ACT

Punctuation conventions tested on the ACT English section. Covers commas (series, introductory elements, nonessential clauses, coordinate adjectives), semicolons and colons, apostrophes (possession, contractions), dashes, and end punctuation.

Grammar and usage rules tested on the ACT. Covers subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, pronoun case, verb tense and form, commonly confused words, and idiomatic expressions.

Sentence formation and structure. Covers recognizing and correcting run-on sentences, fragments, misplaced and dangling modifiers, parallel structure, and subordination and coordination.

Rhetorical strategy and organization questions. Covers determining the purpose of a passage, organizing paragraphs logically, adding and deleting material, and choosing effective opening and closing sentences.

Style questions on the ACT English section. Covers word choice, tone, clarity, concision, avoiding redundancy, and selecting language appropriate for audience and purpose.

Pre-algebra fundamentals. Covers operations with integers, fractions, decimals, factors, multiples, divisibility, prime numbers, absolute value, exponents, square roots, and scientific notation.

Elementary algebra. Covers solving linear equations, simplifying expressions, solving linear inequalities, graphing on the number line, and translating word problems into algebraic expressions.

Intermediate algebra: quadratic equations and polynomials. Covers factoring, the quadratic formula, completing the square, polynomial operations, roots and zeros, and solving quadratic inequalities.

Advanced intermediate algebra. Covers function notation, domain and range, composite and inverse functions, matrices and matrix operations, logarithmic and exponential expressions, and complex numbers.

Coordinate geometry with lines. Covers plotting points, slope calculation, equations of lines (slope-intercept, point-slope, standard form), parallel and perpendicular lines, midpoint and distance formulas.

Coordinate geometry: conic sections and transformations. Covers circles, parabolas, ellipses, and hyperbolas in coordinate form, and geometric transformations (translations, reflections, rotations, dilations).

Plane geometry properties. Covers triangle properties (angle sum, Pythagorean theorem, similar triangles), quadrilaterals, polygons (interior/exterior angles), circles (radius, diameter, circumference, area, arcs, sectors), and angle relationships.

Trigonometry on the ACT. Covers right triangle trigonometry (sine, cosine, tangent), reciprocal functions, trigonometric identities, radian and degree measure, and the unit circle.

Core reading comprehension skills. Covers identifying the main idea, locating and interpreting explicitly stated details, determining the meaning of words in context, and summarizing passages.

Higher-order reading skills. Covers drawing inferences, identifying author’s tone and attitude, determining purpose and point of view, and analyzing how language choices create tone.

Test-taking strategies for the ACT Reading section. Covers passage types (prose fiction, social science, humanities, natural science), question type patterns, time management, active reading, and elimination strategies.

Interpreting scientific data. Covers reading tables, graphs (bar, line, scatter), charts, and diagrams; identifying trends and patterns; interpolating and extrapolating; and comparing data sets.

Understanding scientific experiments. Covers identifying hypotheses, variables (independent, dependent, controlled), controls, experimental design principles, and evaluating the validity and reliability of experiments.

Analyzing conflicting scientific viewpoints. Covers comparing competing hypotheses, identifying assumptions, evaluating evidence and reasoning, understanding scientific models, and distinguishing between theories and facts.