ACT

English

Six elements of effective writing are included in the English Test: punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, strategy, organization, and style. The questions covering punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure make up the Usage/Mechanics subscore. The questions covering strategy, organization, and style make up the Rhetorical Skills subscore.
Usage/Mechanics
· Punctuation (13%). Questions in this category test your knowledge of the conventions of internal and end-of-sentence punctuation, with emphasis on the relationship of punctuation to meaning (for example, avoiding ambiguity, indicating appositives).

· Grammar and Usage (16%). Questions in this category test your understanding of agreement between subject and verb, between pronoun and antecedent, and between modifiers and the word modified; verb formation; pronoun case; formation of comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs; and idiomatic usage.

· Sentence Structure (24%). Questions in this category test your understanding of relationships between and among clauses, placement of modifiers, and shifts in construction.
Rhetorical Skills
· Strategy (16%). Questions in this category test how well you develop a given topic by choosing expressions appropriate to an essay's audience and purpose; judging the effect of adding, revising, or deleting supporting material; and choosing effective opening, transitional, and closing sentences.

· Organization (15%). Questions in this category test how well you organize ideas and judge the relevance of statements in context (making decisions about order, coherence, and unity).

· Style (16%). Questions in this category test how well you select precise and appropriate words and images, maintain the level of style and tone in an essay, manage sentence elements for rhetorical effectiveness, and avoid ambiguous pronoun references, wordiness, and redundancy.

Math

In the Mathematics Test, three subscores are based on six content areas: pre-algebra, elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, coordinate geometry, plane geometry, and trigonometry.
Pre-Algebra/Elementary Algebra
· Pre-Algebra (23%). Questions in this content area are based on basic operations using whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and integers; place value; square roots and approximations; the concept of exponents; scientific notation; factors; ratio, proportion, and percent; linear equations in one variable; absolute value and ordering numbers by value; elementary counting techniques and simple probability; data collection, representation, and interpretation; and understanding simple descriptive statistics.

· Elementary Algebra (17%). Questions in this content area are based on properties of exponents and square roots, evaluation of algebraic expressions through substitution, using variables to express functional relationships, understanding algebraic operations, and the solution of quadratic equations by factoring.
Intermediate Algebra/Coordinate Geometry
· Intermediate Algebra (15%). Questions in this content area are based on an understanding of the quadratic formula, rational and radical expressions, absolute value equations and inequalities, sequences and patterns, systems of equations, quadratic inequalities, functions, modeling, matrices, roots of polynomials, and complex numbers.

· Coordinate Geometry (15%). Questions in this content area are based on graphing and the relations between equations and graphs, including points, lines, polynomials, circles, and other curves; graphing inequalities; slope; parallel and perpendicular lines; distance; midpoints; and conics.
Plane Geometry/Trigonometry
· Plane Geometry (23%). Questions in this content area are based on the properties and relations of plane figures, including angles and relations among perpendicular and parallel lines; properties of circles, triangles, rectangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids; transformations; the concept of proof and proof techniques; volume; and applications of geometry to three dimensions.

· Trigonometry (7%). Questions in this content area are based on understanding trigonometric relations in right triangles; values and properties of trigonometric functions; graphing trigonometric functions; modeling using trigonometric functions; use of trigonometric identities; and solving trigonometric equations.

Reading

SUBJECT AREAS COVERED….
· Social Studies (25%). Questions in this category are based on passages in the content areas of anthropology, archaeology, biography, business, economics, education, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology.

· Natural Sciences (25%). Questions in this category are based on passages in the content areas of anatomy, astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, ecology, geology, medicine, meteorology, microbiology, natural history, physiology, physics, technology, and zoology.

· Prose Fiction (25%). Questions in this category are based on intact short stories or excerpts from short stories or novels.

· Humanities (25%). Questions in this category are based on passages from memoirs and personal essays and in the content areas of architecture, art, dance, ethics, film, language, literary criticism, music, philosophy, radio, television, and theater.
WHAT ARE THEY ASKING YOU TO DO WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE/info ONCE YOU HAVE READ THE PASSAGE?
Specifically, questions will ask you to use referring and reasoning skills to:
§ determine main ideas
§ locate and interpret significant details
§ understand sequences of events
§ make comparisons
§ comprehend cause-effect relationships
§ determine the meaning of context-dependent words, phrases, and statements
§ draw generalizations
§ analyze the author's or narrator's voice and method

Science

The Science Test is a 40-question, 35-minute test that measures the skills required in the natural sciences: interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving.
The test presents seven sets of scientific information, each followed by a number of multiple-choice test questions. The scientific information is presented in one of three different formats:
§ data representation (graphs, tables, and other schematic forms)
§ research summaries (descriptions of several related experiments)
§ conflicting viewpoints (expressions of several related hypotheses or views that are inconsistent with one another)
The questions require you to:
§ recognize and understand the basic features of, and concepts related to, the provided information
§ examine critically the relationship between the information provided and the conclusions drawn or hypotheses developed
§ generalize from given information and draw conclusions, gain new information, or make predictions

Writing

The Writing Test is a 30-minute essay test that measures your writing skills—specifically those writing skills emphasized in high school English classes and in entry-level college composition courses.
The test consists of one writing prompt that will define an issue and describe two points of view on that issue. You are asked to respond to a question about your position on the issue described in the writing prompt. In doing so, you may adopt one or the other of the perspectives described in the prompt, or you may present a different point of view on the issue. Your essay score will not be affected by the point of view you take on the issue.

Outline composed by Leah L. Williams
Majority of content from ACTstudent.org