Common Mistakes
You can avoid the mistake of overlooking key words by doing this.
What is reading carefully, underlining or circling key words?
This is the definition of a distractor.
What is a way that a question or potential answers are phrased so as to trick a student who is not paying close attention?
Each occupation has its own ______; bankers, lawyers, and computer professionals, for example, all use among themselves language which outsiders have difficulty following.
A. merits, B., disadvantages, C. rewards, D. jargon, E. problems
What is D. jargon?
This is the purpose of the ACT.
What is an entrance exam which measures college readiness + provides schools with a common data point to compare all applicants?
You can avoid the mistake of not verifying the correct answer choice with what’s stated in the passage by doing this.
What is using sign posts/ locating the details in the passage that support your answer choice?
This may be accurate, but it isn’t directly answering the specific question.
What is accurate but not answering?
_________ by nature, Jones spoke very little even to his own family members.
A. garrulous, B. equivocal, C. taciturn, D. arrogant, E. gregarious
What is C. taciturn?
These are the four sections on the ACT exam.
What is English, Math, Science, and Reading (Writing is optional)?
You can avoid the mistake of failing to carefully read and/ or overlooking an answer choice by doing this.
What is answer the question in your head before looking at the suggested answers?
This answer is plausible, but it’s not directly stated. It is just speculation, and there is a stronger answer with actual evidence in the passage.
What is agreeable but not evidenced?
A businessman must widen his horizons; a ______ attitude will get you nowhere in this age of global communications.
A. moderate, B. petrified, C. parochial, D. diversified, E. comprehensive
What is C. parochial?
This is the max score a person can get on the ACT.
What is 36?
This is why you should not leave bubbles blank on the test (2 things).
What is even a random guess has a 1 in 4 chance of being correct, so you shouldn't skip + no deduction for incorrect answers?
This is when a given answer is the opposite of what is stated or it has misattributed a viewpoint.
What is an answer flip?
Plastic bags are _____ symbols of consumer society; they are found wherever you travel.
A. rare, B. ephemeral, C. ubiquitous, D. fleeting, E. covert
What is B. ephemeral?
This is the national average score.
What is 21?
This is the most common mistake made on the ACT.
What is accidentally marking the incorrect answer on the sheet?
These include language the same as or similar to what is stated in the passage, but it is twisted or modified in some small way.
What is a passage echo?
Scrooge, in the famous novel by Dickens, was a ______; he hated the rest of mankind.
A. misanthrope, B. hypochondriac, C. philanthropist, D. hedonist, E. sybarite
What is A. misanthrope?
This is Moberly High School's average ACT score.
What is 16.9?