ACT: The Language of the Test: The Language of the Test, List 6

When something is accurate, it is correct. The ACT Reading Test may ask you to decide which sentence could most improve a passage. But you don't need to evaluate whether the information in each sentence is true; you're just considering the effects that adding each sentence would have on the passage. For this reason, the test instructions will assure you that "all the choices are accurate."

When you approximate something, you make an educated guess about its size or amount. An approximate number is one that is close to the real value, but may not be exact. On the ACT Math Test and Science Test, you may be asked to give approximate answers, which means you will be expected to round. A question might ask something like "Approximately how many times greater is quantity X than quantity Y."

When you accomplish something, you achieve it. A question on the ACT Reading Test might ask you how an author accomplishes his or her purpose. This word is related to accomplishments, or things that you have achieved in your life.

Information refers to the facts and data we have on a topic. Information is not limited to words or descriptions, but can also be taken from statistics, graphs, and charts. On the ACT, information can be presented to you in any of its many forms, and you will have to use and interpret that information. Resist the temptation to rely on background knowledge — the test will provide you with the information you need to answer the questions.

A fact is a piece of information about something that actually took place. Facts can be used to support a theory about something in the world, as a type of evidence. On the ACT, you may be asked to identify facts in a reading passage that support a specific conclusion you have drawn or to support a central claim in an argument.

Factors are things that matter in what you are considering. You may also see the word factor used to mean "cause." For example, you may be asked to identify one of the factors that contributed to a specific outcome.

When something doesn't stay the same, we say that it varies. To vary is to change. In a science experiment, the quantity that varies, or changes, is called a variable.

Psychics claim to predict the future, which means they say they can tell you what is going to happen in advance, before it actually happens. We predict that you will see the word predict on the ACT Reading Test, most likely in an answer option.

On the ACT you will examine the similarities and differences between two ideas or two passages, and when you do this, you compare them.

Likely is one of those words test writers love to use, including ACT test writers. It usually shows up in the expression most likely. For example, you may see a question like "On which of the following points would the authors of both passages most likely agree?" You can't talk to the authors and definitely find out the answer, so you are expected to make an educated guess based on the evidence in the passages.

A paragraph is a few sentences about one particular aspect of the general topic in a reading passage. You can easily spot a paragraph, because it is usually indented. Questions on the ACT Reading Test may refer to a particular paragraph in a passage or ask you to look at specific lines within a paragraph.

When you include something, you incorporate it into a larger something. You may be asked why an author most likely chose to include certain details in his or her argument; it will be your job to infer why that decision was made. The opposite of include is exclude, which means rule out or prevent from joining.