Ivy Bridge 

General Information About The ACT 

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What is the ACT?
 

The ACT is a test used by college/university admissions offices to more quickly evaluate among the many applicants whether enrolling a student is desirable for their institutions.  The test is significant but not the only factor taken into consideration; GPA, extracurricular work and experience, background as well as the application itself-- essays and recommendation letters-- are all part of the decision making process.  Each school values these factors differently, but generally the larger the school the more important the test score.  

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The ACT uses composite scoring.  What’s that?

 

• The scores from the four multiple-choice tests are averaged to get a composite score. The Writing Test plays no role in the composite score.

• Your score report features all of the sub-scores (and their sub-scores!), but admissions really only values the big score.  If you really want to understand the full complexities of ACT scoring, go to our ACT scoring page. 

 

So composite scoring means that means that you can use your strengths to make up for your weaknesses.  For example, a student with a 36 on the Math section and a 16 on the English section would seemingly have a respectable 26 on both.

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When Should The ACT Be Taken For The First Time?

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Since you may take the test up to 12 times and you only need to send in your best score, there are few downsides to taking the test early.  The time and effort to sign up and sit through it and the potential to hurt the confidence of a student too young are possible disadvantages.  However, nothing in practice can replicate the experience of seriously sitting for an official test.  Therefore, Ivy Bridge recommends attempting the ACT as early as June after freshman year of high school and no later than Autumn of junior year (must be taken by Autumn senior year or many universities deadlines will be missed).  If you are planning to apply to one of these schools which superscore your ACT, it is even a greater advantage to take it many times.  However, you shouldn't completely dismiss sections in attempt to focus on improving specific section scores, as large score fluctuations could raise red flags. Another reason to be wary of neglecting a section is that most schools, even those that superscore, request to see all your scores.  International test dates are in September, October, December, April, and June. 

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What Is Tested?

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The ACT is divided into five sections that always appear in the same order: English-75 min 60 questions, Math-60 min 60 questions, Reading-35 min 40 questions, Science-35 min 40 questions, Writing-40 min 1 essay. 

• the English section tests editing passages (grammar rules & style)

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• the Math section tests mathematical skills (any 4 function or graphing calculator is permitted, except)

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• the Reading section tests reading comprehension and author’s intention

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• the Science section tests reading comprehension and data reasoning 

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• the Writing section consists of an essay. 

 

See examples of each type: English, Math, Reading, Science, Writing INCLUDE BACK LINK

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How Do I Find My Target Score?

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Your target score is based on three things:  Which institutions you want to attend, your current score, and how much meaningful time you put in to improving.  

• What is the mean score of admitted students for the last few years at the schools to which you want to apply?  Consider your other factors like GPA and extracurricular résumé when evaluating the average score range

• Have you taken a test or practice test?  How did you feel about it?​

       If you did well and felt good on any sections, you may be at or near your target score​.  If you felt bad and did               poorly, you may have a lot of room for progress (unless language is an issue)

• Based on your schedule, how much meaningful time can you devote to test preparation?

       Meaningful time is concentrating on practicing the right way and giving your best effort.  Learning anything takes

        time and practice and obviously, the more time and effort the better the results.​

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 ​​​​Your Target Score should be in the range of the most competitive school in which you are seriously interested, given that based on the previous questions, you have a legitimate change of hitting that score.

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I Want A Concrete Answer!!! What should my target score be?

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There are so many variables, like the biggest one of all--the uniqueness of each student--, that it is impossible to make any definitive formula.  However, Ivy Bridge can give an estimate

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Is it possible to go from [x] ACT score to [y] ACT score in [z] amount of time?

First, in terms of ACT composite score increases, these are the basic possibilities, which of course will vary based on personal factors:

1-2 points: Very doable. Your main obstacle is likely test-taking strategy and a few small content issues.
3-5 points: Doable, but you will have to devote more study hours to accomplish this increase.
6-8 points: Possible, but it will take some very serious studying and commitment. You likely will have to address some content deficits in addition to practicing.
8+: This will really depend on your situation and time available for studying. You will likely have to address some serious content deficits before you focus on improving your test-taking strategy. 

Those possibilities aside, whether you can actually achieve your desired increase depends simply on this: how many hours can you devote to studying? Even if you're just aiming for a small 2-point increase, you have to devote time to studying to actually meet your goal. There are no shortcuts!

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With that in mind, this is an estimate of the amount of hours you will need to accomplish ACT composite point increases:

0-1 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 10 hours
2-3 ACT Point Improvement: 20 hours
4-5 ACT Point Improvement: 40 hours
5-6 ACT Point Improvement: 80 hours
6-9 ACT Point Improvement: 150 hours+

Again, these are just estimates, and the time you need will vary based on your own personal strengths and weaknesses.  The Ivy Bridge class is 20 hours with an expected 20 hours of homework.  

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How Do I Study And How Long Do I Need To Prep?

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A guideline for how long to study is above.  Ivy Bridge has three fundamentals with an 8 point attack.  Click here for a full explanation of our system.

