ACT Preparation / Unit 17 ACT 1604 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
The Substitution Test
The idea
A meaning-in-context question is answered in four steps. First, reread the full sentence, and the one before and after. Second, look for a clue: a definition, a restatement, a synonym, a contrast or an example. Third, predict the meaning in your own words before reading the choices. Fourth, substitute each choice for the word in the sentence, and keep the one that preserves both the sentence's meaning and its tone.
In practice
Worked example: "After weeks of drought, the farmers welcomed even a meager rain, though it barely darkened the soil." The clue, "barely darkened the soil," describes the rain. Prediction: small, not enough. The choices are generous, slight, cold and sudden. Substituted, "even a slight rain, though it barely darkened the soil" keeps the meaning; generous contradicts it.
Where people slip
The context-clue types rest on one source, Writing for Success; the substitution method is the course's own. A choice can be a correct dictionary meaning and still fail the sentence.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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