ACT English, the first section of the exam, is designed to measure your ability to understand, interpret, and use the English language as a tool of communication and expression. Yet—like the other sections—the ACT English section measures only how well you perform on the ACT English section.
One of the joys of standardized testing is that it’s predictable—and the English section doesn’t deviate from the pattern. Fortunately, the ACT company is very open about exactly what the English test focuses on, and we can home in on those areas during our preparation. Knowing what’s going to be tested and how it’s going to be tested, it’s hard for you to go wrong once you’ve studied and memorized the English 36 strategies!
The English section contains five passages, each of which is accompanied by about 15 questions. In practice and on the actual test, you should aim to complete each passage in a little less than 9 minutes, leaving a few moments at the end to make sure you’ve bubbled correctly and haven’t made any glaring errors.
First, we’ll explore the five English 36 strategies, and then launch into a detailed study of each of the six subsections of the English test.
Breaking down ACT English
“Six elements of effective writing are included in the English Test: punctuation, grammar and usage, sentence structure, strategy, organization, and style. The questions covering punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure make up the Usage/Mechanics subscore. The questions covering strategy, organization, and style make up the Rhetorical Skills subscore.”
—ACT.org
1 · Say it out loud (well, not really)
2 · Eliminate choices you know are wrong
3 · Don’t forget about “NO CHANGE” and “DELETE”
4 · Shorter is sweeter
5 · Read and answer as you go
Say it out loud (well, not really)One of the most effective strategies for success in ACT English is “reading aloud” in your head. If the answer is not immediately obvious from reading the underlined part of the passage (sometimes it is!), try reading the passage in your head, first with no change and then with each of the answer choices. A lot of the time, one answer choice will “sound right” while the others “sound wrong”—and this is a time to trust your instincts. Throughout high school, you’ve encountered correct English grammar and usage far more often than incorrect language. This is especially true if you read a lot, because most authors use correct English, and correct English begins to “sound right” to your ears. If you are confident that one choice sounds far better than the others, go ahead and bubble in that answer and move on. You’ve saved valuable seconds, which you can apply to other, more difficult questions. Try this strategy in the following example:
Reading the sentence fragment by itself first, with no change, probably doesn’t sound right to you, and it shouldn’t! A long pause between calm and tranquil just sounds wrong. If you read aloud answer choice B, the words “calm” and “tranquil” seem mashed together—too close to sound right. It’s only when you get to choice C that the sentence reads smoothly, as it should. A quick check of choice D, which introduces an unnatural pause between “tranquil” and “lake,” confirms that the correct choice is C.
Be sure to read the sentence as it is, without allowing yourself to make mental corrections. Remember to “read” a long pause for a period, and a short pause for a comma. Our brains are very smart and often correct what we are reading; make sure that you read the sentence as it’s written.
Don’t worry if you couldn’t tell the difference in how the choices in the example sounded, or if they all sounded just fine to you—the goal of this chapter is to give you the rules with which you can differentiate correct and incorrect English; being able to differentiate the two subconsciously is an added bonus.
Eliminate choices you know are wrongIt helps that some answer choices in ACT English are very obviously wrong. The test is written so that even the most incompetent readers and writers (perhaps those who speak another language at home and only understand enough English to get by) can still answer some questions correctly. Thus, you’ll be able to immediately rule out quite a few choices, because they don’t make any sense. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to eliminate all but one choice for a particular question. If a choice sounds downright absurd, contains a clear grammatical error, or is completely unrelated to the passage, promptly cross out the letter corresponding to that choice. Even if you can’t isolate the correct choice and are forced to guess, you’re 25 percent closer to guessing the correct choice with each incorrect choice you eliminate.
After reading through choices G, H, and J in this example, you were probably able to eliminate all of them, leaving the “NO CHANGE” choice as the only possible answer. After quickly confirming that the sentence does indeed sound fine as it is, you could quickly circle choice F and move on.
Don’t forget about “NO CHANGE” and “DELETE”Most questions in ACT English offer “NO CHANGE” as an answer choice. Many first-time test takers think that since there are choices for changing a passage, it should probably be changed, and they instinctively shy away from selecting “NO CHANGE.” This is a serious error that could lead to many lost points on the ACT exam, because recent estimates show that “NO CHANGE” is the correct answer choice more than 25 percent of the time. “NO CHANGE” is just as likely—if not more likely—to be the correct choice. ACT English emphasizes the value of being short and succinct in writing, so if the other answer choices are long and the underlined segment is short, “NO CHANGE” is most likely the correct answer.
Many ACT English questions offer “DELETE the underlined portion” as a choice. “DELETE” means that you would remove the underlined words and let the sentence stand without them. Here’s an example:
As you can see, “DELETE” is a particularly attractive choice when the underlined segment restates an idea that was expressed earlier in the passage; in this case, “truly pretty” restates “beautiful.” ACT English avoids redundancy like the plague, so if the underlined segment looks redundant or repetitive in any way, chances are “DELETE” is the best answer choice. In fact, “DELETE,” if offered as a choice, is even more likely to be the correct answer choice than “NO CHANGE”—it is the correct answer more than half of the time! When you’re stuck on a question that offers “DELETE” as a choice and you need to guess, make sure that the sentence makes grammatical sense without the underlined segment; if it does, choose “DELETE” as your answer.
Shorter is sweeterACT English generally favors short, concise answers. Think about which answer choice says the most in the fewest words; chances are, that’s the correct answer! From a purely statistical standpoint, the shortest answer choice has been shown to be correct on about half of all ACT English questions. If you’ve zipped through the English section, automatically choosing the shortest answer choice for each question, you would score a 15—without reading a single question! Obviously, you don’t want a 15, but the key idea here is that the shortest answers are right about half the time, which makes them fairly good bets when you find yourself guessing.
How many questions on the ACT test your ability to find and eliminate repetitiveness and verbosity? Quite a few, actually: about a third of the English test consists of questions that require you to scout for redundancy and relevance.
Sometimes, it’s hard for students to keep in mind that longer isn’t always better, especially since many English teachers reward length and the use of big, complicated sentences. Nevertheless, it is imperative to remember that this is not the case in ACT English. Length for the sake of length is to be avoided, and the short, clean answer will almost always be the one you’re looking for.
Here’s an example of the “short is sweet” strategy at work:
See how choice J expresses the same idea as the other choices but is able to do it in a single word rather than in a whole phrase? That is the kind of brevity that the ACT likes on the English section. Keep this in mind as you work through the test; bigger is not better!
Read and answer as you goThis is more of a technique than a strategy, and it has to do with how you move from passage to passage on the test. Unlike in other sections, you shouldn’t look at ACT English questions before reading the passage, and you shouldn’t read the whole passage before moving on to the questions. Instead, you should answer each question as it comes up in the passage. The reason is this: an overall understanding of the passage, in addition to attention to the questions, is necessary to answer questions that appear at the end of the passage and reference the passage as a whole. Don’t skip sentences because they don’t have underlined segments—you might need that information to answer later questions. Read the whole passage completely so that you have a good sense of its organization and style; you may need to answer questions about these points later.
The questions on the English section of the ACT are of two types: usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills.
As we work through each of these subsections, we’ll focus on strategies that will help you identify which of the answer choices is correct.
Chances are, some (hopefully, many!) of the subsections will seem more like common sense than anything else. You don’t need to revisit these sections after reading them once. However, be sure to mark the sections that are difficult or unfamiliar to you, and revisit those until you are sure that you understand the strategies. Use this handy chart to help you organize your ACT English prep:
The ACT English section tests your understanding of the correct use of several marks of punctuation: the comma, dash, colon, semicolon, and apostrophe.
We’ll expand our discussion of the comma in the SENTENCE STRUCTURE section of this chapter, but let’s start with the Big Five comma uses. (Of course, the comma has many more uses, but discussing them wouldn’t help you on the test.)
