I took the test, and I see why everyone that came out of the June 13th test was talking about the cocoa beans and the chart. This is a reference to the very last several questions on the test within the reading section, but I guess this really could have been a Science question. Go find a copy and try out the questions in that passage. There was an experimental passage whenever 25MC5 was tested that also included a table in this case again at the very end. These are kinda the equivalent of the hard math questions at the end of the math section. So, et's see if we can figure out what the ACT is up to because I bet they will do it again and you can be prepared.
When a question says "based on the passage AND the chart," it is not asking you to read a picture. It's asking you to connect the picture to a sentence and they hide the sentence on purpose. A chart or table only ever gives you two things: where something sits, or how much there is. It never tells you why, and why is what the question wants. The answer is almost always back in the writing. They think that you are going to go directly to the chart and try and figure out what it says...but you have to put two pieces of evidence together.
Example 1, the graph version: the answer wasn't on the graph at all you had to travel back UP the page to the paragraph that explained it. With the cocoa-bean scatter chart, the thing the question turned on wasn't labeled anywhere on the chart. The sentence that explained it was parked a couple paragraphs above, nowhere near the dots. The chart shows you one dot camped out in a weird spot. The paragraph tells you why it's there. You need both, and they put them far apart because they know you're rushing. So in my crude diagram below, make sure you are looking the text in the paragraph, as it will help you understand the chart below.
Example 2, the table version: same idea, but now the hard part is not getting lost INSIDE the grid. With a data table, the trap isn't just distance — it's that there are several columns and several rows, and under the clock your eyes drift one line off and you read the wrong number. So before you even look at the data, lock two things: which column the question is actually asking about, and which row. Point your pencil at the column header, point your other finger at the row label, and slide them to where they meet. Two-thirds of the table is noise for that question — ignore it. When you do look at the chart, make sure you see that the data is not in order. Since it has 3 columns of data, you have to compare X to Y when you are looking at things. Don't just assume because something is listed at the top it is highest.
Either way, that one little word "AND" is the whole tell. The visual gives you the where or the how much. The words give you the so-what. The second you see "based on the passage and the chart," you know it's a two-source question so take the trip and connect them before you pick. Every single time.
One last thought, I bet these series of questions on both tests are what separate 34's from 36's. So if you are looking for how to ace the test, make sure you pay attention to this new question type.
