CliffsTestPrep ACT (Cliffs Test Prep ACT)

466 Pages·2005·2.54 MB·English

by  William A. Covino

01_599356 ffirs.qxd 7/7/05 10:41 AM Page i
CliffsTestPrep®
ACT™
7th Edition
by
Jerry Bobrow, Ph.D.
William A. Covino, Ph.D.
David A. Kay, M.S.
Harold Nathan, Ph.D.
Contributing Authors Consultants
Allan Casson, Ph.D. Peter Z Orton, Ph.D.
Jean Eggenschwiler, M.A. Don Gallaher, M.S.
Karen Saenz, Ph.D. Dale W. Johnson, M.A.
01_599356 ffirs.qxd 7/7/05 10:41 AM Page i
01_599356 ffirs.qxd 7/7/05 10:41 AM Page i
CliffsTestPrep®
ACT™
7th Edition
by
Jerry Bobrow, Ph.D.
William A. Covino, Ph.D.
David A. Kay, M.S.
Harold Nathan, Ph.D.
Contributing Authors Consultants
Allan Casson, Ph.D. Peter Z Orton, Ph.D.
Jean Eggenschwiler, M.A. Don Gallaher, M.S.
Karen Saenz, Ph.D. Dale W. Johnson, M.A.
01_599356 ffirs.qxd 7/7/05 10:41 AM Page ii
About the Author Publisher’s Acknowledgments
Jerry Bobrow, Ph.D., is a national authority in the field of Editorial
test preparation. As executive director of Bobrow Test
Acquisition Editor: Greg Tubach
Preparation Services, he has been administering the test
Project Editors: Suzanne Snyder, Christina Stambaugh,
preparation programs at more than 25 California institutions
and Kathleen Dobie
for the past 30 years. Dr. Bobrow has authored more than
40 nationalbest-selling test preparation books, and his Copy Editor: Corey Dalton
books and programs have assisted more than two million Technical Editor(s): Michele Spence
test-takers. Each year, Dr. Bobrow personally lectures to
Composition
thousands ofstudents on preparing for graduate, college,
and teacher credentialing exams. Wiley Publishing, Inc. Composition Services
Author’s Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Michele Spence for her many hours
of editing the original manuscript, and Christy Beck and
Christina Stambaugh of Wiley for their assistance and care-
ful attention to the production process. I would also like to
thank my office staff of Joy Mondragon, Cindy Hadash,
Allison Drucker, and Deena Mondragon for their assistance.
Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Susan; daughter,
Jennifer; and sons, Adam and Jonathan, for their patience,
moral support, and comic relief.
CliffsTestPrep®ACT™, 7th Edition Note: If you purchased this book without a cover,
Published by: you should be aware that this book is stolen prop-
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the publisher, and neither the author nor the pub-
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lisher has received any payment for this “stripped
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Copyright ©2005 Jerry Bobrow, Ph.D.
Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
Published simultaneously in Canada
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02_599356 ftoc.qxd 7/7/05 10:41 AM Page iii
Table of Contents
Introduction to the ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
General Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Questions Commonly Asked about the ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Four Successful Overall Approaches to Taking the ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
I. The “Plus-Minus” System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
II. The Elimination Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
III. The “Avoiding Misreads” Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
IV. The Multiple-Multiple-Choice Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
PART I: ANALYSIS OF EXAM AREAS
Introduction to the English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Ability Tested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Basic Skills Necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Usage/Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Rhetorical Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Analysis of Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Suggested Approach with Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Content Area Breakdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Introduction to the Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Ability Tested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Basic Skills Necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Analysis of Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Content Area Breakdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
For Additional Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Introduction to the Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Ability Tested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Basic Skills Necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Analysis of Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Suggested General Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Three Final Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Content Area Breakdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Introduction to the Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Ability Tested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Basic Skills Necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Analysis of Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Suggested Approach with Sample Passages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Data Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Research Summaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Conflicting Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Content Area Breakdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
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CliffsTestPrep ACT, 7th Edition
PART II: FOUR FULL-LENGTH PRACTICE TESTS
Directions for all Practice Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Answer Sheets for Practice Test 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Practice Test 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Scoring Practice Test 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Scoring Your ACT Practice Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
For Your Own Benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Practice Test 1 Analysis Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Analysis/Tally Sheet for Problems Missed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Complete Answers and Explanations for Practice Test 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Answers to English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Answers to Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Answers to Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Answers to Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Answer Sheets for Practice Test 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Practice Test 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Scoring Practice Test 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Scoring Your ACT Practice Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
For Your Own Benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Practice Test 2 Analysis Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Analysis/Tally Sheet for Problems Missed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Complete Answers and Explanations for
Practice Test 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Answers to English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Answers to Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Answers to Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Answers to Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Answer Sheets for Practice Test 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
iv
02_599356 ftoc.qxd 7/7/05 10:41 AM Page v
Table of Contents
Practice Test 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Scoring Practice Test 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Scoring Your ACT Practice Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
