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dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan—a civilian, not military, target. An estimated 150,000 civilians were killed in the attack. President Harry Truman and others claimed at the time that dropping the bomb was necessary to force Japan to surrender and end World War II. Others argue that we used the bomb largely to show the Soviet Union that we were a superior world power. Though the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were officially allies, tensions between the two countries were already high. A deep ideological battle between the two countries—one Communist, the other Capitalist—was already in place, and each country was determined to outdo the other. Two years later, in 1947, President Truman established the Truman Doctrine. This important document redefined American foreign policy. It created a “policy of containment” which framed our foreign policy as a battle between “good” and “evil.” This dramatically increased the growing tension between the two countries. Part B: Arrange the following sentences in a logical order. ■ Many people are afraid of snakes, but most snakes aren’t as dangerous as people think they are. ■ There are more than 2,500 different species of snakes around the world. ■ Statistically, many other animals are far more dangerous than snakes. ■ Only a small percentage of those species are poisonous, and only a few species have venom strong enough to kill a human being. ■ In fact, in this country, more people die from dog bites each year than from snakes. ■ Furthermore, snakes bite only 1,000–2,000 people in the United States each year, and only ten of those bites (that’s less than 1%) result in death. Answers Part A Answers may vary, but this is the most logical way to divide the text into three paragraphs. The Cold War was one of the most interesting and troubling times in American history. Sev- eral important historical events led to the Cold War. First, in 1939, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In that letter, Einstein told Roosevelt that it was possible to create an atomic weapon, and he asked Roosevelt to fund research and experi- ments in atomic weapons. Roosevelt agreed, and the government created the Manhattan Project, a massive effort to develop nuclear weapons. Next, the date that will live in infamy: August 6, 1945. The U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan—a civilian, not military, target. An estimated 150,000 civilians were killed in the attack. President Harry Truman and others claimed at the time that dropping the bomb was necessary to force Japan to surrender and end World War II. Others argue that we used the bomb largely to show the Soviet Union that we were a superior world power. Though the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were officially allies, tensions between the two countries were already high. A deep ideological battle between the two countries—one Communist, – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 94 the other Capitalist—was already in place, and each country was determined to outdo the other. Two years later, in 1947, President Truman established the Truman Doctrine. This impor- tant document redefined American foreign policy. It created a “policy of containment” which framed our foreign policy as a battle between “good” and “evil.” This dramatically increased the growing tension between the two countries. Part B ■ Many people are afraid of snakes, but most snakes aren’t as dangerous as people think they are. ■ There are more than 2,500 different species of snakes around the world. ■ Only a small percentage of those species are poisonous, and only a few species have venom strong enough to kill a human being. ■ Furthermore, snakes bite only 1,000–2,000 people in the United States each year, and only ten of those bites (that’s less than 1%) result in death. ■ Statistically, many other animals are far more dangerous than snakes. ■ In fact, in this country, more people die from dog bites each year than from snakes. Style Style refers to the manner in which something is done. For example, we all buy and wear clothes that fit our own personal style—the way we like to look and feel when we are dressed. The same is true of our writing; each of us has his or her own individual style, and the more we understand stylistic techniques, the more effec- tively we can express ourselves in writing. Style in writing is created by several different elements. The ACT English Test focuses on four key ele- ments of style: ■ word choice (including figurative language and imagery) ■ consistency in style and tone ■ variety in sentence structure and use of punctuation and other techniques for effect ■ avoiding ambiguity, wordiness, and redundancy WORD CHOICE One of the most important decisions writers make is a constant one: word choice. As you write, you are always, in every sentence, thinking about the right words to express your ideas. The “right” word has four essential characteristics: 1. It expresses the idea you wish to convey. 2. It is exact (precise). 3. It is appropriate for the audience. 4. It is consistent with the style and tone of the text. – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 95 Notice how effective word choice cuts back on wordiness and creates much more powerful sentences in the example below: She ate her lunch quickly and hungrily. She devoured her lunch. She gobbled her lunch. She inhaled her lunch. Each of these italicized verbs has much more impact than the verb ate and its two modifiers, quickly and hungrily. These exact verbs create a vivid picture; they tell us exactly how she ate her lunch. Exact nouns will improve your sentences, too. Here’s an example of a general sentence made more precise: The machine made a loud noise and then stopped. The generator made a loud bang and then stopped. The second sentence, with its exact nouns, tells us what kind of machine it was and what kind of noise it made, giving us a much clearer picture of what happened. Adjectives, too, should be precise. Instead of writing: I am very hungry. Try an exact adjective: I am famished. Famished means very hungry—and is a much more powerful word to convey your idea. LEVEL OF FORMALITY Word choice determines level of formality, and vice versa. Would you say to your professor, “Yo, wassup?” Probably not. But you certainly might talk that way to your friends. We are usually careful to use the right level of formality when we talk to someone. The same