GRAMMAR & READING CHEAT SHEET " " 4-STEP READING METHOD! - " - " Step 1: Read the Blurb! Frame your mind" Adjust your mind-set to the current passage from the last passage." Anticipate how the passage will read." Will passage be touchy-feely and filled with emotional situations or factbased with straight, “black and white” info?" Step 2: Attack the Questions ! Read the questions but ignore the answer choices" The passage questions will give you an idea/direction of the story! ID the later (L) questions of the passage" Leave a trail in the margins for early (E) line/paragraph reference questions" Underline key words within question" Step 2 should take no more than 60 seconds (for both ACT & SAT)" Step 3: Skim and Take Quick Notes " - You should be able to read 10 lines in 10-20 seconds" - Use 2-3 key words to Quick Note the main idea of paragraph within margin" - Break up a long paragraph into smaller parts, if necessary" " Step 4: Attack the Answers! - When you run into early (E) questions, completely skim paragraph, then attack answers from the bottom up" - Cross out answers that are definitely wrong" - If stuck between two answers, go back to passage and shake out the best answer but don’t blow your pace" - “Guess and Go” when necessary" " " - " For Reading Passage Drills Homework! re-read and get very familiar with the 4-step method outlined above" time yourself 8.5mins (ACT timing) then pause" write down the number of questions you have left (to track your pacing)" time yourself with an additional 2.5mins (or 4.5mins for SAT timing)" when finished, circle the questions that gave you the most trouble." check your answers by using solutions to understand and improve 4-step method" your goal is to finish each passage in 8.5mins for ACT or 13mins for SAT" take a break then do another passage, if you can" Estimated time for completion: 10-15mins per passage including review 786-877-7231 www.AffordableCollegeSolutions.com" " 786-877-7231 GRAMMAR & READING CHEAT SHEET 4 COMMA RULES TO KNOW" 1. Lists *see sources below 2. Introductory Clause Although they may be ugly, your toes look strong. Though his breath was so stank, he still found a date to the prom. 3. Separation of 2 Complete Sentences I am smart. I am cool. Yes, ok. I am smart; I am cool. Yes, ok. Semi-colon = Period I am smart, I am cool. No Can Do. Needs one of the FANBOYS! I am smart, FOR I am cool. Yes, ok. I am smart, AND I am cool. Yes, ok. I am smart, NOR I am cool. Yes, ok. I am smart, BUT I am cool. Yes, ok. I am smart, OR I am cool. Yes, ok. I am smart, YET I am cool. Yes, ok. I am smart, SO I am cool. Yes, ok. 4. Unnecesssary Info in Middle or End of Sentence I drove my car. I drove my car to the store. I drove my car, which was a black Cadillac. I drove my car, which was a big Cadillac, to the store. I drove my car - which was a big Cadillac - to the store. I drove my car (which was a big Cadillac) to the store. I ate the entire pizza, wolfing and slobbering it like a hungry dawg. Thousands of people line H Street. * sources: The Princeton Review’s Cracking the ACT, Sister Anne, and my mama It’s the beginning of February, and as they do every year, thousands of people line H Street, the heart of Chinatown in Washington, DC. 786-877-7231 www.AffordableCollegeSolutions.com" " 786-877-7231
