ACT Skills Review: Identify Purpose, Redundancy, Transitions, Word Choice

As the road lengthened behind me, the brilliant sun gave way to the inky night. Memories from my youth rapidly occupied the darkening emptiness. I saw my brother grinning before a cake at our parents’ house when I graduated high school. We feasted on brisket, latkes, and dozens of fresh figs. I can still see the two grinning faces next to my brother--Dad with his laughing eyes and Mom with her big white teeth showing as she smiled--both congratulating me on my success at beginning college in New York.

1. At the end of the paragraph, the author is considering adding the following true statement:

In Hebrew, mazel tov means “congratulations.”

Should the author make this addition here?

• Yes, because it clarifies what the narrator believes were his parents’ true emotions.

• Yes, because it supports the rest of the paragraph by explaining a Jewish tradition.

• No, because it distracts readers from the main focus of this paragraph.

• No, because it creates confusion between the narrator’s culture and his college choice.

The University of Notre Dame was established in 1842, but football didn’t come to the school until 1887. That year, University of Michigan paid a visit and taught students there how to play the game. Since then, Notre Dame has established itself as a premier athletic team, despite remaining outside any athletic conferences. The team claims eleven consecutive national championships and has the highest winning percentage in NCAA history. Unsurprisingly, many great football players began their careers at the University of Notre Dame.

The author is considering adding the following true information at the end of the previous sentence:

including Heisman winners Paul Hornung and Tim Brown

Should the writer add this phrase, assuming a comma would be placed after the word Dame?

• Yes, because it helps explain why 

  Notre Dame eliminated it’s football 

  program.

• Yes, because it adds evidence that 

  supports the sentence’s claim.

• No, because the addition diverts the 

  sentence’s focus on the university.

• No, because the level of detail added 

  isn’t consistent with the detail provided in the rest of the paragraph.

Joel Embiid was born and raised in Cameroon. The son of a military officer, he first held ambitious to be a professional volleyball player. However, at sixteen, Joel was discovered by Lue Mbah a Moute, a fellow Cameroonian, who encouraged him to try out for the National Basketball Association. Later, Joel moved to the United States to attend the University of Kansas. He left the university after only one year to become the third pick in the 2014 NBA draft, despite having been raised as a volleyball player.

The writer is considering deleting “in the 2014 NBA draft" from the preceding sentence. Should the phrase be kept or deleted?

• Kept, because it specifies where the player was raised.

• Kept, because it provides important details to clarify Joel’s successes.

• Deleted, because it provides redundant information.

• Deleted, because it distracts the reader from Joel’s athleticism.

Eliminate the redundant phrase in the sentence: 'She was completely and totally exhausted after the long day.'

• She was exhausted after the long day.

• She was totally exhausted after the long day.

• She was completely exhausted after the long day.

• She was exhausted after the long and tiring day.

Which phrase should be removed to eliminate redundancy in the sentence: 'The bright and shining sun warmed the entire beach.'

• bright

• shining

• entire

• beach

Identify the redundant word in the following sentence: 'The small little kitten played in the garden.'

• garden

• played

• small

• little

Choose the most effective transition to connect the two paragraphs: 'The first paragraph discusses the causes of pollution. _________, the second paragraph explores its effects.'

• Additionally

• In contrast

• On the other hand

• Similarly

Select the appropriate transition to link the two ideas: 'The main character faced many challenges; _________, she never gave up.'

• therefore

• moreover

• however

• in conclusion

Which transition word would best connect the two sentences: 'The weather was cold. _________, we decided to stay indoors.'

• Therefore

• Because

• Meanwhile

• However

Pick the precise word choice to replace the bold words: 'The Saint Bernard was very 𝙗𝙞𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚.'

• negligible

• enormous

• petite

• tiny