1. To separate elements in a series
This is the most basic use of the comma and the one you’ve probably seen most often. It looks like this:
I went shopping and bought milk, eggs, and cheese.
My sister Ann loves to run, to skate, and to swim in the pool.
In these cases, the comma is used to set apart each item in the list from the other items. While there is some debate on the topic, the ACT adheres to the rule that there should be a comma after the second-to-last item in the list before the conjunction (in the first example above, “milk [COMMA] eggs [COMMA] and cheese” versus “milk [COMMA] eggs and cheese,” which gives the impression that the eggs and cheese are combined in some way).
Here’s an example of an ACT question that tests this kind of comma usage:
Choice D is the correct answer, because it has commas where they should be (separating the three items in the list) and doesn’t have commas where they shouldn’t be (after the last item in the list, as in choice C).
2. Before a conjunction, to connect two clauses
A comma is used before a conjunction like “and,” “or,” “but,” “for,” “nor,” “yet,” and “so.”
He’ll eat cherries, but not strawberries.
Sarah ran into traffic on the way to work, so she was late for her meeting.
See how the comma creates a pause before the conjunction? Let’s see how this might be tested on the ACT English section:
The comma should be placed directly before the conjunction, so choice G is the correct answer. Reading each choice aloud in your head, you should be able to identify why choices F, H, and J are incorrect.
A common mistake is to place the comma after the conjunction instead of before it (in the example above, as the sentence was originally written). When speaking naturally, we sometimes insert a short pause after the conjunction, but in formal written English, there is no comma after the conjunction—only before.
3. To set off introductory words and phrases
This is another very common use of the comma. It looks like this:
Before running, I laced up my shoes tightly.
Being the feminist that I am, I joined in my community’s annual March for Equality.
In these examples, the comma tells the reader that there is a separation between the introductory idea and the rest of the sentence. It creates a pause that allows the sentence to make sense when spoken aloud. Here’s an example of a question testing your knowledge of this type of comma:
It’s important to be able to identify the introductory word or phrase so that you know where to place the comma. If, for example, you looked at the sentence above and decided that “Looking” was the introductory phrase without realizing that “back” is part of that idea, you would mistakenly place the comma after “Looking,” as in choice B. However, if you carefully examine the sentence and recognize that “Looking back” is the introductory phrase, you know that the correct place for the comma is between that phrase and the rest of the sentence, as originally written, so choice A is correct.
4. To set off nonessential or parenthetical phrases and clauses
If you don’t know what “nonessential” or “parenthetical” phrases and clauses are, don’t worry! While these terms may seem long and incomprehensible, they simply refer to phrases and clauses that can be removed from the sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence in a significant way. For example:
My mother, who is a cook, made a delicious dinner for my birthday.
In this sentence, the clause “who is a cook” could be removed from the sentence without changing the key idea (that Mom made dinner). Here’s another example:
My hobby, collecting stamps, has become more of an obsession this summer.
Here, “collecting stamps” is the parenthetical (unnecessary) element.
In these cases, the comma tells the reader that the phrase or clause set off is “added information” that pertains to a subject that’s already been mentioned. Here’s a question that tests your knowledge of this comma use:
The key is to correctly identify the parenthetical phrase. In this sentence, you should identify the parenthetical phrase as “an exquisite Taiwanese painting”—an extra bit of information telling us what the most expensive item at the auction was. Once you’ve correctly identified the parenthetical phrase, you would place commas directly before and after the phrase—making choice J the correct answer.
5. To set off quoted text
The last of the Big Five comma uses is setting off quotations in the passage. We’re all used to seeing commas used this way, especially in novels and other works where characters are speaking. Here is the most common way we see commas used to set off spoken words:
“Wait,” Alisha said.
“Please bring me a napkin,” she said imperiously, “and a glass of champagne.”
In these instances, a comma is used inside the quotation marks at the end of the spoken phrase, or before the quotation mark that begins the spoken phrase. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however. When you introduce a quotation with “that,” you don’t use a comma:
The article I read last night reported that “the youth are rising up in protest.”
You also don’t use a comma when the quoted word or phrase is embedded in another phrase or in a clause. Here’s an example:
After saying “what?” a few times and still not understanding his answer, I simply smiled and nodded as if I knew what he was talking about.
Finally, you use a colon, not a comma, when the quote is explanatory or the introduction is very long (more than one full sentence):
Glancing down at the instructions, I found the following advice on how to assemble my new bookshelf: “First, gather the necessary tools. Next, take the …”
Dashes, like parentheses, are used to set apart words, phrases, or clauses that aren’t essential to the meaning of a sentence. They can be used to indicate an abrupt change in thought, as well as to signal the inclusion of an explanation or an afterthought.
The coyote’s yipping—a harsh, guttural sound—could be heard throughout the valley that night.
Although dashes typically come in pairs (like commas that are used to set off phrases), they sometimes appear singly, when an idea is tacked onto the end of a sentence.
After the terrible storm, a gorgeous rainbow lit up the sky—a sign, I hoped, of better things to come.
Keep in mind that dashes are used in pairs when the offset phrase or clause is in the middle of a sentence.
It should be clear from the discussion above that the correct answer is choice B, which uses a dash to set off the “but” clause from the first part of the sentence, while maintaining a single sentence.
The colon introduces one or more details that pertain to the preceding statement. For example:
Three parts of Charlie’s car were broken: a window, a door, and the muffler.
I bought all that I needed at the gas station: a stick of gum.
It’s important to put the colon directly after the statement but before the list begins. A common trick in ACT English is the incorrect insertion of a colon in a sentence when the preceding statement is not a complete sentence. What does that mean? It means that the beginning part of the sentence—the part in front of the colon—needs to be able to stand alone and make sense if the sentence were to end right there. For example, in the above sentences, “Three parts of Charlie’s car were broken” and “I bought all that I needed at the gas station” could both stand alone as complete sentences. Contrast these with the following example:
Martin got to see his two favorite people, who were: his mom and dad.
Since “Martin got to see his two favorite people, who were” could not stand alone as a complete sentence, the sentence would need to be written without a colon:
Martin got to see his two favorite people, who were his mom and dad.
You’re ready to tackle an example involving colon use:
Using the rules for colon use, you should recognize that a colon should be placed after the statement and before the list begins, as in answer choice J.
In the earlier discussion on commas, it was noted that a colon can be used before a long quotation.
Although a semicolon looks much like a colon, they are used in very different ways. A semicolon has two uses:
1. To separate items in a list where at least one item contains a comma
She had already lived in Hartford, Connecticut; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and New York City.
The items in the bakery window looked delicious: soft, buttery croissants; warm, flaky scones; decadent, gorgeous cakes; and delicate, artisanal chocolates.
Without semicolons to separate the items in these two examples, you wouldn’t know where each item began and ended due to the commas already used within the items.
2. To join two complete and closely related sentences
Each sentence has to be able to stand on its own, and the two sentences should pertain to the same subject or be otherwise related.
My mother has been knitting all her life; I don’t think she’ll ever stop.
I was constantly reminded to stay strong by my sister; her encouragement and love helped keep me strong through some tough years.
Remember: a semicolon cannot be used to connect an incomplete phrase or clause to a complete sentence. It is a common error to place a semicolon between a sentence and a related phrase. If the second part of the sentence cannot stand by itself, the two elements need to be joined with a comma, not a semicolon, as in the example below:
The ballerina twirled and twirled; beautiful and breathtaking. (INCORRECT)
Here’s a question that tests your knowledge of semicolons:
The correct answer choice is D. As originally written, the sentence is incorrect, because the fragment “selfless and devoted no matter what” is not a complete sentence. Even though the fragment is related to the first sentence, a semicolon cannot be used to join them. A colon is used instead, because the fragment offers details that expand on why the mother was such an amazing individual.
In the English language, apostrophes are used for two purposes: (1) to indicate possession and (2) to replace one or more letters in a contraction.
1. To indicate possession
Apostrophes are used to indicate possession in several ways. First, we’ll discuss singular possession, in which a singular noun shows possession of something. Here are several examples:
the boy’s shoes
the cat’s meow
Marla’s paintings
my father’s glove
Notice that what is singular is the possessor, not the noun that follows. For singular possession, the apostrophe is placed after the possessive noun and is followed by “s.”
For plural possession, the rule is different. First, you make the noun plural, then place the apostrophe after it. The same goes for family names: add an “s” to the name, then tack on the apostrophe. Take a look:
the four cats’ toys
the brothers’ room
my parents’ bed
the Youngs’ boat
With plural nouns that don’t end in “s,” you add the apostrophe + “s” after the noun:
the women’s book club
the children’s games
Don’t make the common mistake of placing the apostrophe after the “s”:
This is a rule that ACT exam writers love to test, and you will be sure to encounter at least one such question in the ACT English section. Try this example question:
Because “furniture” is a collective noun that does not end in “s,” the correct answer choice is G, which puts the apostrophe after the noun but before the “s.” Even if you don’t know the rules for possessives, the other choices may look or sound awkward to you—this is good! You are learning to recognize correct punctuation usage!
When a name ends in “s” (or with an “s” sound, like /z/), the second “s” is not required but is usually preferred. For example:
Ms. James’s briefcase
Mr. Sanchez’s breakfast
What if there are two possessors of a single item? You use an apostrophe + “s” only after the second possessor. For example:
the boys and girls’ home
Alice and Peter’s bedroom
Mr. and Mrs. Jones’s car
If two people possess two different items, however, you use an apostrophe + “s” after each possessor. For example:
the boys’ and girls’ houses
Alice’s and Peter’s bedrooms
Mr. Jones’s and Mrs. Jones’s cars
Possibly the most common error made in the entire ACT English section is adding apostrophes where they don’t belong. Unless the word is a contraction or you are showing possession, don’t use an apostrophe! I can’t tell you how often on Facebook and Twitter my friends post atrocities like these:
Just got back from the movie’s! (INCORRECT)
Sister’s are so annoying. (INCORRECT)
My brother’s drive me crazy sometimes. (INCORRECT)
To avoid this costly and embarrassing mistake, ask yourself these questions every time you use an apostrophe: “Am I showing possession? Am I using a contraction?” If the answer to both questions is “no,” don’t use an apostrophe!
You should never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns. The pronouns already show possession, so there’s no need to add an apostrophe. Possessive pronouns include “yours,” “his,” “hers,” “its,” “ours,” “theirs,” and “whose.” Compare these forms:
If you can remember not to add apostrophes where possession is already implied, you can save yourself costly mistakes on apostrophe questions.
2. To replace one or more letters in a contraction
Apostrophes are also used to replace missing letters in contractions. Contractions are two words combined, with some letters taken out. Here are some examples:
An exhaustive list of contractions would not be particularly useful here, especially since most ACT English questions that deal with apostrophes focus on possessives, not contractions. However, it is important not to confuse contractions with possessive pronouns in some cases—we’ll cover these in the DOUBLE TROUBLE section later in this chapter.
Fortunately, the ACT seems uninterested in testing your knowledge of the correct use of any of these other punctuation marks. You’ll likely never see an ACT English question that has to do with any of them—for whatever reason, the ACT only tests your understanding of commas, dashes, colons, semicolons, and apostrophes.
Try out your new ACT punctuation skills on the following practice problem set. Good luck!
Practice problem set Punctuation
The solutions follow the problem set.
1. C. The dash is the best choice here, because it indicates a shift in ideas. None of the other choices would be appropriate.
2. G. The colon introduces a list of tasks that horses of the Imperial Army performed. Neither a period nor a semicolon would work, because the list itself is not a complete sentence.
3. A. Multiple knights are being discussed, so the apostrophe is used to indicate plural possession, meaning that it comes after the “s” used to make “knight” plural. There is no reason for “horses” to be possessive.
4. G. The commas set off the parenthetical element “where the Spanish settlers brought the first horses over from Spain.” If that element were removed, the sentence would still work, so we know it’s a nonessential element that should be separated with commas.
5. C. The second sentence is closely related to the first, but each can operate as a complete, stand-alone sentence. None of the other choices makes sense.
6. H. You can’t use a colon to set the list apart, because the fragment preceding the colon is not a complete sentence. You should use a comma after “legends,” the first item in the list, as well as after “folktales.”
7. D. The colon introduces a long, formal quotation.
8. G. A comma is appropriate, because it separates two clauses of a sentence. You can’t use a dash, because the beginning of the sentence (“Although … transportation”) is not a complete sentence.
9. A. “Children” is already plural, so you add the apostrophe after it and before the “s.”
10. G. This list requires semicolons to separate the items, because each of the items contains a comma. A colon is used to introduce the list.
11. D. A comma is used, because the first part of the sentence (“Although … horses”) is not a complete sentence. You can’t use a period or semicolon, both of which can only be used to separate two complete sentences. The comma allows the sentence to read clearly and defines the separation in clauses.
12. F. “Riders” is not possessive (what would they possess?), and a comma after “riders” would separate the subject from the predicate.
13. D. “They’re” is the contraction of “they are,” so the apostrophe is necessary. Neither “their” nor “there” makes sense in the context of the sentence.
14. G. “It’s” is the contraction of “it is,” allowing the beginning of the sentence to read “It is heartwarming.” “Its” is a possessive pronoun and makes no sense here. There is no reason to place any punctuation after “heartwarming.”
15. D. The “lives,” possessed by both the horses and the people, are different lives, so both “horses” and “people” need to be possessive. Since “horses” is plural, you put an apostrophe after the “s” (“horses’”); since “people” is already plural, you put an apostrophe plus “s” after it (“people’s”).
Grammar/usage questions on the ACT English section focus on the use of pronouns, subject-verb agreement, the use of verb tenses, parallel structure, the distinction between adjectives and adverbs, and idioms.
Pronouns, words used to replace nouns, are extremely common in everyday English. Pronouns include words like “I,” “you,” “he,” “him,” “she,” “her,” “it,” and “them.” Since they appear frequently on the ACT, you need to know how to use them correctly.
The correct use of pronouns is based on two keys: (1) agreement and (2) case.
Pronoun agreement means that the pronoun has to agree with the noun that it’s replacing. Although this may sound obvious, a lot of people don’t write with correct pronoun agreement, so incorrect answers may sound normal and correct because they occur so frequently in our everyday lives. Take a look at the following sentence and see if you can tell what’s wrong:
Any young girl who watched the Miss USA pageant that day probably left the show wishing that one day they too could be in the limelight.
To many of you, this sentence might sound perfectly all right. In standard written English, however, the subject, “any young girl,” and the pronoun “they” don’t match—one is singular, and one is plural! Instead of “they,” we should write “she,” so that the pronoun agrees with the noun it’s replacing. Probably the most common pronoun error in ACT English is using a plural pronoun to replace a singular noun. Here is a list of pronouns that are, in fact, singular:
In many of these examples, the italicized pronouns may look and sound awkward or wrong, and they might look and sound better if you replaced “his or her” with “their” and “he or she” with “they.” Yet “their” or “they” in any of the sentences would be wrong. In the case of pronouns, you can’t just listen to what sounds right—you have to make sure that you match up singular pronouns with singular nouns, and plural with plural. To determine whether a pronoun is singular or plural (for example, “everyone” seems fairly plural to me), you can check how it sounds with a plural verb. For example, you would say, “Everyone likes chocolate,” not “Everyone like chocolate”; since “likes” is a singular verb (“he likes,” “she likes”), you know that “everyone” is, in fact, singular. If you use this trick to determine whether a pronoun is singular or plural, you won’t have to memorize the list above, or any list of singular and plural pronouns—saving you valuable time and energy.
