ACT English Test Tips

English Test-Taking Tips: 

• Be aware of the writing style used in each passage. When responding to a question, be sure to understand the context of the question. Consider how the sentence containing an underlined portion fits in with the surrounding sentences and into the passage. 
• Examine the underlined portions of the passage. Consider the elements of writing included in each underlined portion.  
• Note the questions with no underlined portions. Some questions will refer to the whole passage, so make sure you are paying attention to the overall message and writing style. 
• Reread the sentence, using the answer you selected. Does the answer you selected make the most sense within the context of the passage? 

Check out some of these helpful videos for English test-taking tips. 

Be aware of the writing style used in each passage.

The passages cover a variety of topics and are written in a variety of styles. It is important that you take into account the writing style used in each passage. When responding to a question, be sure to understand the context of the question. Consider how the sentence containing an underlined or highlighted portion fits in with the surrounding sentences and into the passage as a whole.

Examine the underlined or highlighted portions of the passage.

Before responding to a question with an underlined or highlighted portion, carefully examine what is underlined or highlighted in the text. Consider the elements of writing included in each underlined or highlighted portion.

• Some questions will ask you to base your decision on some specific element of writing, such as the tone or emphasis the text should convey.
• Some questions will ask you to choose the alternative to the underlined or highlighted portion that is NOT or LEAST acceptable.

The answer choices for each question will contain changes in one or more of those elements of writing.

Be aware of questions with no underlined portions.

You will be asked some questions about a section of the passage or about the passage as a whole, in light of a given rhetorical situation. Questions of this type are often identified by a question number in a box located at the appropriate point in the passage or by a highlighted asterisk in brackets.

Questions about the entire passage are placed at the end of the passage. For paper testing, these questions are introduced by a horizontal box enclosing the following instruction: “Questions __ and __ ask about the preceding passage as a whole.” For online testing, similar instructions will appear above the individual questions. 

Note the differences in the answer choices.

Many of the questions in the section will involve more than one aspect of writing. Examine each answer choice and how it differs from the others. Be careful not to choose an answer that corrects one error but causes a different error.

Determine the best answer.

When a question asks you to choose the best alternative to an underlined or highlighted portion, consider the following approach:

• Decide how the underlined or highlighted portion might best be phrased in standard written English or in terms of the particular question posed.    
  • If the underlined or highlighted portion is the best answer, select “NO CHANGE.”
  • If not, check to see whether your phrasing is one of the other answer choices. If you do not find your phrasing, choose the best of the answers presented.
• For questions cued by a number in a box or a highlighted asterisk in brackets, decide which choice is most appropriate in terms of the question posed or the stated rhetorical situation.
• Reread the sentence, using your selected answer. Once you have selected the answer you feel is best, reread the corresponding sentence(s) of the passage, inserting your selected answer at the appropriate place in the text to make sure it is the best answer within the context of the passage.

• An overview of the ACT test and what to expect on test day
• A full-length practice ACT test (including writing prompt)
• Answers and a scoring key for each test section
• A breakdown of the content covered in each test section
• General test-taking strategies
• Ways to approach each section of the ACT