ACT Introduction

1
ACT Introduction

• The ACT is made up of 4 individual
• tests that are multiple choice.

English
Mathematics
Reading
Science Reasoning
It takes 3 hours to complete the main 4 tests.
Students may also take an optional non
multiple choice 5th test.
Writing
2
Primary Focus of ACT

• Colleges use the ACT to
• Decide whether to accept an applicant.
• Compare achievement and ability of applicants.
• Place students into remedial, regular, or
  advanced courses.
• To award scholarships and some campus jobs.
• To answer ACT questions students must
• It is not enough to be able to just
• memorize and recall information.

Solve Problems
Draw Conclusions
Make Inferences
Think Analytically
3
Parts of the ACT
Test 1 English

• 75 multiple choice questions 45 minutes to
  complete

• Covers usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills

• Decide whether underlined portions are correct,
  or if one of the answer
• choices is better.

• Uses Standard Written English

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
4
Parts of the ACT
Test 1 English

• 75 multiple choice questions 45 minutes to
  complete

• Covers usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills

• Decide whether underlined portions are correct,
  or if one of the answer
• choices is better.

• Uses Standard Written English

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
5
Parts of the ACT
Test 1 English

• 75 multiple choice questions 45 minutes to
  complete

• Covers usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills

• Decide whether underlined portions are correct,
  or if one of the answer
• choices is better.

• Uses Standard Written English

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
6
Parts of the ACT
Test 1 English

• 75 multiple choice questions 45 minutes to
  complete

• Covers usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills

• Decide whether underlined portions are correct,
  or if one of the answer
• choices is better.

• Uses Standard Written English

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
7
Parts of the ACT
Test 1 English

• 75 multiple choice questions 45 minutes to
  complete

• Covers usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills

• Decide whether underlined portions are correct,
  or if one of the answer
• choices is better.

• Uses Standard Written English

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
8
Parts of the ACT
Test 1 English

• 75 multiple choice questions 45 minutes to
  complete

• Covers usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills

• Decide whether underlined portions are correct,
  or if one of the answer
• choices is better.

• Uses Standard Written English

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
9
Parts of the ACT
Test 1 English

• 75 multiple choice questions 45 minutes to
  complete

• Covers usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills

• Decide whether underlined portions are correct,
  or if one of the answer
• choices is better.

• Uses Standard Written English

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
10
Parts of the ACT
Test 1 English

• 75 multiple choice questions 45 minutes to
  complete

• Covers usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills

• Decide whether underlined portions are correct,
  or if one of the answer
• choices is better.

• Uses Standard Written English

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
11
Parts of the ACT
Test 1 English

• 75 multiple choice questions 45 minutes to
  complete

• Covers usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills

• Decide whether underlined portions are correct,
  or if one of the answer
• choices is better.

• Uses Standard Written English

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
12
Parts of the ACT
Test 2 Mathematics

• 60 multiple choice questions 60 minutes to
  complete

• Covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
  intermediate algebra,
• coordinate geometry, geometry, and trigonometry

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
13
Parts of the ACT
Test 2 Mathematics

• 60 multiple choice questions 60 minutes to
  complete

• Covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
  intermediate algebra,
• coordinate geometry, geometry, and trigonometry

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
14
Parts of the ACT
Test 2 Mathematics

• 60 multiple choice questions 60 minutes to
  complete

• Covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
  intermediate algebra,
• coordinate geometry, geometry, and trigonometry

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
15
Parts of the ACT
Test 2 Mathematics

• 60 multiple choice questions 60 minutes to
  complete

• Covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
  intermediate algebra,
• coordinate geometry, geometry, and trigonometry

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
16
Parts of the ACT
Test 2 Mathematics

• 60 multiple choice questions 60 minutes to
  complete

• Covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
  intermediate algebra,
• coordinate geometry, geometry, and trigonometry

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
17
Parts of the ACT
Test 2 Mathematics

• 60 multiple choice questions 60 minutes to
  complete

• Covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
  intermediate algebra,
• coordinate geometry, geometry, and trigonometry

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
18
Parts of the ACT
Test 2 Mathematics

• 60 multiple choice questions 60 minutes to
  complete

• Covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
  intermediate algebra,
• coordinate geometry, geometry, and trigonometry

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
19
Parts of the ACT
Test 2 Mathematics

• 60 multiple choice questions 60 minutes to
  complete

• Covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
  intermediate algebra,
• coordinate geometry, geometry, and trigonometry