For Your Own Benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Practice Test 3 Analysis Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Analysis/Tally Sheet for Problems Missed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Complete Answers and Explanations for
Practice Test 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Answers to English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Answers to Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Answers to Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Answers to Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Answer Sheets for Practice Test 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Practice Test 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Scoring Practice Test 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Scoring Your ACT Practice Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
For Your Own Benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Practice Test 4 Analysis Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Analysis/Tally Sheet for Problems Missed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Complete Answers and Explanations for
Practice Test 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Answers to English Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Answers to Mathematics Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Answers to Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Answers to Science Reasoning Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Introduction to the Writing Test—Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Ability Tested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Basic Skills Necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Directions (The Prompt and Assignment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
The Prompt and Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
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Analysis of Directions and General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
Scoring the Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Analyzing the Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Score of 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Score of 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Score of 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Score of 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Score of 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Score of 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
No Score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Essay Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Reviewing the Writing Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Preparing to Write (Prewriting) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Writing the Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Proofreading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
A Specific Approach: The “Why Essay” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Two Well-Written Essays (with Comments) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Eight Important Points to Consider When Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Evaluating Your Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Another Sample Topic for Practice (followed by two sample essays) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Two Sample Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
Essay 1—Upper-Level Score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
Essay 2—Lower-Level Score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Two More Sample Topics for Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Answers to Your Questions about the ACT Writing Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Final Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
The Final Touches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
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Preface
Preface
Your ACT Assessment Program: ACT Tests, Interest Inventory, and Student Profile are important to your future!
They can help you (1) assess your interests and skills, (2) plan your career, (3) get a scholarship, and (4) get into a
college of your choice. Because of this, you must use your study time effectively. You need the most comprehen-
sive test preparation guide that you can realistically complete in a reasonable time. It must be concise, direct, easy
to use, and thorough, giving you all the assistance you need to do your best on the ACT Tests.
In keeping with the fine tradition of CliffsNotes, this guide was developed by leading experts in the field of test
preparation as part of a series to specifically meet these standards. The testing strategies, techniques, and materials
have been researched, tested, and evaluated and are presently used at test preparation programs at many leading
colleges and universities. This guide emphasizes the Bobrow Test Preparation Servicesapproach, which focuses
on the six major areas:
■ Ability Tested
■ Basic Skills Necessary
■ Understanding Directions
■ Analysis of Directions
■ Suggested Approaches with Samples
■ Practice-Review-Analyze-Practice
Four complete simulation ACT exams are included with answers and in-depth explanations. Each exam is fol-
lowed by analysis charts to help you analyze your results and evaluate your strengths and weaknesses.
This guide was written to give you the edge in doing your best by maximizing your effort in a reasonable amount
of time. It is meant to augment, not substitute for, formal or informal learning throughout junior high and high
school. If you follow the Study Guide Checklist in this book and study regularly, you will get the best preparation
possible.
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CliffsTestPrep ACT, 7th Edition
Study Guide Checklist
❑ 1. Read the ACT Information Bulletin.
❑ 2. Become familiar with the Test Format, page 1.
❑ 3. Familiarize yourself with the answers to Questions Commonly Asked about the ACT, page 2.
❑ 4. Learn the techniques of Four Successful Overall Approaches, page 4.
❑ 5. Carefully read Part I, Analysis of Exam Areas, beginning on page 9.
❑ 6. Strictly observing time allotments, take Practice Test 1, section by section, beginning on page 71.
❑ 7. Check your answers, page 119, and analyze your Practice Test 1 results, page 119.
❑ 8. Fill out the Tally Sheet for Problems Missed, page 123.
❑ 9. While referring to each item of Practice Test 1, study ALL the Answers and Explanations that begin on
page 125.
❑ 10. Review as necessary basic skills and techniques discussed in Part I.
❑ 11. Strictly observing time allotments, take Practice Test 2, section by section, beginning on page 157.
❑ 12. Check your answers, page 205, and analyze your Practice Test 2 results, page 208.
❑ 13. Fill out the Tally Sheet for Problems Missed, page 209.
❑ 14. While referring to each item of Practice Test 2, study ALL the Answers and Explanations that begin on
page 211.
❑ 15. Strictly observing time allotments, take Practice Test 3, section by section, beginning on page 241.
❑ 16. Check your answers, page 305, and analyze your Practice Test 3 results, page 308.
❑ 17. Fill out the Tally Sheet for Problems Missed, page 309.
❑ 18. While referring to each item of Practice Test 3, study ALL the Answers and Explanations that begin on
page 311.
❑ 19. Strictly observing time allotments, take Practice Test 4, section by section, beginning on page 345.
❑ 20. Check your answers, page 403, and analyze your Practice Test 4 results, page 406.
❑ 21. Fill out the Tally Sheet for Problems Missed, page 407.
❑ 22. While referring to each item of Practice Test 4, study ALL the Answers and Explanations that begin on
page 409.
❑ 23. Again, review as needed Part I, Analysis of Exam Areas.
❑ 24. Carefully Read “Final Preparation” on page 435.
Note:If you are taking the optional Writing Test, you should review pages 435–454 and write at least three prac-
tice essay. Be sure to have someone evaluate your practice essays.
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