ACT® English Prep: Practice Tips for English
How to Practice for the ACT English Test Section
Prepping for the ACT English test can be stressful, which is why we’ve created strategies to use while studying for the ACT English test. Learn more about what to expect from the ACT English section below, then check out Sylvan’s tips and use them for ACT English practice. Tip: They’ll make this section less intimidating.
All questions on the ACT English test are multiple-choice, and they're structured around 5 reading passages of varying types. Each passage includes 15 questions.
There are 75 multiple-choice questions, and you’ll have 45 minutes to answer them.
The ACT English Test is designed to measure how well you understand the use of conventional written EnglishT his is probably not the English that you use in casual writing or in conversations, but rather the English you have been taught in high/secondary school and junior high. You will need to pay attention to grammar, punctuation and sentence structure, as well as clarity, style and organization.
These questions will test you on:
- Production of Writing. Questions focus on topic development, organization, unity and cohesion.
- Knowledge of Language. Questions ask about word choice, style and tone.
- Conventions of Standard English. Questions test your ability to correct errors in punctuation, grammar and sentence structure.
4 ACT English Tips to Help You Practice
Tip 1: Pace Yourself
Loss of concentration is the enemy. Maintain your focus. During the 45-minute English Test, you will read 5 passages. It’s important to pace yourself so you don’t run out of time.
If you realize you are taking too long with one question, take your best guess and move on or mark it and come back to it later.
Tip 2: Some Answer Choices Provide Clues
Some questions on the English section will not begin with a question. You will just see a list of answer choices, which correspond to an underlined portion of the passage. The makers of the ACT will always give you three alternate answers, and the differences in those answers can often tell you what you need to focus on to answer the problem correctly.
Use this tip to answer the ACT English practice problem.
Practice Question: After the devastating hurricane, the Red Cross offered food and medical aid to the Mexican government, and they accepted.
Answer and explanation: Notice that two items in the answers change, the pronoun and the verb tense, so you have two issues to focus on. The pronoun is referring to “the Mexican government,” which is singular. Therefore, you can eliminate choices A and B.
Because “offered” is in the past tense, you know that “accepted” should be in the past tense. You can eliminate D and are left with C, which is the correct answer.
Tip 3: Look at the Shortest Answer
If an entire sentence or a long phrase is underlined, consider the shortest answer first. The shortest answer is often the best answer because good communication is efficient communication.
Use this tip to answer the ACT English practice problem.
Practice Question: Due to the fact that Juan did not want or desire to change his diet or exercise, he continued to gain weight.
A. NO CHANGE
B. Because Juan did not want to change his diet or exercise,
C. Due to the fact that Juan did not desire to be changing his diet or exercising,
D. Since Juan did not want or desire to change his diet or exercise,
Answer and explanation: Because the other choices are redundant and/or overly wordy, B is the most efficient expression of the idea.