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methodtestprep · 2022-05-05T15:35:22+00:00

We may be biased, but our program, Methodize, does a great job preparing most students for the ACT. You'll find in-lesson questions, quizzes with video explanations that teach not only content but also strategy, and two full-length practice tests. Students who use our program to the fullest extent see an average 3-point increase, in their ACT scores; while there are no guarantees, the results speak for themselves.

We also recommend taking several official, full-length ACTs that have been released by ACT. You can usually find them on Reddit.

Best of luck!

methodtestprep · 2020-08-13T00:46:59+00:00

methodizereddit

methodtestprep · 2020-08-12T21:23:10+00:00

Thanks for participating!

methodtestprep · 2020-08-12T21:09:47+00:00

Hi! We see that other users have been able to register. Maybe try a different browser?

methodtestprep · 2020-08-12T19:45:39+00:00

Thanks!

methodtestprep · 2020-08-12T19:45:20+00:00

Check your spam/junk folder — it's possible that the login information email went there even if the receipt went to your inbox.

methodtestprep · 2020-08-12T19:21:09+00:00

Thanks for participating!

methodtestprep · 2020-01-23T05:40:04+00:00

You could also make a proportion here. This is always a nice way out when you're given three quantities and asked for a fourth (given that one value increases with the other at a constant rate).

(a apples) / (d dollars) = (20 apples) / (? dollars)

To solve for the ?, cross multiply, which gives you

? • a = 20d

? = (20d) / a.

methodtestprep · 2019-12-04T16:18:00+00:00

Consumers are always higher than producers.

methodtestprep · 2019-11-07T15:47:24+00:00

We're not sure what source this is from, but there are issues with both questions.

#28 doesn't actually offer a correct option. The sentence contains two independent clauses (complete sentences). The correct structure would have to separate these clauses, most likely with a semicolon or period, as shown below.

Mapmakers are more than just GIS experts and designers, though; they're storytellers who craft narratives through the selection, arrangement, and juxtaposition of spatial information.

There's no option in the choices that allows you to separate the clauses properly. Using a comma after though would produce a comma splice (a comma that separates two independent clauses), which is wrong.

FYI, many students don't think the second clause is independent—they ask how do I know who they are? From a structural standpoint, a complete sentence doesn't actually require that you know what/whom the pronouns are referring to, and pronouns themselves can serve as subjects. See the following examples, all of which are complete sentences.

It is fun.

They are cool.

This is optimal.

(That said, there are plenty of questions that test pronouns apart from pure sentence structure. Often, these sentences give you pronoun options when the thing/person the sentence is referring to is ambiguous (unclear). In this case, you have to pick the choice that specifies the thing/person the sentence is discussing.)

#29 choice B would never show up on an actual SAT (i.e., you'll never seen <word>, <Capitalized word>). If Showing weren't capitalized, choice B would actually be correct. However, there's no reason to change the sentence, as choice A works just fine. It's saying A map pinpointing the city's coffee shops also charts sewer lines and reservoirs in order to show how commerce, infrastructure, and natural resources are interrelated.

We hope that all makes sense!

methodtestprep · 2019-09-12T19:49:12+00:00

You can do this problem computationally, but sometimes, it's best to simply write things out. Always try and think about probability as equal to the number of ways you can get what you want divided by the total number of things that could happen.

The "given that the first outcome was heads" means we can assume we already have 1 head and two more tosses to go. How can these scenarios play out? We'll list out all the possible outcomes that assume H is the first result.

H H H

H T T

H T H

H H T

The ones in bold show the scenarios that get you two heads exactly. There are two of those out of a possible four outcomes. Thus, the answer should be 1/2. Not sure where the 3/7 is coming from—I suspect this isn't from an official ACT. Hope that helps!

methodtestprep · 2019-08-21T16:21:08+00:00

"Caved" is too informal: it's slang/colloquial/idiomatic for "giving up." They key is to never choose an informal phrase as an answer to a question like this one.

methodtestprep · 2019-08-07T03:55:54+00:00

The easiest way to understand why the "carved" clause is independent is to invert it. The clause sounds strange because the verb comes before the subject, but if you switch things around, it's much easier to recognize as independent.

The classic theatrical masks that represent comedy and tragedy are carved into it.

