ACT Prep & College Writing Class Notes -- Week 6 (March 4)

 Greetings!

This week, as with every week, we covered a lot of ground.  We started with a Quick Write in which I asked the students to list the strategies that we had learned so far. It's important to continually review these so that they are at the students' "fingertips" when they take the test.

During the ACT Prep portion of today's class we continued to review for the Math portion of the test.  We reviewed basic strategies to be used for this test:  ballparking, POE (process of elimination), Plugging In, and Plugging in the Answers (PITA).  For each Math test question, students should follow the same Basic Approach:  1) Know the question; 2) Let the answers help; and 3) Break the problem into bite-sized pieces.  A challenge with a number of test questions is two-fold:  geometry questions combine algebraic reasoning, and many questions have so much information that they become word problems.  I added to Google Classroom a post with a number of helpful Math videos.  

Our College Essays topic this week included an review of the ACT Essay Test.  This test is structured differently than the SAT, but both of the tests are designed with the types of writing required in college in mind.  Rather than analyzing and evaluating the persuasive writing of a passage, students are given a topic that elicits multiple perspectives.  They are to develop their own perspective and then compare it with 3 other perspectives.  In the course of their writing, they are to support their viewpoints with details, logical arguments, and persuasive elements.  A basic outline for this essay would look like this:

I.  Introduction -- state the idea presented in the passage and give your perspective as a thesis statement

II.  Explain your perspective and back it up with  details, logical arguments, and persuasive elements

III.  Compare your perspective with the perspective that you mostly agree with.  Unpack that perspective to explain its strengths and weaknesses.

IV.   Compare your perspective with the perspective that you kind of agree with.  Unpack that perspective to explain its strengths and weaknesses.

V.   Compare your perspective with the perspective that you mostly disagree with.  Unpack that perspective to explain its strengths and weaknesses.

VI,  Conclusion -- Summarize the main points of the body and reassert your perspective.

This type of writing can be really challenging, so lots of practice is important.  The students have a take-home ACT test for next week, and we will continue to brainstorm and talk through multiple tests.

Have a great weekend!  The weather looks to be marvelous, so get some fresh air!!!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week:

• Read through Chapter 12

• Be an active reader and highlight important tips and/or information

• Flag or write questions about topics that need further review

• Read through the “Fun Facts” on p. 156 - 159

• Review the formulas on p. 160 - 161

• Review the vocabulary on p. 162

• Geometry Drill on p. 163 (Answers in Ch. 25 on p. 390)

• Read the Summary on 164 – 165

• Practice ACT Essay Exam #1 (I handed out Practice Exam #2, but it is not due)

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature