Fiveable's ACT English Section Overview: What's On It?

✍🏽 ACT English Section

Overview

Question Types

• The passage as a whole
  • These questions will require you to truly understand the big picture of the passages. You'll have to take a step back and look at the entire forest—not just individual trees. These questions will ask things like the effect of a change on the entire passage, or what a logical addition may be.
• A specific underlined portion of the passage
  • These questions will essentially ask you to edit the passage, and will require a strong knowledge of grammar and mechanics. They will primarily rely on the underlined portion, but you may need to look at the surrounding sentences for additional context.

Skills Assessed

• Production of Writing (29-32% of questions)
  • Topic Development
    • These questions will ask you about rhetorical devices in the text. You will be asked to identify purpose, evaluate whether an author has achieved their purpose, and determine the relevance of certain material in the passage.
  • Organization, Unity, and Cohesion
    • These questions will ask you to alter the text so that it flows well, is logically organized, and has both a strong introduction and conclusion.
• Knowledge of Language (15-17% of questions)
  • These questions are all about word choice. You will be asked to pick the best word choice based on the style and tone of a passage, while still being precise and concise.
• Conventions of Standard English (52-55% of questions)
  • Sentence Structure and Formation (guide coming soon!)
    • These questions will as you to make edits to improve sentence structure and formation. This will test both your grammar knowledge and ability to make sure the sentence flows smoothly.
  • Punctuation (guide coming soon!)
    • These questions will test your knowledge of proper punctuation. They will ask you to recognize and make edits to fix common punctuation errors.
  • Usage (guide coming soon!)
    • These questions will ask you to notice and correct errors with how words are used in a sentence. "Usage" includes things like subject-verb agreement, tenses, and word order.

🥇 Prepping for Success

How to Prepare for the Content

• Practice with Diverse Passages
  • In your quest for ACT English excellence, diversity is your ally. Engage with a wide range of passage types to enhance your adaptability and grasp of various subjects. Just as an explorer conquers different terrains, you conquer different ideas. This practice nurtures both your intellectual versatility and your confidence in handling different linguistic choices and styles on the test.
• Polish Your Grammar
  • The grammar and mechanics of Standard English are the bread and butter of the English section. Practice them until you know them like the back of your hand so that you can zip through the underline questions on the exam.
• Develop Strategic Approaches for Questions
  • Craft specific tactics for each question type. Try leaving main idea questions for after you've read the entire passage, but work on the underlined questions as you go. Each question type has its strategy, and by mastering them, you'll become a skilled navigator on the linguistic map.

How to Prepare for the Exam

• Use Official ACT Practice Materials
  • The ACT makes lots of materials available for free. Make use of them! There's no better way to practice than by going to the source. Using released tests is the best way to prepare yourself for the type of material that will show up on the exam.
• Do Timed Practice Tests
  • The biggest challenge of the ACT is not the content, but the limited time. Most of the content on all sections, but particularly the English section, is well-covered in K-12 education. But, to be able to recall it all under time pressure can be hard! Make sure to set yourself up for success by practicing under time pressure. This way, by the time you're taking the real exam, you'll be a pro.
• Review Your Mistakes
  • Mistakes give you the best opportunity to learn. If you get everything right, you won't be gaining any new information—just proving you know it. So, if you only focus on what you got right, you won't make improvements. Instead, focus on your mistakes and truly understanding the concepts behind the correct answer.

💡 Tips and Tricks

🤩 Conclusion