The correct answer is choice D, which pairs the singular pronoun “everyone” with “his or her face.”
The other key to the correct use of pronouns is case. Case means that a subject pronoun replaces the subject of a sentence and an object pronoun replaces the object of a sentence or the object of a preposition. Here’s a list of subject and object pronouns:
In the following example, if you were to replace the nouns in brackets with pronouns, which would be “she” and which would be “her”?
[Caitlin] baked a batch of her famous chocolate chip cookies for [Priya].
Hopefully, you replaced “Caitlin” with “she” and “Priya” with “her.” Since Caitlin is the person who is “doing,” she’s the subject of the sentence. Try this example question:
The correct answer is G, because “him” is the object of the preposition “for.”
While most of the “he ~ him” / “she ~ her” / “they ~ them” questions will be easy for you, “who ~ whom” catches a lot of people off guard. We’ll cover “who ~ whom” in the DOUBLE TROUBLE section later in this chapter.
If the subject of a sentence is singular, the verb should be too, and plural verbs should accompany plural nouns. In the present tense, singular nouns are typically accompanied by verbs that end in “s” (“he runs,” “she plays,” “the man cries”), while plural nouns accompany verbs without an added “s” (“we run,” “they play,” “the men cry”). Note that the “s” is only added if the subject is singular and in the third person (a noun or “he,” “she,” or “it”); “s” is not added if the subject is “I” or “you.”
Because ACT exam writers know that most people are pretty good at subject-verb agreement, they like to shake things up by putting modifiers and extra words between the subject and the verb, hoping that you’ll forget the subject by the time you get to the verb. Take a look:
The final minute of the race, the last of many grueling and punishing minutes, were a time when I felt my resolve was about to break.
Even though the plural noun “minutes” comes right before the verb, the subject is really the third word of the sentence (“minute”), and therefore the correct verb is “was.” You can avoid mistakes like this by ignoring the “filler” and isolating the subject and verb from the rest of the sentence. See if you can do this in the following example:
Choice C is the correct answer. The plural subject (“moments”) requires a plural verb (“were”).
ACT English often tests your understanding of verb tenses. First, a quick review:
What does each verb tense mean, and when do you use it?
The present tense is used to state facts and to describe habitual actions.
The past tense is used to describe an action or event that happened in the past.
The future tense is used to describe an action or event that is going to happen in the future.
The perfect tenses are used to describe an action that started in the past but may continue into the present or future (present), a past action that was completed before another past action happened (past), and a future action that will have been completed before another future action is completed (future).
The progressive tenses are used to describe actions that are ongoing; the verb ends in “-ing.”
The perfect progressive tenses are a combination of the perfect and progressive tenses; they convey the same idea as the perfect tenses but with an ongoing action.
You don’t need to know the names of these tenses for the ACT. In fact, for many questions, you don’t even need to know when certain tenses are used, so you can relax a little.
Verb-tense questions test consistency between verb tenses—that is, using the same or related verb tenses within a sentence. For example, take a look at these examples of inconsistent verb tenses:
John was going to get milk when he will have gotten eggs, too.
Sally chews gum as she walked to school.
To correct these sentences, change the verb tense of the second verb to match the first. On the real ACT, you could be asked to change the first verb to match the second, or the second verb to match the first, so be sure to check the sentence for clues as to what the verb tense should be. Here are the corrected sentences:
John was going to get milk when he got eggs, too.
Sally chews gum as she walks to school.
See the difference? In the first sentence, because “was” is a past tense, we need to change “will have gotten” (future tense) to “got” (past tense) in order to match the tense of “was.” In the second sentence, “chews” is present tense, while “walked” is past tense, making it necessary to change “walked” to “walks” in order to match the tense of “chews.”
Now, let’s review verb-tense combinations that commonly occur, in addition to the present ~ present, past ~ past, and future ~ future combinations.
Any of the three perfect tenses can be used with its corresponding basic tense (for example, present perfect ~ present and past perfect ~ past). Here are some examples:
English 36 example
The only answer choice in which the verb tenses agree is choice G, where “lit” (past tense) is matched with “reappeared” (past tense). Verb-tense inconsistencies make all the other choices incorrect.
Now wait just one second—in some sentences, verb tense is allowed to change! You’ll be able to tell when this happens, though, because there will be an obvious clue. One of two things will occur:
1. A transition
While I’ve enjoyed summer vacation, I’ll be happy to go back to school.
2. A phrase indicating a change in time period
Years after she left home, Carrie wishes she had spent more time with her mother.
You should be able to detect such clues when they appear. When no clue is present, be consistent with your verb tenses!
Keep in mind that the infinitive form of a verb, “to _________ ” (such as “to swim” and “to bike”), can be used with any verb tense.
Here’s another commonly tested principle: parallelism. Parallelism requires that two or more phrases or clauses in a sentence have the same structure. Even if this explanation sounds confusing, parallel structure is easy to spot and fix in sentences! Take a look at some examples of incorrect and correct parallel structure:
Parallelism is important in lists and with conjunctions. In lists (see the first example above), the items must mirror one another in structure. With conjunctions like “and” (see the second example above), the words or phrases being linked by the conjunction need to be parallel in structure. The same goes for other conjunctions, such as “or.”
Adjectives are words used to describe nouns:
The roof was blue.
Kenzie is a talented singer.
Adverbs, on the other hand, are words used to describe adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. When you see an adverb on the ACT, chances are it will end with the telltale “-ly”:
The girl quickly ran to the door.
The test was really difficult.
ACT exam writers often like to swap adjectives for adverbs and vice versa, then check to see if you notice the mistake. Be careful to spot and correct these errors!
Because “increasing” is being used to describe the word “tired,” an adjective describing the word “runners,” you should use the adverb “increasingly.”
The singers are being described as melodious; therefore, you should use “melodic,” an adjective, because it is being used to describe a noun—not an adjective, verb, or adverb.
The correct answer is choice C, since a verb (“did”) must be modified by an adverb (“beautifully”).
To score a 36 in ACT English, you’ll need to be familiar with common idioms. An idiom is a common, everyday expression whose meaning can’t be determined from its individual words. For most English speakers, correct idiom use comes naturally, because we encounter idioms in books, movies, and everywhere in our daily lives. However, if English isn’t your first language, you may have trouble trying to answer the idiom questions. Either way, it’s a good idea to review idioms before taking the exam. Take a look at the following example:
Hopefully, you should be able to “say” each choice aloud in your head and pick the one that sounds right—in this case, choice H.
Sometimes, ACT exam writers try to trick you by inserting prepositional phrases or other “filler” to distract you from the correct answer. In this case, read the sentence without any of the filler, focusing only on the idiom that is being tested. An exhaustive list of English idioms is beyond the scope of this book, but here is a partial list of common idioms that you should know:
I call this topic “double trouble,” because it’s a list of common words that people use interchangeably when only one, in fact, is correct. Since there are quite a few of these questions in ACT English, it’s a good idea to figure out which one is which.
good ~ well
“Good” is an adjective, while “well” is an adverb. (If you’re unsure about the difference between adjectives and adverbs, flip back to our discussion of them.) Use “good” to describe a noun, and “well” to describe an adjective or verb. For example:
The pie she baked was really good.
He can play baseball well.
which ~ that
There’s a lot of confusion over when to use “which” and “that” in writing. Simply put, you use “that” before so-called necessary clauses, and “which” before unnecessary clauses.
You use “that” when the meaning of the sentence would change if you took out the clause that follows “that.” For example:
Dogs that have trust issues get very anxious.
Without “that have trust issues” in the above sentence, the whole meaning of the sentence would change. Instead of only some dogs getting nervous, the new sentence would suggest that all dogs get nervous, clearly changing the original meaning. We call these necessary clauses restrictive clauses, and they go with “that.”
“Which,” on the other hand, is used before so-called unnecessary clauses. While a “which” clause may offer more detail, the meaning of the sentence won’t change if you remove it. Take a look:
The towers, which were made of steel, glinted in the setting sun.
Taking out “which were made of steel” wouldn’t change the meaning of the sentence—the towers would still be glinting in the sun. These unnecessary clauses are called nonrestrictive clauses, and they go with “which.”
who ~ whom
Both “who” and “whom” are pronouns—so what’s the difference? It all comes down to the distinction between a subject and an object. The subject of a sentence is the one doing the “doing,” while the object is having something done to him, her, or it. “Who” is the subject of a sentence, and “whom” is the object. For example:
Who is riding the bike over there?
Whom are you taking to the concert?
In the first sentence, “who” is the subject and “bike” is the object. In the second sentence, “you” is the subject and “whom” is the object.
When I was little, my mom taught me an easy way to remember this—one I’ve never forgotten. If the question can be answered with “him,” then the correct term is “whom.” If the question can be answered with “he,” the correct term is “who.” For example:
_____________ is riding the bike over there?
He is riding (→ Who). (NOT Him is riding.)
_____________ are you taking to the concert?
I’m taking him (→ Whom). (NOT I’m taking he.
Just remember that “him” and “whom” end with “m”—and take full advantage of the “he/him” trick. You will answer “who ~ whom” questions with ease and confidence.
are ~ our
This one is fairly easy. “Are” is the plural form of the verb “is,” while “our” is a possessive adjective.
The cats are cute.
That is our truck.
less ~ fewer
This common mix-up happens even among accomplished writers. The bottom line is that you use “less” with things that can’t be counted, and “fewer” with things that can. Like this:
I wish there were less pollution here.
There are fewer than 100 fish left in the lake.
See how “fish” can be counted, while “pollution” can’t be? A quick and almost failproof test for whether a noun can be counted is to add an “s” to it; if it sounds wrong with an “s,” it can’t be counted. (Would you say “pollutions”?)
among ~ between
ACT exam writers love to test this relatively subtle distinction. It comes down to the number of objects being discussed, and how distinct those objects are. If you are describing a set of (usually two) distinct objects, you use “between”:
She needed to choose between physics and chemistry.
She needed to choose between physics, chemistry, and biology.
In the second example, even though you are discussing more than two objects, each of them is distinct, so you use “between.” You use “among” when discussing multiple objects that are not distinct:
She was forced to choose among a myriad of science classes.
Fear spread among the students as the pop quiz was announced.
You use “between” when choosing from distinct, separately named objects, and you use “among” when choosing from multiple objects that are named together as a group (“a myriad of science classes”) or as a plural noun (“students”). Sometimes, however, “between” can be used with a plural noun. Take a look at the following examples:
Simon walked between the pillars in the church.
Simon walked among the pillars in the church.
In these examples, both “between” and “among” could be correct. In the first sentence, Simon walked between two pillars or in an aisle flanked by rows of pillars. In the second sentence, “among” suggests that Simon wandered around the pillars, not between two individual pillars.
-er ~ -est
This is an easy one. You use “-er” at the end of an adjective when comparing two things, and “-est” when comparing more than two things:
She was the prettier of the two girls.
She was the prettiest girl in the class.
there ~ their ~ they’re
The distinction between these three sound-alikes confuses about half the population of the country and at least 75 percent of my Facebook friends. Learn the difference between these words so that (1) you can ace the ACT and (2) you can stop embarrassing yourself online before friends and family.
“There” is used to state the existence of something:
There is a dog.
There’s no place like home.
“There” also means “in/at/to that place.”
There she goes!
We stopped there for a drink.
“Their” is a possessive adjective indicating that more than one person has possession of an object:
They played their music loud.
Their clothes were outlandish.
Their customs were very different.
“They’re” is a contraction of “they” and “are” and means “they are”:
They think they’re pretty smart.
They’re great dancers.
They’re never going to make it to the movie.
lay ~ lie ~ laid
“Lay” is a verb that requires an object; it often means “put,” “build,” or “produce.”
Lay the book down now.
The workers are laying the foundation for a new house.
The hens were laying eggs in the barn.
“Lie” doesn’t take an object; it usually means “be in a horizontal position” or “be located.”
I lie down on the couch.
The corn fields lie to the west.
Both “lay” and “lie” have past tense forms—the past tense form of “lay” is “laid” (not so bad), while the past tense form of “lie” is “lay” (ouch!).
To avoid this trap, ask yourself: should I be using the present or past tense here? If your answer is the present tense, you have a choice between “lay” (which requires an object) and “lie” (which doesn’t take an object). If your answer is the past tense, you have a choice between “laid” (which requires an object) and “lay” (which doesn’t take an object).
Even though the difference between these two words should be clear from our discussion of punctuation and contractions, you will almost certainly encounter a question on the ACT that tests your understanding of the difference.
Because an apostrophe is used to indicate possession, many people think that if an object belongs to “it,” they should write “it’s.” Erase this thinking from your mind. “It’s” can only be used as a contraction of “it” and “is,” so even if an object belongs to “it,” you never write “it’s object”—you write “its object.”
Every time you see “it’s,” read it as “it is.” If “it is” doesn’t make sense (as in “it is object”), you need to use “its” instead.
Done with double trouble! Now try this practice set:
Practice problem set Grammar/usage
The solutions follow the problem set.
1. C. Since “nobody” is singular, only this choice includes singular pronouns: “he or she.” The other choices would result in inconsistency.
2. G. “Realizing and addressing” make the subject plural, thus requiring a plural verb: “are.” Choice J uses the colon incorrectly.
3. D. This question is about verb-tense agreement. The author is talking about “last year,” so that should be an indication that the verb must be past tense. “Have asked” is present perfect tense, and “will ask” is future tense, so “had asked” and “asked” are the only choices left. “Had asked” is incorrect, because the past perfect tense is used for an action in the past that preceded another action in the past, which doesn’t apply here.
4. J. “Jeering laughter” fulfills the principle of parallelism by mirroring the phrase “biting criticism.”
5. B. An adverb is required, because it is a verb, not a noun, that is being modified; thus, “gently” is correct. “With gentle” and “with gently” don’t make sense.
6. F. This question tests your knowledge of idioms. “Believe” goes with “in,” not with “on,” “for,” or “at.”
7. D. “Well” is correct, because an adverb, not an adjective, is required to modify the verb. The dash in choice C interrupts the flow of the sentence and is clearly incorrect.
8. H. If the clause “which … accusatory” were removed, the meaning of the sentence would change. Therefore, “that” is required here, without a preceding comma. The semicolon in choice G is incorrect, since it would create two incomplete sentences.
9. D. “Who” is correct; applying the “he/him” rule eliminates “him could give me,” so “who” is the subject, not the object. The comma after “friend” would make the “who” clause a nonrestrictive clause, meaning that the clause doesn’t change the basic meaning of the sentence, when in fact it does.
10. J. “Our,” not “are,” is correct, because a possessive adjective is required to modify “weakest areas.” Introducing a period, as in choices G and H, would create two incomplete sentences.
11. D. Since this is a comparison, “than” is used, not “then.” That leaves only a choice between “fewer” and “less.” Since “risk” is not a plural, countable noun, “less” is correct.
12. H. “Among” is correct, because there are more than two “friends,” and they are not distinctly named. The comma after “among” in choice J is incorrect, because it separates “among” from its object.
13. B. Since the choice is between more than two “people,” “clearest” is correct. Using “most” is redundant and incorrect.
14. F. The comments belong to “those who can articulate what you should change” in the preceding sentence, so the possessive adjective “their” is correct.
15. A. “Lie” is correct, because the verb has no object and because the present tense is required.
16. G. “It is,” as in choice H, makes no sense. Since the word is a possessive adjective, not a contraction, an apostrophe is incorrect.
Sentence structure is a critical part of ACT English; in fact, it’s the largest subsection. Sentence structure is the focus of 18 questions—almost a quarter of the entire section. Luckily, sentence structure comes naturally to many students and is far more intuitive than some of the punctuation and grammar rules. To make the topic manageable, we’ll address it point by point:
Connectors and coordinating/subordinating conjunctions
Comma splices
Run-on sentences
Sentence fragments
Misplaced modifiers
One of the most important categories of connecting words is coordinating conjunctions. These are used to connect words or phrases that are of equal importance in a sentence and that are grammatically equivalent. Examples are “and,” “but,” “or,” “nor,” and “yet.”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted both this and that.
He was heavy-set but athletic.
You can saddle the horse or sweep out the stable.
Notice how the conjunction connects words, phrases, or clauses without a comma. You need a comma only if you’re connecting more than two objects. In such a list, a comma is placed after all but the last item, including before the conjunction:
She liked to eat doughnuts, drink coffee, and sleep.
Another category of connecting words is subordinating conjunctions. Unlike coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions make one clause dependent on the other. Examples are “after,” “although,” “because,” “before,” “until,” and “when.”
To use a subordinating conjunction, first determine which clause of the two is dependent on the other. Take a look at the following two sentences and see if you can tell which clause is dependent and which is independent:
I overslept.
I was late for school.
To join these sentences with a subordinating conjunction, establish the correct relationship between them:
Because I overslept, I was late for school.
Since being late for school is the result of oversleeping, being late for school becomes the independent clause and oversleeping becomes the dependent clause. If you accidentally invert the relationship, the sentence doesn’t make sense:
Because I was late for school, I overslept.
A common error tested on the ACT is the use of a coordinating conjunction where a subordinating conjunction should be used, and vice versa. Treating two clauses as equivalent when one is actually dependent on the other can make a sentence hard to understand, as can subordinating one clause to another when the two are actually equally important. Take a look at the examples below:
Sarah trained every day and ran thousands of miles, and she succeeded in her goal of running a marathon.
Since Sarah trained every day and ran thousands of miles, she succeeded in her goal of running a marathon.
Even though the first sentence is not technically incorrect, it does not make the relationship between Sarah’s training and her results as clear as the second, which demonstrates that her success in the race was dependent on her training. ACT English tests your proficiency in identifying and correcting these coordinating/subordinating conjunction mix-ups.
Let’s look at another example, one where a subordinating conjunction is used when the relationship between clauses is equal:
Because Rafael loves to run, he also loves to paint and ski.
The fact that Rafael loves to paint and ski has absolutely nothing to do with his love of running—it is highly unlikely that his love of running somehow contributes to his love for the other two activities. Instead of a subordinating conjunction, a coordinating conjunction is used to put the clauses on equal footing:
Rafael loves to run, paint, and ski.
This sentence makes a lot more sense and is more concise than the one above. This is why it’s important to be able to understand when each of the types of conjunctions needs to be used; the ACT is sure to test you on this at least a few times in the English section. Let’s see how you do on the following example problem:
The correct answer is choice B. The word “so” makes the dependent relationship clear: Rebecca’s scoring well on the final exam was the result of her performing the previous actions.
ACT exam writers love to challenge your ability to spot and fix comma splices. A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined by a comma but with no conjunction—leading to an awkward, choppy sentence:
I took my dog for a walk, my brother mowed the lawn.
Awkward, right? It seems like it should be two sentences, yet it isn’t. This incorrect use of the comma should be detected and repaired.
To fix a comma splice, you have a couple of options:
1. Make it two sentences.
I took my dog for a walk. My brother mowed the lawn.
If the sentences are closely related, you can use a semicolon instead of a period. Sometimes, though, the clauses are so short that the period or semicolon makes them sound choppy. In that case, you might want to consider option 2.
2. Add a coordinating or subordinating conjunction.
I took my dog for a walk, and my brother mowed the lawn.
I took my dog for a walk, while my brother mowed the lawn.
The method you use often depends on the length of the clauses. For long, complex clauses, separating them into two sentences is usually cleaner. For short clauses, joining them with a conjunction usually makes them read more smoothly.
As you read the sentence, your comma-splice detection alarm should be ringing: there it is, two independent clauses, separated by a comma. Of all the available answer choices, only G makes a smooth transition from one clause to the other. The sentences are not related enough to merit the use of a semicolon; and if you used a semicolon, you would need to omit “and.” A period, as in choice J, would be acceptable, were it not for the word “and” at the beginning of the next sentence.
These are similar to comma-spliced sentences, except run-on sentences don’t even have a comma to separate the clauses. It’s usually easier to detect run-on sentences than comma splices, because run-ons look and sound so awkward:
Emma loves to eat cake Olivia hates cake.
Writing a book is difficult it can be stressful.
Detecting the run-ons in these examples isn’t hard. Fixing them isn’t hard, either: to remedy a run-on sentence, use the same strategies you would use to fix a comma splice. Either use a coordinating or subordinating conjunction to join the clauses, connect them with a semicolon, or separate them into two sentences.
Unlike comma splices and run-on sentences, sentence fragments don’t have enough material to make a complete sentence. To be considered a sentence, a group of words must have a subject and a verb and must make sense by itself. A sentence fragment is incomplete, unable to stand alone as a complete sentence. When you read a sentence fragment, you should have a sense of incompleteness, as if the sentence was getting ready to go somewhere and then didn’t:
Not daring to peek above the covers. The little girl shook with fear.
“The little girl shook with fear” is a fine, complete sentence. However, “Not daring to peek above the covers” is not—there is only a description with no subject to latch onto. This is clearly a sentence fragment.
So how do you fix such a fragment? One easy way is to join it to a neighboring, related clause or sentence. In the example above, you could simply replace the period with a comma:
Not daring to peek above the covers, the little girl shook with fear.
Because the ideas naturally flow together, this is a great way to correct the sentence fragment.
Answer choice D joins both fragments into a complete sentence. We know the sentence had fragments as originally written, so choice A is out. A semicolon, as in choice B, requires two complete sentences, and a colon, as in choice C, is inappropriate—there is no explanation or list to introduce.
You can also fix sentence fragments by converting them into complete sentences, using colons or dashes where appropriate (see the PUNCTUATION section above). In ACT English, a lot of sentence fragments are dependent clauses masquerading as complete sentences. These can often be linked to a neighboring independent clause. Remember, let no fragment stand alone!
Knowing how to use modifiers is a key skill in ACT English, since misplaced modifiers are a favorite of exam writers year after year. They can be a lot trickier than comma splices, run-on sentences, and sentence fragments, because they can be much harder to spot. In addition, misplaced modifiers are common in everyday speech, so they may not set off alarms like other grammar violations do.
A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes or modifies a noun in a sentence. An example is the italicized phrase in the example below:
Able to speak Spanish fluently, Gabe was praised by the professor.
This modifier is meant to describe Gabe, so it is correctly placed. Would the altered arrangement below also work?
Able to speak Spanish fluently, the professor praised Gabe.
The new sentence doesn’t mean the same thing at all. If we hadn’t read the first sentence, we would think that the professor, not Gabe, was the one who could speak Spanish. To be in the correct position, a modifier needs to be either directly in front of or behind the noun it modifies. Take a look at these examples:
Amy put her water bottle on her bike, which she planned to drink from as she rode.