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Fundamentals

1.  Master the concepts tested

2.  Master the strategies that beat the test

3.  See the test through the eyes of the test architects

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8 Point Attack Plan for each subject

• Global Strategies

• Introduce Essential Material

• Drill The Subject Matter

• Exposure To Their Tricks

• Specific Strategies To Beat Their Tricks

• Be The Test Maker

• Homework

• Break The Block

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Above is the general method of Ivy Bridge Preparation.   Let's see examples by section of how the test tries to trick you and how we help you.

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English Editing Writing:  This section primarily tests a students’ knowledge of the rules of English grammar.  Although secondary, it also tests their ability to make stylistic decisions.  There are many rules tested, but certain rules are tested far more than others.  In addition to the knowledge of grammar, there are of course tricks that the test makers use.  Two of the most popular are relying on a colloquial fault and changing the meaning of the sentence.

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How does the test trick you?

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The English section employs many tricks, the primary two of which are playing on what sounds correct to the test taker when spoken but is not correct grammatically and separating the tested concept from what is important with long, irrelevant information.  Additionally, the test uses idioms, spelling errors (diction), and almost completely correct answers to trap students. 

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How do we help?

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Ivy Bridge ensures that students know all the tested grammar rules, the frequency of each and how to recognize when certain rules are tested.  We expose them to every type of style question and how to tackle edit these properly.  Of course, there are strategies for elimination such as when two answers are essentially the same or which kinds of answers to favor when asked how an author perceives his/her piece: to change, add, subtract or make a point.  For example

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The painting was awfully charming and, despite the enormous price tag, five-thousand-mile journey, and painfully long, rigorous authentication process, would nicely compliment the Guggenheim's* collection.  Just moments after first hanging on the wall, the public excitedly poured in to view it.  Le Parfain’s masterpiece always drew crowds: Rome, Paris, Santiago, and Sydney were packed.  

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*art museum in Bilbao, Spain. Outside knowledge will not be needed to answer questions in the English or Reading sections.

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What are the subject and verb of the first sentence?  Notice the filler between them.  There are 2 errors in the first two sentences, can you spot them?

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Of course, the ACT is a multiple choice test and will provide possible answers.  Ivy Bridge shows them how to take advantage of this fact. 

11.

Which of the following substitutions to the underlined portion would be NOT acceptable? 

  Is the sentence correct as written?  Yes… therefore

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A.  crowds—    The dash is no different from the colon on the ACT so it must be correct also

B.  crowds;       The semi-colon and period are also grammatically equivalent on the ACT.  Can you have two right              answers? 

C. crowds.       No.  So therefore if two answers are essentially the same, they must both be wrong.

D.  crowds,     Commas, despite how we use them in our electronic messages to indicate where we would pause                                                                   while speaking , cannot separate two complete ideas. 

 

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12.

Suppose the writer had chosen to write a brief paragraph on how paintings have become popular attractions.

Would this paragraph successfully fulfill the writer’s goal? 

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F. Yes, because the paragraph indicates that painting has an international following. 

G. Yes, because the paragraph cites the excitement of the public.

H. No, because the paragraph discusses only one painting.

J. No, because the paragraph implies that paintings have always been popular attractions.

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The errors in the first two sentences are that 'compliment' when spelled this way is incorrect.  A painting cannot give a compliment either written, spoken or otherwise.  It can, however, complEment a collection.  The second error comes from the way we speak naturally.  Of course we know the public is not hanging on the wall, but as the sentence is written, they are doing just that.... or I should say it, the public, is doing just that.  Lastly, question 12 is an editing question, not a proofreading one.   Have a 'yes' or 'no' in your mind before you read the options so you only have to deal with two answers because they can be tricky and convincing.  The question is also tricky in this case, conflating the plural paintings with a singular painting.  Answer H.

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Math:   The questions at the beginning of this section test basic math knowledge with few tricks.  The middle ones also test basic math knowledge, yet with many tricks.  The end of the section has the hard questions which are difficult due to tricks, higher level math concepts tested and time consumption.  

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How does it trick you?

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Answers that are correct if a common careless error is made, have a lot of vocabulary and wording in the question, misdirection in what the question is asking for and misleading figures (usually not drawn to scale).

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How do we help?

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Many students who are great at math still miss easy or medium questions because of the trap answers; the student knows the basic math required from the question but then falls for the trick built into the question, answers or both.  Ivy Bridge not only teaches how to avoid the traps, but also how to minimize the time it takes to answer the questions by looking at the questions strategically (big picture) first and eliminating wrong answers.  For example: 

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11.

In the figure above, what is the product of the middle length side and perimeter if one side has length n which is the sum of the first two consecutive  non negative even integers and the other sides' lengths the next two consecutive integers greater than n?

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A. 27

B. 48

C. 504

D. 576

E.  Cannot be determined from the information given

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• Did you waste time multiplying big numbers?

• Did you struggle with any vocabulary or the complexity of the question?

• Did you read the question the way they wanted you to?

