The document provides information about preparing for the PSAE and ACT exams in Illinois. It discusses what subjects are on the PSAE (English, math, reading, science, social studies, and writing), keys to success like getting a good night's sleep, and test-taking strategies like pacing yourself, answering easy questions first, and eliminating answer choices. It also gives specifics about the English test section, including common grammar rules that are often confused and verb forms.

1. Preparing for the PSAE and ACT

2. What makes up the PSAE test?
• The ACT – Four parts: English, math,
reading and science reasoning
• WorkKeys – Applied math and Reading
• Three Illinois State produced tests:
– Social Studies
– Science
– Writing – 40 minutes for one prompt

3. Keys to Success on Any Test
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Study and/or prepare
Practice if possible
Get a good night sleep
Eat a good breakfast
including salty food if
possible.
• Know what to expect
• Wear comfortable
clothes with layers

4. Some General Ideas
• Read the directions
• Pace yourself
• Answer easy questions
first
• Eliminate and then guess
• Answer the RIGHT
QUESTION
• Refer back to the problem
when necessary

5. More Tricks of the Trade
• When in doubt choose “C” if ABCD or “B” or
“D” if ABCDE
• True/False questions with NEVER or ALWAYS
are nearly always false
• The longer answer is generally the correct
answer in multiple choice questions – except in
the English section of the ACT

6. The English Test
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•
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Longest Test, 75 questions
Punctuation – 10 items
Basic grammar – 12 items
Sentence structure – 18 items
Rhetorical skills – 35 items
– Strategy – 12 items
– Organization – 11 items
– Style – 12 items

7. Commonly confused words
• Accept – to agree
• Affect – to influence,
change
• Allusion – indirect
• Desert – full of sand
• Elicit – to draw out
• Principal – works in a
school
• Except – not including
• Effect – to bring about
•
•
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Illusion – a false idea
Dessert – cake
Illicit - forbidden
Principle – a rule or
belief

8. More Confusion
• It’s v. its
• Who v. whom
• Who came to the door? or Whom came to the
door?
• You asked who? or You asked whom?
• Is this you’re hat? or Is this your hat?
• There are six people here. or Their are six people
here.

9. Verb Forms
• Verb subject agreement
– The wren had flew out of the nest.
– The wren had flown out of the nest.
– Everyone on the teams know when to be there.
– Everyone on the teams knows when to be there.

10. • Every student had their schedule by 4 th
period.
• Every student had his or her schedule by 4 th
period.
• The drill team won all of their meets.
• The drill team won all of its meets.
• One of them know everything on the
subject
• One of them knows everything on the
subject