I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the writers of standardized tests assess the same concepts, over and over and over again. Test experts are able to become test experts for that very reason—there is a finite amount of material one needs to learn in order to master the ACT and the SAT. […]
ACT and SAT Reading Tips: “True to You” Answer Traps
There are certain facts that everyone just knows: the earth orbits the sun. Yellow and blue make green. America was founded in 1776. An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun. A group of birds is called a flock. Unfortunately, what you know has no place on the ACT and SAT Reading sections; the questions assess […]
ACT and SAT Test Tips: “I have” vs. “I want to”
I may be long past my college admissions days, but I still have hurdles to leap and hoops to jump through (yep, sorry to break it to you, but life doesn’t get any easier after high school. Well, after college anyway. Those four years post-high school were pretty great). I was watching a motivational video […]
ACT English and SAT Writing Tips: Diction Errors
Mark Twain once quipped, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” I doubt that he was thinking about standardized English and Writing tests when he uttered those words, but they are conveniently applicable to ACT and SAT diction errors. Failing to catch diction […]
ACT and SAT Math Tips: Similar Triangles, the Mini-me of the Math World
Similar triangles occur frequently on both the ACT and the SAT. If you think of them as the Mini-Me of the standardized testing math world, you’ll never fail to recognize them when they appear on your test. Let’s review their properties and then look how they may try to sneak onto the ACT and the […]
ACT and SAT Reading Tips: Questions About the Author’s Attitude
“Don’t give me that attitude, young lady!” my mom used to yell when I rolled my eyes at something she said. The something she said was usually a jab aimed at my hair. She hated my bangs even though they added a full five inches to my height. It was the late 80s, and big bangs […]
ACT and SAT Tips: Ten Minute Test Prep
If you’re like most high school students, there isn’t a lot of downtime in your day, let alone time to study for something other than your normal homework. Yet the ACT and SAT loom in your future, and you keep hearing about how you need to start studying for them months—maybe even years—in advance. How […]
ACT English and SAT Writing Tips: Maintaining Style
Keeping up with current fashion trends isn’t the only type of style you must maintain–you also have to make sure that an author preserves his or her style in the ACT English and SAT Writing sections. Style on the ACT and SAT? We’re not talking Louis Vuitton shoes for guys and Louboutin purses for girls, […]
ACT and SAT Math Tips: Polygons and Their Interior Angles
Geometry has been relegated to only 10% of the SAT but it still composes 15% to 20% of the ACT. You may need to know the sum of the interior angle measurements of regular polygons on both tests, but no formulas are provided on either. So how should you prepare for these types of questions? […]
ACT and SAT Reading Tips: Paired Passages with Opposing Viewpoints
Each ACT and SAT Reading section includes a set of paired passages, which discuss a related topic, with 10 or 11 accompanying questions. Most of these paired sets have passages with opposing viewpoints. One author may support animal cloning while the other opposes it. Or one passage cites obesity as the reason for apathy, while the […]