ACT Dates for 2015-2016 and Summer Test Prep

Go to the URL below for all the information you need regarding ACT dates and registration deadlines. Do it as early as you can – you don’t want to be left out of the test center of your choice!

http://www.actstudent.org/regist/dates.html

You might wonder why, besides the fact that I make money from it, I am writing about test prep at the beginning of summer.  That’s a great question.  The reason is simple – you need to start practicing really early if you want to get a top score.  Math problem “tricks” are easier to learn a little at a time, and it’s

But perhaps the most important thing to practice over the summer is the verbal (you know, reading and writing, grammar, essay – I don’t mean it’s “Verbal” in that it’s administered orally) portion of the SAT or ACT. It is much easier to write a 25 or 30-minute essay if you’ve practiced multiple times, as I had to for English class in 10th and 11th grade.  Even writing blog entries can help, especially if you organize them well.  You really can’t learn very many new vocabulary words the night, or even the week, before the test. Memory doesn’t work that way, and my experience with verbal memory is that I remember words better as part of a story, joke, etc. In other words, learning new words in context makes a lot more sense than learning them as part of a huge word list in, say, the Barron’s SAT book, or reading a dictionary.

Don’t get me wrong- you really should use the Barron’s SAT book, and it’s word lists and flash cards because it does place them in sentences, but the words mean more to you if you learned them as part of something in your life. If you look up unfamiliar words when you are reading, you may be surprised as to their many meanings, the shades of meaning you didn’t know existed, and thus, learn something that will help you on the SAT or ACT.  The SAT people, in particular, LOVE to test the use of secondary, less-common meanings of common words to see if you know that meaning of the word.

You can even look up naughty words and find out they’re not necessarily as naughty as you thought. For example, try looking up “pervert” and “ejaculate” in a dictionary or on dictionary.com. You can even look up the “Seven Words You Can’t Say On Television” (If you’re not familiar with that routine, here’s a link to the best-known version from “Class Clown” – THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK OR SCHOOL - https://youtu.be/8dCIKqkIg1w ) and learn a little about their etymology (origins) and for classy, non-profane ways to say the same thing. For example, my brother and I called each other “highly contemptible person” for a while after looking up the definition of a common swear-word name people call each other. See – test prep can be fun!

Best of luck to you, and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have, or to set up tutoring sessions (hey, I have to make money too, you know? ;-) )