ACT

ACT or the American College Test is a standardized test and along with the SAT test is used as a pre requisite to college admissions in the US. There are five sections in total as part of ACT and the English Section is one of them. This article explores the ACT English test section in detail to help you understand what is to be expected during the ACT test.

ACT English does not require you to have a very comprehensive or high abilities in the English language to do well in the test. However you will need a strong foundation of the English language The main aim or goal of the ACT English section is test your grammar and writing skills. ACT English has a total of 75 multiple choice questions and you have 45 minutes as the allotted time to complete the entire section. Doing the math, this is approximately half a minute per question. You will find that this section will contain essays and passages covering various topics and should be answered within the allotted time.

Let’s get into the details. The ACT English section has questions on mainly two aspects, Usage mechanics and Rhetorical skills.

Usage mechanics

The questions that relate to usage mechanics are based on three topics, Punctuations, Sentence structure and Grammar from a usage perspective. You will be given a set of 10 questions that mainly consist of questions around punctuations like commas, apostrophes, and colons. Next, the grammar and usage of tense are tested in a set of 12 questions and finally the third set concentrates on sentence structure. You will get roughly 12 questions around sentence structure. Here, you are expected to reconstruct all the improper clause issues, misplaced adjectives and adverbs.

Rhetorical skills

This part of ACT English tests your ability to read, analyze, recollect and answer all the questions. This section contains questions based on three aspects, Writing strategy, Organization and Style.

• Writing Strategy – The Writing Strategy questions are designed to test your skills in developing a given content or topic with the appropriate choice of words and expressions. It also tests your skills in judging and editing the supporting material.
• Organization – For the organization part you should be well prepared to rearrange the introductory, content and the conclusion within the paragraph. So, make sure that your opening and closing sentences are effective.
• Style – The style part is mainly a test on your creativity. Here, you should be able to select the precise words or sentences that give the whole meaning of the passage.

The ACT English section cannot be taken lightly. At the same time do not get tensed, with the right approach, prep and practice you will be able to ace this section and score high. Good luck !!

Planning on taking up your ACT test soon. It is vital to know about each of the ACT test sections in detail to allow you to prepare thoroughly for the test.

The ACT test has four main sections with one optional writing section.

ACT English Section

The English section has 75 multiple-choice questions. You have 45 minutes as the allotted time to complete the ACT English section. This gives you approximately half a minute for each question. The approach, focus and application of your smartness is more important than your hard work.

ACT Math Section

The ACT Math section comprises of a total of 60 multiple choice questions. You have 60 minutes to complete the ACT Math section. This gives you about a minute for each question.

ACT Reading Section

The ACT Reading section tests your ability to read and understand the given passages. You should be able to understand what is being stated as well as understand what the given statements are implying. The ACT Reading section contains basic reading comprehension. The test itself will contain 40 questions. You have about 35 minutes to complete the ACT Reading Section.

ACT Science Section

The ACT Science section plays the key role in the ACT test. Be prepared to sharpen your skills of evaluation, reasoning, problem solving and analysis during your text preparation phase. In the ACT Science section you will be presented with 40 questions. You have a total of 35 minutes to complete the ACT Science Section.

ACT Writing

The ACT Writing section is optional and sometimes may not be considered very important as many schools do not conduct it. It really depends on where your further education interests lie in. If it is a vocation where writing is important then you probably want to consider taking up the ACT writing section as well. The ACT Writing section takes about 30 minutes to complete. This section consists of a writing about an issue and your points of view on the issue. Your ACT score is not affected in any way by this section of the test.

Now that you are well aware of all the different test sections that make up the ACT, it is time to buckle down and get to preparing for your ACT exam.

ACT also known as American College Test, assesses and analyzes a student’s educational development and ability to study and participate in college. The ACT Test itself is a multiple choice test that tests the students in four major skill areas, English, Math, Reading and Science. ACT scores are generally used as an indicator for college aptness along with the students GPA, class rank and extra curricular activities. The ACT Test was initially introduced in 1959 as a competitor to SAT’s (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and is recognized by all four year colleges and universities in the United States today.

As mentioned before, the ACT test is a four subject multiple choice test of English, Mathematics, Science, and Reading. In addition to the four, you have a fifth component of ACT which is essay writing. The essay writing portion was introduced in 2005. Not all schools take into consideration the essay portion of ACT for admission.

ACT Sections

The duration of the ACT test is 3 hrs 30 minutes. This is inclusive of two 15 min breaks. Those that take up the ACT plus writing test are looking at close to 4 hrs to complete the entire test. Time during the test is divided as follows, English for 45 minutes, Math for 60 minutes, Science for 45 minutes, Reading for 30 minutes and finally Essay Writing for 30 minutes.

ACT English Test

ACT English Test consists of 75 questions to be completed in 45 minutes. The questions on the ACT English test covers punctuation, grammar and usage and  sentence structure.

ACT Reading Test

ACT Reading Test consists of 40 questions to be completed in 35 minutes. The ACT Reading Test consists of four reading comprehension passages with 10 questions per passage.

ACT Science Test

ACT Science Test consists of 40 questions to be completed in 35 minutes. The ACT Science test consists of questions on natural science that measure the students interpretation, analysis, evaluation and problem solving skills.

ACT Math Test

ACT Math Test consists 60 questions to be completed in 60 minutes. The ACT Math test is made up of Pre Algebra – 23%, Elementary Algebra – 17%, Intermediate Algebra – 15%, Coordinate Geometry – 15%, Plane Geometry – 23% and Trignometry – 7%.

ACT Writing Test

ACT Writing Test is a 30 minute test that aims to measure the students writing skills

ACT Registration Process

The ACT Test is offered 4 – 6 times in a year in September, October, December, February, April and June. The Test is generally conducted on a Saturday. Potential candidates may choose to take the ACT Assessment which has a fee of around $33.00 or the ACT Assessment plus writing which has a fee of around $48.00. You can either register online or register by mail. Registering online is the most accelerated way. You can give your test center preferences and your admission ticket can be printed.

ACT Test Eligibility

A student can take the test twice, once as a junior and once as a senior. Any high schooler irrespective of being a junior or a senior is eligible.

ACT Test Preparation

There are numerous websites including this one that gives you access to free ACT Test practice papers online. You have a rich diaspora of mock tests and mock questions that you can solve which will help you gain the necessary skills and confidence to take the ACT test with confidence. There are many book stores and libraries where you can buy or rent out books on ACT Test preparation which will help you ace the tests. There are several books and tutorials available on the internet too.

ACT Scores

ACT Scores range from 1 being the lowest to 36 being the highest. Each individual test is graded in the same scale (1-36) and your overall score is the average of your four individual test scores. Fractions are rounded up or down. The national average scores for ACT is around 20 so any score above that is good.