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Duke University
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Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

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Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

Prepping for English ACT questions

Hey! How do you guys prepare for the English portion of the ACT? What are your tried-and-true strategies for dealing with grammar and punctuation questions?

2 years ago

Hi there! Prepping for the English portion of the ACT can be broken down into a few key steps. To help you with grammar and punctuation questions, here are some tried-and-true strategies:

1. Familiarize yourself with the basic grammar rules: Make sure you understand core concepts, such as subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, pronoun agreement, and modifiers. A solid understanding of these concepts will help you tackle the majority of grammar questions.

2. Learn the essential punctuation rules: The ACT English portion will test your knowledge of commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, and apostrophes. Review the appropriate uses of each punctuation mark and practice identifying incorrect usage in sentences.

3. Practice active reading: As you read through each passage, ask yourself what the main idea is and how the author is trying to convey it. Try to anticipate questions the test might ask about the passage's organization, style, or tone. This will help you understand the overall context of the passage, which can be helpful for grammar questions.

4. Create a study schedule: Consistently practicing with ACT English materials is crucial to improving your score. Set aside specific times each week to review grammar rules, punctuation rules, and practice questions. This will make it easier to retain information and build your testing muscles.

5. Use official test materials and practice tests: It's important to practice with real ACT test materials whenever possible. Official test materials and practice tests will give you the most accurate sense of the types and difficulty of questions you'll see on the actual exam.

6. Review your practice tests: After you complete a practice test, go through the questions you missed or were unsure about, and analyze your mistakes. This will help you identify your weak areas and focus your studying on those concepts.

7. Develop a time management strategy: Aim to complete each passage in under 9 minutes to ensure you can finish the test within the allotted 45 minutes. Familiarize yourself with common question types, so you know which ones you can answer quickly and which ones might require more time.

Remember that practice is key for improving your ACT English score. Continuously reviewing grammar rules and punctuation concepts, as well as consistently working through practice questions, will help you develop a strong foundation to tackle the English portion of the ACT. Good luck!

2 years ago

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