ACT: The Language of the Test: The Language of the Test, List 1

When you see the word suggest on a standardized test, it usually means "to imply or to indirectly say something." You'll see this commonly used in questions about what a passage or author most strongly suggests.

To define a word is to give its meaning. Define can also mean to make something that is confusing a little clearer. On some parts of the ACT you will be asked to define specific words in reading passages.

When you describe something, you are using language to create a representation in the mind of your reader. You could describe an apple as "round" or "red," and you could describe a character's emotional state as "amused" or "angry." On the ACT, you may be asked to pick a word or phrase that best describes a character or event.

When something is relevant, it relates to the issue that you are discussing. Its opposite is irrelevant, "not important; not related to the topic at hand." Relevant details help support an argument, while irrelevant information is simply distracting.

Context refers to the surrounding textual "environment" where something (usually a word or phrase) is found. For example, you will only be asked for a word's meaning in the context of a particular passage. That means you should not rely on prior knowledge; instead, you need to figure out what the word means in the particular sentence or passage on the test.

An argument is a text or reading passage that advances a claim and supports that claim with evidence.

On the ACT, claim most likely refers to an author's main argument — what the writer is trying to persuade you to believe. There could be more than one claim in an argument, but the reading passages on the ACT will most likely have one central (or main) claim that is supported by different types of evidence.

When a writer builds an argument or makes a claim, he or she may also reference a counterclaim that makes an opposing point — and then offer evidence intended to persuade you that the counterclaim is not compelling or relies on faulty logic.

A counterargument is essentially the same as a counterclaim. For example, if you are arguing for year-round school, you may include a counterargument about how others think summer vacation is important. Then, you could refute that counterargument by explaining that many teenagers get in trouble over summer break.

Evidence is not just the stuff you collect at a crime scene. On standardized tests, textual evidence is information that supports an argument's central claim. It could take the form of examples, statistics, facts, etc. Sometimes you will answer a question, and the next question will ask you to identify the evidence that led you to that previous conclusion or answer.

Your perspective is your point of view; it's how you see something. On the ACT Reading Test, you may be asked to interpret a writer's perspective (or a narrator's perspective) on an issue.

When you have to choose between several things, we say that you have a bunch of options. Having options means having the freedom to pick one or the other. On the ACT, option is a word that will likely show up in the test direction. Each multiple choice question stem is followed by several options, and you have to choose the option that best answers the question.