ACT Writing Samples

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The content of this entry has been removed because the CUNY ACT Writing exam has changed (since Fall 2010.) It is now known as the CATW exam. For information and practice exercises for the new CATW (CUNY Assessment Test in Writing), go to:

http://spirfit.org/Academy/catw




Note: The CUNY ACT has been replaced by the CATW. This does not apply to the ACT Exams outside CUNY.

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Keywords:  CUNY ACT READING EXAM  Kingsborough  Hunter Baruch CCNY Queensborough Brooklyn College BMCC English  KCC  English r Eng r  English 04  Eng 04

Do You Really Think You Are A Good Writer?

I sometimes come across students in my remedial English labs who would say, “I am a good writer. I don’t know why they put me in a remedial class.” This reminds me of the show American Idol, especially the early episodes of the season when you see a lot of people who tell everyone, “I am a good singer. I am the next American Idol.” Many of them ended up rejected.

However, there are some in my remedial English labs who actually have writing abilities above the remedial level where they are placed, but I emphasize “some”. Whether your writing is as good as you think or not, your approach is the same - work to improve your writing.

Instead of wasting time and energy complaining and thinking counterproductive and negative thoughts, use the energy and time to improve your writing. Better writing skills (along with public speaking skills) are generally correlated with better pay and increased chances of advancement in the working world, as studies have shown. Even if you are right and they made a mistake placing you in a remedial class, use the time to improve your writing. I’ve had a student, Vlado, who began the semester sitting back in my class not willing to do any work, because he thought he didn’t belong in a remedial class. I told him exactly the same thing about using the time to improve his writing anyway. I also used the analogy of the greatest players in sports such as Michael Jordan, Steve Young, and Lance Armstrong. These “best of the best athletes” continued to work at becoming better and better, despite being way ahead of the rest of the field.

If you are as good a writer as you think you are, you have nothing to lose if you use the time in the remedial class to work to become even better. That way, you can show the professors and administrators that they did make a huge mistake. That’s exactly what Vlado did. In time, I realized that Vladeo was right. He was actually a good writer, but he really took to heart my advice and worked harder than everyone else who didn’t have his writing skills. Evaluators of his writing portfolio eventually made a rare exception for him that they allowed him to skip some hurdles that remedial students usually have to go through. This saved him both time and money.

If you are wrong however, and you are not as good a writer as you think you are, the approach should be the same. Use the time in the remedial class to improve your writing. Really work to improve you writing. Whether your writing is superior or sub-par, the approach should be the same.

Unfortunately, I have seen some cases where the student wasted their time in class or lab thinking they don’t belong there, and they end up having to retake the class. They end up frustrating themselves wasting more time and tuition money, since they have to pass the remedial classes and their writing proficiency exams before they can take other core classes.

The lesson here also applies to other parts of your life. If you are required to be somewhere, such as in a class or at practice (for athletes), use the time to actively improve yourself rather than passively sitting back. Whether you are as good as you think you are or not, the same approach applies.


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Copyright: © 2009. This document is the sole property of Amadeo Constanzo. You may use this article for free on your web site, blog, or other publication if and only if you include this entire copyright notice including the following links and statement. Other free teachings from Amadeo Constanzo can be found at SpirFit.com and SpirFit.org

Shu Chan 陳樹中 Terence Chan LIU

Terence Chan LIU Long Island University

Improving Your Writing

If you ask most English teachers and professors, they will tell you - the more you read habitually, the better a writer you will become. Your reading experiences and habits are more linked to how good a writer you are than your knowledge of grammar. I know this to be true from personal experience.

When I was in elementary school, I had many lessons in grammar. They were very focused on grammar at my school. However, I was not a good writer back then, despite normally getting A’s in my English (grammar) tests. Evidently, knowing your grammar is not all that it takes to become a good writer (as I've learned early on.)

Lets fast forward to my high school years. During those years, I didn’t really care that much for the books they assigned in school, although I did read them and performed well on the tests. However, I was still not a good writer - until I began reading a lot on my own. I did not read on my own for the sake of improving my writing or reading. I didn't even read the books English teachers recommended. However, I did begin the habit of reading on my own because I wanted to learn more about the things of which I was interested, such as nutrition, fitness, health, martial arts, and spirituality. After establishing a habit of reading books and magazines on these topics, I (as well as my teachers) noticed that my writing was drastically improving. I was no Shakespeare, but I became a writer with a lot of interesting things to say and a lot of knowledge to convey to my readers, because I was reading and learning so much. I also picked up on the different ways and different styles of professional writers in informing the readers while captivating their interests. At some point, I started writing my papers as if I was writing for readers of a magazine, instead of thinking of it as writing to obtain a desired grade from the teacher. This paradigm shift, or shift in thinking, played a huge role in improving my writing. (As with many areas of life, a paradigm shift or change of approach can make a huge difference.)

Whether you want to improve your writing to perform well on the CAT Writing test or get good grades on papers for various classes, you should get into the habit of reading things you want to learn. You should especially do this on summer breaks or Christmas breaks. Gradually, your interest will expand to other subjects and you will find yourself sitting at bookstores and libraries for hours at a time. Eventually, you will naturally become a good writer of your own style.

