How to Prepare for the English Section of the ACT

The ACT is divided into four sections. The English section contains 75 questions that test basic English skills. You can complete the English section of the ACT easily if you remember the following set of simple steps for each question on the test.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Practice ACT test
• Basic knowledge of English concepts
• Timer
• Tutor (if needed)

1. Read a series of four passages that contain about 750 words each. Subject matter and style will vary and it will cover a variety of areas.
2. Practice to quickly recognize grammatical, spelling and other mistakes within each reading passage. Each passage on the test will contain a series of underlined words or phrases, each of which will possibly contain a mistake.
3. Select the best answer to the underlined portion with one of the five choices listed to the right of the passage.
4. Keep in mind that not every underlined area will be wrong. Each question offers you the option to select "NO CHANGE" as the solution to the test.
5. Pick and plug. Try plugging in the answer choices in place of the underlined selection to see which one best fits the passage.
6. Analyze the passage as a whole. At the end of each passage there will be a separate question that will test your overview of the passage as a whole.

Tips & Warnings

• Understand the basic tools of English. Some questions will ask you to base your decision on some specific element of writing, such as the tone.
• Know these two basic areas in English: standard written English and rhetorical skills. Standard written English includes sentence structures, punctuation as well as grammar and usage. Rhetorical skills are strategy, organization and style.
• The English section is concerned with getting the correct answers from what is directly in front of you on the page. While it does require knowledge of basic vocabulary, sentence structure and comprehension, anyone who can read and understands basic text should do well.
• Time yourself when practicing. Time is a very important factor in the ACT test. The English portion of the ACT is allotted 45 minutes for completion of the 75 questions. This breaks down to approximately 50 seconds to answer each of the questions. This includes reading the passage prior to answering the question.