Amy put her water bottle, which she planned to drink from as she rode, on her bike.
In the first sentence, the modifier describes Amy’s bike—which she almost certainly is not planning to drink from. In the second sentence, the modifier has been moved to the correct position so that it describes the water bottle. Here’s another example:
Having eaten a bag of chocolates, sickness debilitated the dog.
Having eaten a bag of chocolates, the dog was overwhelmed by sickness.
In the first sentence, the modifier seems to describe “sickness.” I highly doubt that “sickness” ate a bag of chocolates. The second sentence shows the correct modifier placement, making plain that it was the dog that ate the bag of chocolates.
Misplaced modifiers can also cause confusion when modifying words, rather than phrases or clauses, are involved. In these cases, the placement of the word may not make a sentence “incorrect,” but it may alter its meaning. Compare these three sentences:
Just Megan worked for two hours on her homework.
(Only Megan worked on it—no one else.)
Megan just worked for two hours on the homework.
(She didn’t do anything else during those two hours.)
Megan worked for just two hours on the homework.
(I can’t believe she finished so quickly!)
Each of the sentences is grammatically correct, but the placement of the modifier “just” changes the meaning from one sentence to the next. In these instances, be sure to place the modifier so that the sentence expresses the meaning you intend.
Without the hint provided by the first clause, you wouldn’t know which of the choices is correct. The first clause makes it clear, however, that the rest of the sentence must be consistent with the idea that the track team has some very fast members.
Answer choice F expresses surprise that only five girls could run a five-minute mile—that’s not right. Choice G implies a similar idea, that only four girls besides Claudia could run a five-minute mile—that’s not right. Choice H expresses the notion that running a mile in only five minutes isn’t much of an achievement—also not the idea we’re looking for. Choice J is correct, because the modifier “only” emphasizes how quickly the girls could run the mile, which coincides nicely with the idea expressed in the first clause.
When you encounter a potentially misplaced modifier, ask yourself, “What noun is being modified? Is this the noun that should be modified?” If the answer to the second question is yes, great! If not, figure out which noun should be modified and select the choice that pairs the modifier with that noun.
Practice problem set Sentence structure
The solutions follow the problem set.
1. C. A coordinating conjunction is used to link three items: “age,” “gender,” and “race.” The first two items are followed by a comma, then the coordinating conjunction “or” is placed before the last item.
2. G. The phrase, as originally written, uses the preposition “because of” to imply that the first clause is dependent on the second—that is, that people are obese because studies say that more people will be obese in the future. This relationship doesn’t make sense. The correct choice is G, which uses the coordinating conjunction “and” to link the two independent clauses in a way that does not erroneously state that one is the cause of the other.
3. D. As originally written, the end of this sentence looks and sounds incorrect; “for to” is substandard English. The conjunction should imply a dependent relationship between the two clauses, indicating that being healthier is dependent on making small changes. Answer choice D suggests that relationship.
4. H. This is a comma splice, where a comma has been used to connect two parts of a sentence incorrectly. A colon should be used to indicate that an explanation follows; “drink water” is an example of “one of the best things you can do to stay healthy.”
5. B. As originally written, this sentence is a run-on, where two complete ideas are joined without any separation. The two clauses should be connected with a coordinating conjunction.
6. J. Despite its length, the “sentence” that begins with “Repeatedly” and ends with “of water” is not really a sentence at all; it is a sentence fragment. In fact, “studies … of water” is a noun phrase and “found … per day” is a verb phrase. Combining the two phrases without separating punctuation creates a very long but well-formed sentence.
7. B. The sentence, as originally written, contains a misplaced modifier: “Offering … enthusiasts” should describe the gym, not “you”! The modifier should be placed next to what it describes, as in answer choice B.
8. F. The sentence is correct as written. It would be incorrect to separate “great time” from the linking verb “is.” Adding a period, as in choice H, would create sentence fragments. Adding a comma, as in choice J, would create a comma splice.
9. B. A subordinating conjunction (“because”) is required to show causation. The fact that “you’ll be surprised” by how much time went by is directly dependent on how much fun you had “playing sports with friends.”
10. J. The original wording contains a comma splice. Choice G would create two sentence fragments, and choice H would create an incomplete sentence.
11. C. As originally punctuated, “Rather … over food” is a sentence fragment. You need to link the sentence “Try … processed” to the fragment, separating them with a comma due to the shift in ideas.
12. G. Another misplaced modifier! The original wording incorrectly indicates that “you” are “fresh and raw”—a description that should be assigned to the sliced vegetables. Choice G places the modifier directly next to the noun it modifies.
Rhetorical skills are far less concrete and cut-and-dried than the skills tested on the earlier part of ACT English. Rhetorical skills involve your ability to write effectively and clearly, to recognize good writing, and to correct and improve writing. The ACT breaks down rhetorical skills into three categories:
Strategy (16%)
Organization (15%)
Style (16%)
By learning to evaluate strategies and answer example questions, you will strengthen your grasp of each of these topics and prepare yourself for these questions on the ACT.
Although “strategy” means lots of things in the real world, on the ACT, “strategy” simply means making the point of a passage clearer through effective editing. You will be tested in three areas:
The big picture
Topic sentences and transitions
The details
Big-picture questions on the ACT test how well you can recognize the main idea of a passage; these questions usually appear at or near the end of a passage. They focus not only on recognizing the main point of a passage, but also on articulating the purpose of the passage and predicting the passage’s intended audience. Helpful strategies are covered thoroughly in the ACT Reading chapter, so wait a hundred pages and you won’t have to study it twice!
Topic-sentence and transition questions test your understanding of how best to introduce, connect, and conclude an argument. Transitions can appear almost anywhere in a passage, even several times in a single paragraph. The key to nailing transition questions is to ask yourself what kind of transition the author is trying to make:
Continuation
Is the author trying to continue with the same idea by adding additional examples or exploring a related idea?
Franco loved to help out at his local food pantry. In addition, he worked hard during all the food drives to make sure he could keep the shelves full.
Common continuation words and phrases follow:
Contradiction
Is the author trying to indicate that there’s been a contradiction or a change in idea? Is the author highlighting a contrast?
In general, Megan was a very hard-working and smart girl. However, she was unable to keep her grades up when she entered high school.
Common contradiction words follow:
Cause and effect
Is the author trying to communicate a causal relationship? Is the author asserting that one event led to another?
Only the boys’ bathroom had graffiti in it. Therefore, the girls were allowed to keep their recess privileges while the boys were punished.
Common cause-and-effect words follow:
These are the three types of transitions most often encountered in ACT English, so it’s important to know when to use each one and which transition words fall in which categories.
You’re probably already pretty good at figuring out which types of transitions to use within sentences. However, this section tests your ability to position and use transitions correctly not only within sentences, but also within a passage. Let’s take a crack at an example problem:
Ask yourself: What relationship between the first and second paragraphs should the author be making clear? The first paragraph reveals that the author’s family really likes dogs. The second paragraph indicates that the family dislikes the neighbor’s dog. Is this a continuation? A contradiction? Cause and effect? You should be able to rule out cause and effect (does the family dislike the neighbor’s dog because they love dogs in general?) and continuation (does the family dislike the neighbor’s dog in the same way they like their own dogs?). You should settle on contradiction: the family’s love for their own dogs clashes with their dislike of the neighbor’s dog. By comparing the transition words offered by the four answer choices—“in addition,” “therefore,” “consequently,” and “however”—it is obvious that the contradiction word, “however,” is the correct answer.
Transitions involve determining the relationship between two ideas:
The appropriate transition word provides a clue to the reader about what’s coming next.
