Lisa Zimmer Hatch - ACT For Dummies, with Online Practice Tests

ACT For Dummies, 6th Edition with Online Practice

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Copyright 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015935103

ISBN 978-1-118-91153-2 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-91140-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-91160-0 (ebk)

1. Table of Contents

Welcome to ACT For Dummies, 6th Edition with Online Practice. This is a nondiscriminatory, equal-opportunity book. Youre welcome to participate whether youre a genius or (like us) you need a recipe to make ice. Besides, the books title is not a slam at you. Youre not the dummy; the test is (and weve heard it called worse, believe us especially the Friday night before the exam).

The goal of this book is to show you exactly how to survive the ridiculous situation called the ACT. No matter how excellent your high school teachers are (or were), theyve prepared you for the real world, a world that, alas, has very little connection to the ACT. High school teachers can give you a good foundation in grammar, reading, science, and math skills (the areas tested on the ACT), but you may want to think of them as the friendly old GPs, the general practitioners whose job it is to keep you well and handle the little day-to-day problems. What do you do when you have a crisis, like the ACT, thats making you really sick? We like to think of ACT For Dummies, 6th Edition with Online Practice, as a loony but gifted specialist you can call when your situation becomes desperate.

No one wants to deal with the eccentric specialist for too terribly long. The goal of this book, just like the goal of the expert, is to come in with the Code Blue crash cart, deal with the situation, and then leave rapidly with as few lives destroyed as possible. This book has one goal: to prepare you for the ACT period. Were not here to teach you every grammar rule ever created or every math formula that Einstein knew. We dont include any extra filler material to make this book look fat and impressive on bookstore shelves. If you want a thick book to use as a booster seat for the vertically challenged, go find War and Peace. If youre looking for something that you can use to prepare you for the ACT as quickly and painlessly as possible, again we say to you, welcome to ACT For Dummies, 6th Edition with Online Practice.

You cant escape the ACT. Many colleges require you to take this entrance exam before theyll even look at your application. Virtually every college accepts scores from either the ACT or the SAT. (Wiley just so happens to publish SAT For Dummies as well, should you choose to take that exam.) Many students decide to take both tests to see which one they do better on. Is that a good idea? Absolutely. Even better, take practice tests for both (you can download a free full-length ACT from www.actstudent.org and a complete SAT from www.collegeboard.com) to see which one suits you best and then concentrate on just that test.

Many colleges emphasize ACT scores to compensate for grade inflation. That is, some high schools may give you an A for doing the same level of work that would gain you a C at other high schools. Because the ACT is the same for everyone (students nationwide take the exact same exam), colleges can use the scores to get inside your head and see whats really there. Think of this test as an opportunity, not a crisis: A good ACT score may overcome a low GPA. In just a few hours one fine Saturday morning, you can make up a little for a few mishaps in school.

In ACT For Dummies, 6th Edition with Online Practice, you find out what types of questions are on the exam, which questions you should work on carefully, and which ones youre better off guessing at quickly. (Good news: The ACT has no penalty for wrong answers, so guess at absolutely every question you dont know.) We also help you figure out which approach to use for each type of question, and, perhaps most importantly, we show you some traps that are built into each question style. Weve been test-prep tutors for many years and have developed a list of the gotchas that have trapped thousands of students over the years. We show you how to avoid being trapped, too.

This book is also full of the substantive information that you need to know, including grammar rules and geometry, algebra, and arithmetic formulas. Occasionally, we include some truly sick humor on the principle that, as youre groaning at our jokes, you wont notice that youre suffering from the questions. (Hey, as the mushroom said to his friends, Of course, everyone likes me. Im a fun-gi!)

Note to nontraditional students: The days of high school may be just a fading memory for you (along with your thin waistline and full head of hair). We recognize that not everyone taking the ACT is a high school junior or senior. Maybe you took a few years off to build your career or to nurture a family (or to pay your debt to society) and are now having to go back and review what you thought you had left behind years ago. As the Walrus said, I weep with you; I deeply sympathize. It can be totally frustrating to have to deal with the subjunctive or pluperfect or quadratic equations all over again. Postpone your nervous breakdown. Things arent as dismal as they look. Youll probably be surprised how quickly material comes back to you as you go through this book.