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
20
Parts of the ACT
Test 2 Mathematics

• 60 multiple choice questions 60 minutes to
  complete

• Covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
  intermediate algebra,
• coordinate geometry, geometry, and trigonometry

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
21
Parts of the ACT
Test 2 Mathematics

• 60 multiple choice questions 60 minutes to
  complete

• Covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
  intermediate algebra,
• coordinate geometry, geometry, and trigonometry

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
22
Parts of the ACT
Test 3 Reading

• 40 multiple choice questions 35 minutes to
  complete

• Covers recall and content reasoning.
• Specifically details, main idea, comparison,
  cause/effect, generalization, vocabulary,
  inferences, and point of view.

• Based on 4 types of passages prose fiction,
  social studies, humanities,
• and natural sciences.

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
23
Parts of the ACT
Test 3 Reading

• 40 multiple choice questions 35 minutes to
  complete

• Covers recall and content reasoning.
• Specifically details, main idea, comparison,
  cause/effect, generalization, vocabulary,
  inferences, and point of view.

• Based on 4 types of passages prose fiction,
  social studies, humanities,
• and natural sciences.

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
24
Parts of the ACT
Test 3 Reading

• 40 multiple choice questions 35 minutes to
  complete

• Covers recall and content reasoning.
• Specifically details, main idea, comparison,
  cause/effect, generalization, vocabulary,
  inferences, and point of view.

• Based on 4 types of passages prose fiction,
  social studies, humanities,
• and natural sciences.

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
25
Parts of the ACT
Test 3 Reading

• 40 multiple choice questions 35 minutes to
  complete

• Covers recall and content reasoning.
• Specifically details, main idea, comparison,
  cause/effect, generalization, vocabulary,
  inferences, and point of view.

• Based on 4 types of passages prose fiction,
  social studies, humanities,
• and natural sciences.

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
26
Parts of the ACT
Test 3 Reading

• 40 multiple choice questions 35 minutes to
  complete

• Covers recall and content reasoning.
• Specifically details, main idea, comparison,
  cause/effect, generalization, vocabulary,
  inferences, and point of view.

• Based on 4 types of passages prose fiction,
  social studies, humanities,
• and natural sciences.

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
27
Parts of the ACT
Test 4 Science Reasoning

• 40 multiple choice questions 35 minutes to
  complete

• Covers interpreting and analysis of science data,
  graphs, and passages.
• There are 7 sets of questions from the 3
  categories.

Data Representation
Research Summaries
Conflicting Viewpoints

• Covers content areas of Biology, Earth/Space
  Sciences, Chemistry, and
• Physics that are distributed over the different
  formats.

• Does NOT necessarily cover Science Knowledge.

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
28
Parts of the ACT
Test 4 Science Reasoning

• 40 multiple choice questions 35 minutes to
  complete

• Covers interpreting and analysis of science data,
  graphs, and passages.
• There are 7 sets of questions from the 3
  categories.

Data Representation
Research Summaries
Conflicting Viewpoints

• Covers content areas of Biology, Earth/Space
  Sciences, Chemistry, and
• Physics that are distributed over the different
  formats.

• Does NOT necessarily cover Science Knowledge.

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
29
Parts of the ACT
Test 4 Science Reasoning

• 40 multiple choice questions 35 minutes to
  complete

• Covers interpreting and analysis of science data,
  graphs, and passages.
• There are 7 sets of questions from the 3
  categories.

Data Representation
Research Summaries
Conflicting Viewpoints

• Covers content areas of Biology, Earth/Space
  Sciences, Chemistry, and
• Physics that are distributed over the different
  formats.

• Does NOT necessarily cover Science Knowledge.

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
30
Parts of the ACT
Test 4 Science Reasoning

• 40 multiple choice questions 35 minutes to
  complete

• Covers interpreting and analysis of science data,
  graphs, and passages.
• There are 7 sets of questions from the 3
  categories.

Data Representation
Research Summaries
Conflicting Viewpoints

• Covers content areas of Biology, Earth/Space
  Sciences, Chemistry, and
• Physics that are distributed over the different
  formats.

• Does NOT necessarily cover Science Knowledge.

Table from Getting Into the ACT, Harcourt Brace
Company, 1997
31
Parts of the ACT
Test 5 Writing

• Optional Test

• One essay 30 minutes to complete

• Covers
• Using rules of standard written English
• Organizing ideas in a logical way
• Using logical reasoning and supporting ideas
• Expressing yourself