ACT FACTS & TIMING
How many questions are on ACT English?
75 questions
Fix: “Each of the students are ready
is
(“Each” is singular)
Which sentence is MOST concise?
A. Due to the fact that it was raining, practice was canceled.
B. Because it was raining, practice was canceled.
C. On account of the fact that it was raining, practice was canceled.
D. Because of the fact that it was raining, practice was canceled.
B
Why: Shorter + clear
Punctuation question
Line-level
Answer red questions first or last?
Last
About how much time per question?
~36 seconds
45 minutes ÷ 75 questions
Choose the correct version:
The dog wagged ___ tail when it saw its owner.
A. it’s
B. its
Answer: B. its
Why:
its = possessive
it’s = it is
Which sentence contains unnecessary repetition?
A. The meeting was postponed.
B. The meeting was postponed until later.
C. The meeting was postponed until 3:00 p.m.
D. The meeting was postponed indefinitely.
B
Why: “Postponed” already means later.
Sentence placement
Passage-level
What makes a question red?
Passage-level, purpose, placement, adding/deleting sentences
Should you read the entire passage first? Why or why not?
No. ACT English is line-based first. You only read more if the question requires it.
Identify the error:
“The cat slept all day, it was tired.”
Comma splice
Which revision is most precise?
Original:
The scientist did stuff to the data.
A. did work to the data
B. performed actions on the data
C. analyzed the data
D. handled the data
C.
“Analyzed” is specific and accurate.
When read one sentence vs whole paragraph?
Grammar = sentence
Purpose/placement = paragraph
Safest move when running out of time?
Educated guess (eliminate wrong answers)
What should you do FIRST when a question looks difficult?
Skip it and mark it red (triage strategy)
To fix sentence boundaries you should include:
Use period, semicolon, or comma + FANBOYS
Which sentence maintains formal tone?
A. The experiment was pretty cool.
B. The experiment was kind of interesting.
C. The experiment was interesting.
D. The experiment was super interesting.
C
Why: No slang or filler language.
Which takes longest? Why?
Passage-level questions (require reading context)
Why are passage questions usually red?
They require more reading + reasoning
Explain triage (green/yellow/red).
Green: Grammar rules you know cold → answer immediately
Yellow: Clarity/word choice → think briefly
Red: Passage-level or confusing → skip, return later
Explain WHY a semicolon works
It joins two complete sentences that are closely related
Which revision is best?
Original:
The new policy was implemented in order to improve efficiency.
A. NO CHANGE
B. was put into place in order to improve efficiency
C. was implemented to improve efficiency
D. was implemented so that efficiency would improve
C
Why: Clearer and more concise than NO CHANGE.
How misreading the question causes errors
Students fix grammar when the question asks about purpose or clarity
How triage raises scores
Saves time for questions students are most likely to get right