Academic Calendar

Looking at the academic calendar is one of the most important things to do at the beginning of every semester. This applies to all students, tutors, faculty, and staff members. The academic calendar of Kingsborough Community College can be found at:

http://www.kingsborough.edu/sub-registration/office_of_registrar/academic_calendar.html

I know of a tutor who, when he was still new to the college, did not know about the academic calendar. On one Tuesday that was a Monday schedule (as indicated on the academic calendar), he did not show up for the labs and workshops he was supposed to be teaching that day, because he did not know about the academic calendar and therefore did not know about the schedule change for that specific date.

Keep an eye on the academic calendar throughout the semester. Enter the holidays and the days of schedule-change into your PDA or organizer.


To subscribe to this blog for free on your reader, feel free to click “Subscribe to Posts” on the right.


Copyright: © 2009. This document is the sole property of Amadeo Constanzo. You may use this article for free on your web site, blog, or other publication if and only if you include this entire copyright notice including the following links and statement. Other free teachings from Amadeo Constanzo can be found at SpirFit.com and SpirFit.org

Shu Chan 陳樹中 Terence Chan LIU

Terence Chan LIU Long Island University

Answers For ACT Reading Practice

If you are my English 92 students in Professor Maltzman's class, below are the answers to the practice reading. As you know by now, do not check the answers on your own. Have someone else check your answers. They should put an X next to your wrong answer choices and put a check mark next to your correct answer choices. When they give you back your test, you should re-read the reading and try again. (Make sure you know the main point of the article in addition to all the other important points in the reading.

If you are not my student, feel free to email me at healthsciencewriter@gmail.com for an ACT Reading Practice Test.

Answers for "Session#13 Packet#21"

1.B, 2.E, 3.C, 4.C, 5.D, 6.D, 7.A, 8.A, 9.B, 10.A, 11.E, 12.A, 13.A, 14.D,
15.D, 16.B, 17.C, 18.B, 19.C, 20.A, 21.B, 22.E, 23.B, 24.C, 25.D, 26.C,
27.E, 28.A

Answers for "24 Question Test 2"
1.B, 2.D, 3.E, 4.D, 5.D, 6.A, 7.D, 8.A, 9.G, 10.C, 11.F, 12.A, 13.F, 14.C,
15.J, 16.B, 17.F, 18.C, 19.A, 20.C, 21.C, 22.D, 23.C, 24.B

Answers for "Packet #10"
1.A, 2.H, 3.B, 4.G, 5.B, 6.J, 7.C, 8.F, 9.D, 10.G, 11.B, 12.J, 13.C, 14.J, 15.B, 16.J, 17.A, 18.F, 19.D, 20.H, 21.B, 22.J, 23.A, 24.H, 25.D, 26.H, 27.A, 28.J, 29.A, 30.J, 31.D, 32.G, 33.A, 34.G, 35.A, 36.J, 37.A, 38.H, 39.A, 40.H

To subscribe to this blog for free on your reader, feel free to click “Subscribe to Posts” on the right.


Copyright: © 2008. This document is the sole property of Amadeo Constanzo. You may use this article for free on your web site, blog, or other publication if and only if you include this entire copyright notice including the following links and statement. Other free teachings from Amadeo Constanzo can be found at SpirFit.com and SpirFit.org

Shu Chan 陳樹中 Terence Chan LIU

Terence Chan LIU Long Island University

ACT Writing, MySpace, and FaceBook

To my students and to all students taking the CUNY ACT Writing Exam,

I recommend that you read articles from:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/education/index.html

and

http://baycurrents.net


Many of you are unfamiliar with education and community issues in the ACT Writing prompts. These articles will familiarize you with community and education issues and will help you tremendously with CUNY ACT W. Many of your writing skills are already up there, but you really need to familiarize yourself with education issues.

By the way, some of you were asking me about my blog on MySpace and my FaceBook account. You can find me at:
http://www.facebook.com/amadeoconstanzo
and
http://www.myspace.com/constanzo


Copyright: © 2008. This document is the sole property of Amadeo Constanzo. You may use this article for free on your web site, blog, or other publication if and only if you include this entire copyright notice including the following links and statement. Other free teachings from Amadeo Constanzo can be found at SpirFit.com and SpirFit.org

Shu Chan 陳樹中 Terence Chan LIU

Terence Chan LIU Long Island University

Health Search Engine For Writing Your Paper

Are you writing a paper in health, nutrition, or medicine? The general Google search may produce listings from unreliable resources. Below is a reliable and simple search engine (powered by Google, but it's customized) that you can use. This search engine searches only through web sites of reliable health and medical information.




Copyright: © 2008. This document is the sole property of Amadeo Constanzo. You may use this article for free on your web site, blog, or other publication if and only if you include this entire copyright notice including the following links and statement. Other free teachings from Amadeo Constanzo can be found at SpirFit.com and SpirFit.org

Shu Chan 陳樹中 Terence Chan LIU

Terence Chan LIU Long Island University