• The answer is A.  

• Product means to multiply, the perimeter is the distance around the figure, sum means to add, consecutive means in a patterned order, non-negative means zero or greater than zero, and even means divisible by 2.   

• 0+2=2  This is side n

• The next two consecutive integers are 3 and 4, the sides of the middle and long sides respectively.  (not consecutive even integers! they are tricky so read carefully!)

• The perimeter is 2+3+4=9

• 9x3(the middle side length)=27

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12.  In the figure above, what is the area of the triangle if the length of side n is 2 and middle length side is 3?

F. 27

G. 48

H. 504

J. 576

K. Cannot be determined from the information given

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Not drawn to scale, but cannot lie about a right angle if it is marked.  Answer is K because the height is unknown.

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The ACT has 5 answer choices for their math multiple choice and they alternate from A-E on odd numbered questions to F-G-H-J-K on even numbered questions.  (The SAT only has 4 answer choices on the multiple choice math section.)

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Reading Reading Comprehension:  This section is based on a variety of skill evaluations such as the ability to recognize key points, make generalizations from the evidence, decide what evidence supports a conclusion, occasionally extrapolating data from charts & graphs and considering the author’s intentions.

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How does the test trick you?

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The passages are not nearly as difficult as those on graduate school exams like the MCAT, GRE, LSAT and GMAT.  Therefore, test makers confuse the student and use his/her limited time with some trick questions and many types of trick answers like part-right part-wrong, true-but-unrelated, outside the line range of the question, too literal, too specific or too general, extreme language, and recycled language.  

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How do we help?

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Many competitors can over a long period of time improve a student’s reading comprehension (and other basics)  using traditional approaches and copious repetitive drills.  Ivy Bridge will improve the student’s reading comprehension ability with a variety of the best methods and most efficient tactics.  Additionally, Ivy Bridge focuses heavily on test taking strategy.  We are the experts at pointing out each type of trap so that the student can systematically recognize and avoid them.  Of course, we also show what good answer choices look like—Must be true using broad, inoffensive, and/or synonymic language.  And in terms of global strategy, Ivy Bridge instructs students how to master the passage’s material quickly and manage the question order so the student has the time he/she needs to process and eliminate the trap answers, ultimately making the best selection.

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3.  The description of the boy in lines  (32-36) imply that he initially viewed love as  Tricky question; focus on the word 'initially' 

a) decent

b) emotional

c) amazing

d) exciting

 

 

5. The boy’s reaction to the old man is best described as being:

A. tense but rapt.  part right part wrong... rapt is extreme language in this case

B. uneasy but fascinated.

C. harsh and unyielding.

D. scientific and critical。

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10. The main purpose of lines 52–57 is to show how the old man: Author's intention.   question
F. became an avid collector of discarded objects. too literal; usually too literal is wrong for another reason too so they can defend their answer.  In this case, the goldfish wasn't discarded.  But for reading comprehension it is important to note that the main purpose here is about his learning to love
G. realized loving a woman first is difficult true, but not found in these lines
H. began to develop his science. Broad and soft
J. meditated cautiously and graduated from Portland  Recycled Language- uses words from the passage that don't maintain the meaning

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Science:  This section has a variety of visual data and verbal evidence that test student’s ability to analyze and synthesize information with little (but not zero) outside scientific knowledge.  The 6-8 experiments/trials/scientific explanations and 4-6 questions relating to them are not created equal:  some problems, graphs, charts, and reading are significantly easier than others. 

 

How does it trick you?

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Getting you to waste your time on complicated pictorial information, confusing wording, one word in a long question that changes everything (i.e. reciprocal or difference), providing seemingly correct answers based on the student looking at the wrong variable and overly technical verbal information.

 

How do we help?

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First, to make sure that all the basic outside scientific knowledge, which is a small amount, is known.  Time management, experiment selection, quick correlation comprehension, understanding and translating the graphical and written data, and quick answer elimination.

For example:

 

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Passage VI (No Visuals)

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And while the students will be taught how to more quickly and accurately solve problems like the above, they will be encouraged to begin with a more simple Passage like the following that has only a short paragraph and one table; the table is clear, has relatively little data and obvious relationships.  Additionally, most of the questions are short with short answers and none of the questions have additional pictorial information as happens often.

 

 

 

In the one problem that does have long answers, students would not need to read the entirety of them: The first word confirms or eliminates the answer as possible.  Is it slower or faster? Bam, 2 answers gone immediately.   Then only need to focus on one other word, bigger or smaller?  Now the students have just answered the easiest passage quickly and accurately, saving time for more difficult ones like those above. 

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Writing:

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How does it trick you?

No real tricks here, but beware not to deviate too far or try to write what you believe instead of what is easiest to defend.  

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How do we help?

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In the same way we teach all of our sections, we instruct the students on how to develop their skills as well as see the test from the test maker's point of view.  To that end, they will learn how to both write good essay as well as  grade essays in order to understand how to score as high as possible

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Grammar tested

Math tested

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