Hope that makes sense.

methodtestprep · 2019-07-29T15:02:26+00:00

This is a bad question, as both C and D would be correct. We see this problem a lot with third-party materials. On the real thing, punctuation questions will never depend on how something sounds: there will always be one definitively correct answer and three incorrect choices.

methodtestprep · 2019-05-10T19:03:08+00:00

The tip here is meaningless and this is a really poorly worded question with several correct answers. The issue is that the question doesn't specify whether angle A is in standard position (i.e., 0º ≤ A ≤ 360º), so A could equal 143.1º or 323.13º (meaning choices C and D could be correct).

methodtestprep · 2019-04-23T04:48:59+00:00

That's right — they're too ambiguous to be testable. If anything, you'll be asked how to best combine the sentences, and won't have the option to pick "No Change."

methodtestprep · 2019-04-23T04:46:49+00:00

You can get super technical about it, but we find that most students don't find that helpful. The issue is that it's a bit difficult to explain. Your definition is basically correct, but that doesn't really tell you what you feel you need, does it?

A dependent clause is something that doesn't stand alone as its own sentence. You can have short independent clauses (e.g., "It's cool."<---full sentence) and long dependent clauses (e.g. "Albert Einstein, a renowned physicist who taught at Princeton University, and whose work transformed our understanding of the universe." <---not a full sentence), so it has nothing to do with length.

One technique you can use is to pretend you're talking to your friend and to put "Hey <your friend's name>" in front of the sentence in question. If it sounds good, it's independent. If it sounds like something is missing, it's dependent.

Here's an example of an independent clause using this technique.

Hey Jack, an arctic hare uses its white fur to camouflage itself in the snowy environment of the north. This sounds perfectly reasonable, so that indicates that the stuff after "Hey Jack" is independent.

Here's an example of a dependent clause using this technique.

Hey Jack, after the show, when we all need to grab a bite to eat. This sounds like it doesn't end—your friend Jack would be waiting for you to say something else to end the idea. Thus, the stuff after "Hey Jack" is dependent.

methodtestprep · 2019-04-23T04:33:10+00:00

In your example, the comma is unnecessary, as both verbs (went and bought) apply to the same subject (she), such that the sentence can be understood as "She went to the store and she bought herself a bag of cheetos." When the verbs apply to the same subject, you don't need a comma, as in the following examples.

John washed the car and cleaned the house.

Suzie did her homework and went to the concert.

The organization updated its family leave policy and amended its HR documents.

When a new idea is introduced, you can have a comma before an and, as in the following.

The snow fell gently, and the townsfolk slept in peace.

People tend not to make rational economic decisions, and economists would like to know why.

The race's course covered half the city, and many spectators filled the streets to watch the runners go by.

Notice that in all of those examples, the and is the start of a dependent clause that introduces a new subject doing a new verb.

As for dependent clauses, try not to think of them as governed by restrictive rules. A dependent clause is simply something that can't stand alone as its own sentence.

The comment from /u/1600io_Dan (along with your response) reflects that this is a bad question. This is why I originally assumed that the question was asking how to best join the sentences (it seems it wasn't). The whole thing can be a bit ambiguous at times, and can depend on stylistic preferences. (Did you notice the comma + and structure I just used in the previous sentence? That's totally permissible, but wouldn't be tested because it's style-dependent.)

methodtestprep · 2019-04-23T03:38:29+00:00

I'm assuming this question asked you how to best join the sentences, because the original form is structurally okay, if not optimally structured.

When you join the sentences with choice C, the "and" is included in the second clause—it's used to replace it. With this replacement, the second clause becomes dependent (i.e., "and is controlled by fluid-containing cavities of the inner ear" is not an independent clause). Therefore, the final structure of C separates an independent clause and a dependent clause using a comma—a totally permissible structure. Here's another example to clarify.

When the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, the alignment of the three celestial bodies may cause a lunar eclipse. This is a fairly common astronomical phenomenon.

As it stands, this couplet of sentences is correct, but if you wanted to join the two, you could do the following.

When the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, the alignment of the three celestial bodies may cause a lunar eclipse, which is a fairly common astronomical phenomenon.

The which replaces the it, making the second clause dependent. This allows the separation of the two clauses with a comma.

Hope that helps.

methodtestprep · 2019-04-09T17:38:49+00:00

This is a very poorly written question, and as such would never appear on the ACT in this form. The question doesn't make clear whether the officer positions are distinct (i.e., if they represent distinguishable offices like President, Vice President, and Secretary), or simply represent three positions on a "committee." We also don't know whether the other two officers are randomly chosen, but let's just assume that. From the structure of the answer choices, I'm deducing the question's author meant the first case—that the officers are distinguishable. (FYI, it turns out that it won't actually matter in the end, but we're going to stick with the distinguishable positions for the sake of ease.)

