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author: todd shively

todd shively
todd shively is an ancient graduate of purdue university, where he changed his mind so many times that he finished with a major in english and a minor in math. he has taught high school in three different states and currently teaches in scotland, where he lives with his family. in his spare time he bakes his own sourdough bread and tries to work those carbs off doing crossfit.

  • sat reading comprehension – the dual passage

    so here’s the skinny: there will always be two sets of dual passages, one short (35-30 lines total) and one medium to very long (60-90 lines). what exactly is a dual passage? well, just as its name implies it is a set of two passages written on a similar topic. the passages usually do not…

  • analyzing data on the act science test

    for data interpretation and research summaries questions on the act science test, you will often be presented with a set of graphs and tables and required to answer relevant questions. remember, it’s important to take the time and thoroughly analyze the data before jumping to the questions.   some tips to remember: tip #1 –…

  • sat writing – idioms

    just as idioms lack any justification for the way they are constructed so too do idiomatic phrases. for instance, i just used a common idiomatic phrase (just as…so too; see below). in other words, certain phrases contain certain words and prepositions. to give you example, let’s take the most common sat idiomatic phrase (not only…but…