefore requiring some type of punctuation. G is incorrect because it would need a comma between “group” and “which” to be grammatically correct. H is incorrect because the comma after “talkers” would make the sentence grammatically incorrect. J needs the comma between group and known thus making F the correct answer.</p></li>
<li><p>When you are reading this sentence, you should spot that it is redundant. There is no need to write “field of education” along with “Baltimore public schools.” Answer F allows the reader to see how long she has been teaching which is fine. G adds more to what she has done. J can be eliminated by the fact that H is less necessary to keep the same meaning of the sentence.</p></li>
<li><p>The question asks for the best statement concerning her belated statement. The word “belated” should automatically give you the answer. She discovered her talent at an older age which is portrayed in her statement in the essay. She was a teacher and librarian for 30 years and but now all of a sudden she realizes that she is a great story teller.</p></li>
<li><p>D is automatically incorrect because “thats” is not a word. For this one, I went by my ear. I said each one and split the contraction apart. After doing this, it was apparent to me that C was the only one that was grammatically correct. Try saying the answer choices out loud. It helps.</p></li>
<li><p>The answer is C because “total” refers to an amount which is not 1 feather. I don’t know how else to explain this, sorry.</p></li>
<li><p>H and J can be eliminated because the word “be” is needed to make sense in this sentence. Again, I’m not sure how to explain this but “long” and “to” don’t make sense together. I’m sure there is a rule for this, but I can’t remember it off the top of my head. The answer is F.</p></li>
<li><p>B and C can be eliminated. B would contradict the previous paragraph which, if you read the rest of the paragraph, it does not. If C was the right answer then, the paragraph would be agreeing with the previous paragraph which it does not; rather, it continues to go on with the steps of imping. The answer is not D because, the phrase that follows the transition word(ex: next, finally, in conclusion, second etc etc) is not the final step in the process of imping. Therefore, A would be the correct choice.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope this helps and I’m very sorry about your situation.</p>
<p>@LimitlessProd Thank You very much for taking the test and then going over the explanations for a majority of the questions I missed, I know the grammatical reason behind why I missed the question! There were a few questions I noticed which I missed which you didn’t cover: 45, 54, 65. (I am assuming you might have gotten this questions wrong?) Either way thank you very much once again! Just curious, what are the materials you are u sing to study for the English section?</p>
<p>Oh sorry I didn’t even realize I skipped over those. I didn’t get any of those wrong so I’ll go ahead and help you out.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You can automatically rule out the “yes” choices because of the fact that the essay centers on Mary Carter Smith and not the effects of storytelling on a community. You are left with C and D. Based on this fact again you can eliminate C and D gives you the answer. To solve this question, you must pay attention to what is going on in the passage. It’s sort of like the Reading section questions, sadly.</p></li>
<li><p>The answer cannot be G because the rule is not contradicting the previous sentence. J cannot be the answer because it is not introducing a new idea; rather it is supporting an earlier stated one. That leaves F and H. Using likewise would mean a comparison is being made which it is not. The answer is F because in the preceding sentence, the essay gives a situation while the sentence we are working with gives a solution. This is when words like therefore are used. Other words/phrases that could be used would be “as a result” or something like that.</p></li>
<li><p>If you do not read the sentence carefully it can trick you. The underlined portion is referring to singular “quill stub.” Therefore, “is” must be used and you can eliminate B and C. D is grammatically wrong, but I can’t remember why right now. There is a rule though, so hopefully someone else will fill you in on it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’m actually using several materials for the English section. I am using Barron’s ACT 36, Princeton Review ACT, Princeton Review 1296 Questions, and the Red Book. I’m also going to use the Sparknotes online tests and the March 2 Success online tests. I also have an old McGraw-Hill 10 ACT’s book(from like 2005 lol) which I do not recommend. I’m aiming for a 35/36 so I believe I need to have lots of materials. And yup, no problem.</p>
<p>@LimitlessProd once again thank you very much!</p>
<p>Guys I am thinking about going to the local book store and buying Princeton Review’s 1,296 ACT Practice Questions (College Test Preparation) book. The reason behind is because I need to practice more and more problems. Has anyone used this book? Any success stories?</p>
<p>-6/27/2012-</p>
<p>Dear Diary, </p>
<p>Today hasn’t been going according to the way I had imagined. Starting from the morning I had a doctors appointment. After I came back I went over the mistakes I made on a practice ACT English test from yesterday. From there on I kind of slacked off. Though, I printed off all the Sparknotes ACT grammar notes, I am most likely going to go over it before I go to bed. I am excited for tomorrow because I will definitely get back on track and not only that but also I will get Princeton ACT 1296 questions book. That is really all I have to say. Well good night!</p>
<p>Guys I want to know if a comma ALWAYS goes before a conjunction? On the Sparknotes ACT grammar guide it says</p>
<p>"An independent clause contains a subject and a verb (an independent clause can be as short as I am or he read), and it can function as a sentence on its own. When you see a conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, yet) joining independent clauses, a comma should precede the conjunction. For example,
An independent clause contains a subject and a verb, and it can function as a sentence on its own.
Lesley wanted to sit outside, but it was raining.
Henry could tie the shoe himself, or he could ask Amanda to tie his shoe.</p>
<p>In each example, the clauses on both sides of the comma could stand as sentences on their own.<a href=“I%20am%20confused%20on%20this.”>Why not just use a period or a semicolon?</a> With the addition of the comma and conjunction, the two independent clauses become one sentence."</p>
<p>-6/28/2012-</p>
<p>Dear Diary, </p>
<p>It hasn’t been as productive as I had planned, though I did get something out of today. As I said earlier I went out to my local book store, today, and bought three books: Barron’s ACT 36 (2nd Edition), Sparknotes: ACT Math & Science Workbook, and The Princeton Review: 1296 ACT Practice Questions (2nd Edition). I am really excited to dive straight into this books. I am planning on starting with the Barrons ACT 36 book and start prepping for the English portion of the ACT!</p>
<p>Any personal opinions on the books? How did the help you and any suggestions on how to use them?</p>
<p>Well I have a lot of work ahead me in order to achieve my goal! I am going to start bright and early tomorrow!</p>
<p>I loved the math Secton on the barron’s 36 it helped me get a 35 on math last time.the english is ok.</p>
<p>i got a 35 and did nothing. For the act. I studied a ton for the sat, however, and that really translated well. Better than the sat even. For grammar just pick up a barrons 2400 book or something. I found sat grammar much, much more difficult that the act. Also, endless drilling on passage questions helped in the english section, along with, well, the reading section of course. As far as math is concerned, i can’t really help you. It was my lowest subscore (34)</p>
<p>Guys sorry for not doing a dear diary yesterday. I will today; I promise. Bit I just started going over the English Prep, in the Barron’s 36 ACT book, and it is simply AMAZING. It clarifies so much grammar doubts and tells you exactly how to use a certain grammar rule.</p>
<p>Did you get the 2nd addition of barrons ACT 36? I really need help on grammar rules and you seem to like it a lot so i may give it a try.</p>
<p>@SpitPhire</p>
<p>You should definitely get the book! The English section, personally, is the best when compared to books like The Princeton Review: ACT 2012, and the Real ACT (Red Book), and Sparknotes ACT grammar guide. The grammar rules are easy to follow with follow up questions.</p>
<p>I just started using the book earlier this morning, and right now I am at the section over Semicolon usage.</p>