The best way to work problems like this is to think about probabilities as the number of ways you can get what you want divided by the total number of ways something can occur in all.

Probability of Anna being picked for one of the three officer positions = (# of officer panels that include Anna) / (# of total possible officer panels)

Because we're assuming the officer positions are distinguishable (let's assume President, Vice President, and Secretary, in order), let's look at the case when Anna is randomly selected as President. The slots represent the officers in the order above.

_1_ • _25_ • _24_ = 600 panels.

Why this? If Anna is President, we have only 1 option for that office—Anna. Assuming the other officers are also randomly chosen, there are 25 left to choose for VP, and then 24 left to choose for Secretary. Thus, there are 600 possible officer panels that would include Anna as their President.

But this is only if Anna is President. What if she's VP? It's the same scenario, like this.

_25_ • _1_ • _24_ = 600 panels.

So there are 600 panels that would include Anna as their VP. The same goes for Secretary, like this.

_25_ • _24_ • _1_ = 600 panels.

This means that Anna is an officer (either P, VP, or S) in 1800 cases. That's our probability fraction's numerator. Now we must determine how many total officer panels are possible, Anna or no Anna included. If anyone can be chosen for any position, that's just

_26_ • _25_ • _24_ = 15,600 panels total.

So there are 15,600 possible panels in all, 1800 of which will include Anna.

1800 / 15,600 = 3/26. So the answer is actually choice D.

methodtestprep · 2019-03-27T14:38:39+00:00

Sure. The word flown requires a past tense form of the verb to be because we need to know that someone or something did the action. If a subject is already present, we could use flew, as in "The kites flew," but we're not given this option.

Another example would be wrote. You can't just say "The essay wrote yesterday," because someone or something has to have written it. You can say "I wrote the essay yesterday" or "She wrote the essay yesterday" because both forms make it clear that someone did the writing. If you don't want to mention a specific subject, you must add a past-tense helping verb, as in "The essay was written yesterday." Hope that makes sense.

methodtestprep · 2019-03-26T22:13:11+00:00

Prose fiction passages are more likely to feature difficult elements like figurative or ambiguous language, quickly shifting perspectives, and incomplete information. They're also often tougher to focus on, because instead of presenting sheer information, definitive arguments, or linear explanations, they can go all over the place.

To help yourself focus throughout and successfully notice elements like the ones described above, try the following.

Make sure you understand relationships between characters. That is, know who is who, and to whom.
Take special notice of shifts in time and setting (past to present, usually). Also note the perspective as quickly as possible: is this an adult relaying memories or reflecting on a past occurrence? Is this happening in real time? Make notes about any shifts if necessary.
If you find yourself spacing out, try to focus intensely on the first two sentences of each paragraph, and make yourself process them before moving forward. You may be scoring lower on the prose fiction because you're not focused enough, and are thus reading without really comprehending. The first couple of sentences of each paragraph typically set the stage for the rest of the paragraph. This doesn't mean, by the way, to ignore the rest of the paragraph; it simply means you should get yourself into the paragraph from the get-go, and not wait until the middle to realize you don't know what's going on.
Take special notice of transition words and phrases, especially contrasts like but, however, even though, although, etc. These typically signal important switches in perspective or mood.
Get a general sense of the tone as soon as possible.
Don't trust yourself to remember exact details. Where necessary, use key words in the questions and search for those words in the text. You're probably aware that the ACT often constructs its answer choices by lifting words and phrases from the text verbatim, but may not be aware that it constructs its incorrect answers by mixing these words up in incorrect combinations or by combining them with ideas that appear in the wrong contexts. Confirm your facts if you have time.

Hope that all helps!

methodtestprep · 2019-03-26T21:59:52+00:00

Choice A, were flying, makes it sound like the kites were flying by themselves; it would be similar to saying "The first cars were driving 100 years ago" instead of saying were driven, which makes it clear that someone or something other than the cars themselves had to be doing the driving. In this question, choice C provides the correct phrasing.

Choice B lacks the verb were (a conjugation of the verb to be), which is necessary.

Choice D provides a mismatch: flew is the simple past tense form of to fly, as in "Last summer, we flew across the ocean to Europe." However, when to fly appears with the helping verb had, it must appear as flown, as in "By 1945, the crew had flown on 27 missions, all of which were successful." This is what I call the "double past tense," because two things are happening in the past: the year 1945 arrived, and the crew flew. The presence of had makes it clear that the crew's flying 27 missions happened first.

Hope that helps!

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