should be true of our writing. Writers must decide how formal or informal they should be when they write, and they make this decision based on their audience and their purpose. Level of formality can range from the very informal (slang) to the very formal (esoteric, ceremonial) to everything in between. Writers use word choice and sentence structure to manipulate the level of formal- ity. Here’s an example: – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 96 A: I couldn’t believe it. I mean, who would have guessed? I sure didn’t! I had no clue, no clue at all. And I was the last person to find out, too. It figures. B: I was deeply shocked; I had never suspected such a thing. Not surprisingly, I was the last person to become aware of the situation. These two examples are drastically different in style and in the level of formality. Though they both tell the same story and both use the personal first-person I, there’s clearly a different relationship to the reader. From the word choice and style—the short sentences, the very casual language—we can tell that the writer of passage A has a more informal, more friendly relationship with the reader than the writer of passage B. The emotion of the writer in passage A is much more transparent, too, because the language is more infor- mal and natural. You get the idea that passage A is addressed to a friend while passage B might be addressed to an official. On the ACT, you probably won’t be asked directly about level of formality. But you can use your aware- ness of level of formality to draw conclusions about audience and to determine which revisions or additions would best fit the text. Practice 15 Rank the sentences below according to formality. Put a 1 next to the sentence that is most formal and a 3 next to the sentence that is most casual. 1. ______ Move faster. ______ Pick up the pace. ______ Increase your speed. 2. ______ Gimme a hand, would you? ______ Would you please assist me? ______ Would you help me out here? Answers 1. 2 Move faster. 3 Pick up the pace. 1 Increase your speed. 2. 3 Gimme a hand, would you? 1 Would you please assist me? 2 Would you help me out here? – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 97 FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY An important aspect of style is figurative language and imagery. Figurative language includes similes and metaphors. A simile compares two things using the words like or as. A metaphor is stronger than a simile because it makes the comparison without the words like or as. Here’s an example: No figurative language: She was running around like crazy. Simile: She was running around like the Mad Hatter. Metaphor: She was the Mad Hatter. Figurative language is so effective because it helps readers picture what the writer is describing in an imaginative, original way. (“She was running around like a chicken with its head cut off” is a simile, but it’s also a cliché—an overused phrase that should be avoided.) For similes and metaphors to work, the two things being compared must be sufficiently different. For example, it doesn’t work to compare a moth to a butterfly. However, it does work to compare a butterfly and the way curtains flutter in the wind. Imagery does not make a comparison, but it does paint a picture for readers by engaging the senses. Here are two examples: The cat lay in a warm circle of sunlight just beneath the window. The smell of freshly-baked apples and cinnamon drifted across the room to where I sat next to a crackling fire. Of course, figurative language and imagery must be appropriate. Figurative language and imagery would be appropriate (even expected) in a narrative essay, but you probably should not include such language in a lab report for your physics class. And in any case, your similes, metaphors, and images should not offend or change the style or tone of your text. Practice 16 Part A: Create similes and metaphors for the following sentences. 1. He has a quiet manner. Simile: Metaphor: 2. She was very angry. Simile: Metaphor: – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 98 Part B: Use imagery to describe the following. 1. A body of water 2. A house Answers Part A 1. He has a quiet manner. Simile: He is as quiet as a whisper. (As quiet as a mouse is a cliché.) Metaphor: He is a whisper. 2. She was very angry. Simile: She was as angry as a tornado. Metaphor: She was a tornado. Part B 1. A body of water The gentle lapping of the waves lulled me to sleep by the lake. 2. A house The door to the gray house on the hill slammed shut in the wind, the sound echoing throughout the empty rooms. C ONSISTENCY IN STYLE AND TONE Appropriate and consistent tone is another element of effective writing that will be tested on the ACT Eng- lish Test.You may be asked to determine whether the writer’s tone is appropriate for his or her audience and purpose and to identify whether the writer has shifted tone in the passage. Tone is the mood or attitude conveyed by words or speech. Think, for example, of all the different ways to say sure or hello. It’s how you say the word that conveys so much of its meaning. When you listen to others, it’s usually pretty easy to hear the tone of their voice. But how do you “hear” tone in writing? How can you tell how the words should sound? Say you come across the word sure as you are reading. How do you know whether to whisper it or shout it? When we speak, we create tone by how quickly or slowly we say a word, how loudly or softly we say it, and how we use facial expressions and body language. When we read, though, we can’t hear how the writer says something. And we certainly can’t see the writer’s facial expressions or body language. But we can look carefully at word choice, punctuation, and style to help determine tone. For example, recall this pair of sen- tences from our punctuation review: Wait, I’m coming with you. Wait—I’m coming with you! – ACT ENGLISH TEST PRACTICE– 99 . fit the text. Practice 15 Rank the sentences below according to formality. Put a 1 next to the sentence that is most formal and a 3 next to the sentence that is most casual. 1. ______ Move faster. ______. assist me? ______ Would you help me out here? Answers 1. 2 Move faster. 3 Pick up the pace. 1 Increase your speed. 2. 3 Gimme a hand, would you? 1 Would you please assist me? 2 Would you help me. a human being. ■ Furthermore, snakes bite only 1, 000–2,000 people in the United States each year, and only ten of those bites (that’s less than 1% ) result in death. ■ Statistically, many other