ACT English Tips

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I just took my last ACT. Having taken the ACT three times now, I have some tips for the English section. If you like it or find it helpful, please let me know and I can make advice for the other sections. ☺

1.Pay attention to the subject agreements.
Examples (pick the correct one below):

a. The student picked up their pencil.
b. The student picked up his pencil.

Which one is correct? B is correct because there is one student, and one student can't pick up "their" pencil because "their" refers to more that one person. Since there is only one student, the student muct pick up his/her pencil. Here's a list for those of you who want to know some more singular/plural subject agreement things!

Singular subjects:

everyone, he, she, it, anybody

Plural subjects:

they, (name) and (name), we

2. Don't read the passage. It wastes valuable time! I never really read the passage unless there is a part asking where sentences should be placed (and in that case I usually just read the paragraph rather than the whole passage). If I read the passage at all, I usually just skim it. The sentence should give you enough context to pick the correct grammar.

3. Don't be alarmed by the "NO CHANGE" options-- just because there are other options, there is still a good possibility that what is in the sentence is correct.

4. Beware of run-ons because they are nearly always on the English portion. If you would pause at a part had you been reading the sentence aloud, then there is a very good probability that a comma is needed there.

5. The ACT loves to be concise and to-the-point. If there is a way to say the same thing except it is shorter (and it doesn't sound awkward), then that is probably the answer. Pick it!

6. To prepare for the ACT English, read lots of published books. While reading things online is nice, if you're reading published books and articles, then you're exposing yourself to good grammar, and by doing this, you will be more likely to pick the correct answer just because it "sounds right." However, this will take time, so don't expect to read like crazy one week before you take the ACT and be able to ace the English section.

Hopefully this helps! GOOD LUCK! ♥


Kaylee