Format:

The English section consists of 75 multiple-choice questions. These questions are divided into five passages, each followed by a set of questions. The passages may cover a variety of topics such as social studies, humanities, natural sciences, or literary fiction.

Content:

Usage/Mechanics: This part of the test evaluates your understanding of grammar and usage. It includes questions on punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, and usage.

Rhetorical Skills: This part assesses your ability to express ideas clearly and effectively. You’ll encounter questions related to organization, strategy, and style.

Skills Tested:

Punctuation: Questions in this category focus on commas, apostrophes, colons, semicolons, and other punctuation marks.

Grammar and Usage: You’ll be tested on subject-verb agreement, verb tense, pronoun agreement, and other grammatical concepts.

Sentence Structure: This category includes questions about fragments, run-on sentences, and sentence order.

Rhetorical Strategy: Questions here test your ability to organize ideas and choose effective opening, transitions, and closing statements.

Rhetorical Style: These questions assess your understanding of tone, voice, and emphasis in a passage.

Timing:

You have 45 minutes to answer all 75 questions in the English section. This means you need to manage your time effectively, as you have less than a minute per question.

Scoring:

Your raw score (the number of questions you answer correctly) is converted to a scaled score on the 1-36 scale. This scaled score is then averaged with your scores from the other sections to calculate your overall composite score.

Preparation:

To prepare for the English section, it’s essential to review grammar rules and practice reading and analyzing various types of passages. There are numerous ACT prep books, online resources, and practice tests available to help you familiarize yourself with the format and types of questions you might encounter.

Remember, the key to doing well on the ACT English section is not just knowing grammar rules but also being able to apply them in the context of rhetorical writing. Practice and familiarity with different question types can significantly improve your performance.