Tip of the day

Eric (tutor): You don't have to rub it in.

Matt P (student): Sometimes rubbing it in is a good thing, like sunblock.

What Would Eric Do?

Almost Identical Answer Choices? Pick Neither – The ACT is not designed to be open to debate. It will avoid questions that could be considered personal preference like the plague. Therefore, if there are answer choices that seem to be almost identical in meaning and grammar then none of them are the correct choice. You are always looking for an answer that clearly stands out from others, so if one doesn’t differentiate itself from another, THEY ARE BOTH WRONG. Let’s see some examples:

A. a writers

B. a writer’s

C. an authors

D. an authors’

You don’t even need to see the question. A and C are identical assuming you know that author and writer mean nearly the same thing. Don’t pick either.

WWED-4-Eva.

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What Would Eric Do?

Eric plugs in numbers for variables whenever he can on both the ACT and the SAT. The following problem is from the SAT:

If j,k,l,m and n are consecutive integers and j<k<l<m<n, then what is the value of (j + n) - (k + m) ?

A. 0

B. 1

C. 2

D. 4

E. It cannot be determined from the information given.

The only requirement is that the numbers are consecutive, and each one is bigger than the one preceding it. In this example, I will pick 4,5,6,7,8. These fulfill the requirements stated in the problem because they are consecutive, and the following is true: 4<5<6<7<8. Now, I simply plug my values into the given problem:

(4 + 8) - ( 5 + 7)

This is a simple arithmetic problem that I can easily solve. 12 - 12 = 0, therefore the correct answer is A.

What Would Eric Do?

Welcome to our new weekly blog post provided by our in-house SAT/ACT test prep wizard. Every Wednesday Eric will post a new WWED giving you a new hint on how to defeat your SAT/ACT exams.


"Eric always reads a semicolon as a period. On the ACT test, the two are interchangeable. If what comes before or after the semicolon could not be a stand alone sentence then that answer choice has to be wrong."

Example:

Crochet hooks are available in all sizes, ranging, from very small to very large, with everything in between.

A. NO CHANGE
B. sizes, ranging
C. sizes; ranging
D. sizes ranging,

In choice C, a semicolon is used. However, when replaced with a period it becomes clear that the second half of the sentence could not stand alone as its own sentence. Therefore, choice C is definitely wrong. In this example, the correct answer is B.

WWED-4-Eva.