Other types of transitions appear less frequently in ACT English. Here are some helpful word lists:
Words that indicate explanation
for example
for instance
that is
Words that suggest an order
before
after
first
then
last
finally
Words that hint at a conclusion
in conclusion
in summary
in the end
Now, one more example:
The transition should indicate that the author is moving from the general (“negative effects … in a variety of ways”) to the specific (a particular example of detrimental effects). Because the author is introducing an example, the correct answer is choice D.
Some ACT English questions ask you to add substance to a paragraph by choosing the most appropriate detail to include. Other questions ask you to add a sentence that agrees with the evidence already presented; you’ll have to identify the theme or pattern in the rest of the paragraph and continue in that vein.
Process of elimination becomes especially important in answering these questions, since you can easily rule out details that are irrelevant or unrelated to the current topic. If a question asks you to add a point in support of details that have already been given, look in the answer choices for sentences that begin with continuation transition words, like “in addition” and “furthermore.” You can probably eliminate any choice that begins with a contradiction transition word, like “however” or “nevertheless”; by their nature, these words imply that the following point will not be in agreement with the points already made. Be careful, however: you also need to make sure that the point itself agrees with the preceding point. Both the transition word and the point that follows must agree with the earlier point.
A question may ask you to select a detail or additional sentence that contradicts the points already made. Such a question is rare, but it is very clearly worded. Never choose a contradicting detail unless the question specifically asks you to. To answer such a question, look for contradiction transition words and rule out any choices that contain a continuation word. Again, make sure that the actual detail also contradicts the previous point. Both the transition word and the point that follows must contradict the earlier point.
A question may ask you to identify or select a logical concluding sentence for a paragraph; you’ll select a choice that sums up the information already presented. A helpful clue in such a case is a cause-and-effect transition word like “therefore” or “consequently.” As noted before, the point presented after the transition word must make sense as the concluding idea for the paragraph.
First, decide which of the transition words in the answer choices you would use. Since the question asks you to select a point that further supports the argument about global warming, you know immediately that you should use a continuation transition word. You can therefore rule out choices F and J without wasting the time to read the entire choices. Both choices G and H begin with a continuation transition word, so you need to decide which of the two points better supports the points already made. Clearly, choice H is correct, since the point made in choice G contradicts the argument of the author.
The solutions follow the problem set.
1. C. Pressure from friends and family is a continuation of the ideas already expressed in the passage. Therefore, you should select a continuation transition word, in this case, “in addition.”
2. F. To mark the contrast between the negative ideas of the first paragraph and the positive, “here’s what you can do about it” ideas in the second paragraph, you should select an answer choice with a contradiction transition word paired with a contrasting idea. Choice F is the only answer that fits.
3. B. While your high school counselor is a good resource, the point here is that you shouldn’t rely too much on his or her help in writing your essay. Since this is a contrasting idea, you should select the answer choice with a contradiction transition word.
4. G. A causal relationship is implied between the fact that there are many applicants and the importance of setting yourself apart. The transition word should indicate a cause-and-effect relationship; “thus” is the only appropriate choice.
5. A. To support the idea about how useful the Common App is, you need to select the choice that relates to the Common App in a positive, relevant way.
6. H. Choice H is the only answer that both wraps up the current paragraph (“besides the essay”) and introduces the idea of the next paragraph (“your letters of recommendation”).
The ACT’s organization questions assess how well you’re able to reposition parts of sentences, paragraphs, and the passage as a whole to increase the clarity and effectiveness of the writing. We’ll discuss the three types of organization questions that you’ll encounter:
Organization of sentences
Organization of paragraphs
Organization of passages
In reorganizing sentences, you decide which parts of a sentence go where. You’ll be asked to move the parts around so that the finished sentence reads clearly and expresses the desired idea. About half of the reorganizing questions are about sentences, and they often involve misplaced modifiers, discussed earlier in the chapter. Fortunately, you’ve already learned almost everything you need to know about sentence reorganization—specifically, modifiers, conjunctions, and sentence structure.
Your goal is to make sure that the sentence reads clearly and that it’s easy to understand which adjectives and adverbs go with which nouns and verbs. Modifiers should be next to the words they modify, and the sentence should flow logically.
The basic logic used to reorganize a paragraph is the same as that used to reorganize a sentence. Ideas should flow logically from beginning to end, usually with an introductory sentence at the beginning, details in the middle, and a concluding sentence at the end. There should be no extraneous or unrelated material in the paragraph; in fact, for many questions, “DELETE the underlined sentence” is the correct choice. Paragraph reorganization questions occur at the ends of paragraphs.
Most paragraphs have the following organization:
An introduction/topic sentence (general)
This sentence, which often relates to the previous paragraph, prepares the reader for what follows. After reading the first sentence, the reader should know exactly what he or she is about to read in the rest of the paragraph. If you read the first sentence and have no clue as to the topic of the paragraph, chances are that the sentence doesn’t belong at the beginning of the paragraph. Extremely detailed or specific sentences typically aren’t found at the beginnings of paragraphs.
Two to five detailed sentences (specific)
This is the “meat” of the paragraph. These sentences provide details and supporting points that elaborate on the idea expressed in the topic sentence. Be aware that there is no place in a paragraph for random, extraneous, or irrelevant information. If a sentence doesn’t relate directly to the topic, it doesn’t belong in the paragraph and should be deleted.
A conclusion/summary sentence (general)
At the end of the paragraph is a sentence that often begins with “in summary,” “in conclusion,” “therefore,” or “thus.” These words are a clue that the sentence is summarizing the main idea presented in the paragraph. The last sentence of a paragraph is not the place to introduce new ideas or include specific evidence.
Here’s what a sample question looks like:
The correct answer is choice D. Sentence 4 introduces the topic; sentences 1, 3, and 2 (in that order) provide the details; and sentence 5 neatly wraps up the paragraph. The content of sentence 3, relating to shakes and burgers, indicates that it should immediately follow sentence 1, which describes the author’s first job at McDonald’s.
The best approach to a paragraph reorganization question is to identify the introduction and concluding sentences first. Any answer choices that don’t have these in the correct position (first and last) can be immediately eliminated, often leaving only one or two choices and saving you valuable time.
A question may provide a new sentence and ask you to place it correctly in the paragraph.
Passage reorganization questions are almost always at the end of the passage and are typically the last question in the section. These questions ask you to confirm the order of the paragraphs within the passage, to suggest a new order, or to determine where to place a specific paragraph in the passage.
The key to solving a passage reorganization question is to focus on the topic sentence of each paragraph. By reading only the first sentence of each paragraph, you should see a natural and logical sequence of information. The topic sentences should indicate which paragraph belongs at the beginning of the passage and which belongs at the end. Much like sentences in a paragraph, paragraphs in a passage tend to begin with a general introduction, go to specific details, and end with a general conclusion. Detailed topics tend to be sandwiched in the middle, with broad, general statements or arguments being made at the beginning or end.
The first paragraph should introduce the passage, the middle paragraphs should support or elaborate on the ideas presented in the introduction, and the last paragraph should recap the passage’s most important points and draw a conclusion. In some passages, the introductory and conclusion paragraphs mirror one another, with the concluding paragraph revisiting an idea that appeared in the introductory paragraph.
Frequently, a transition word introducing a new paragraph relates to the previous paragraph, and this can help you figure out where a paragraph belongs. If, for example, a paragraph begins “In addition to X, Y is important,” you have a clue that this paragraph directly follows the paragraph that discusses X.
One last tip: points in the middle paragraphs should be in the same order as they are mentioned in the introductory paragraph. Use this tip if you know which paragraphs make up the body of the passage, but you don’t know their order and you don’t have enough information from transition words and topic sentences to guess confidently.
Style questions test your ability to assess and analyze the writing style of the author, as well as to make changes that add to the flow and consistency of the passage. Solving style questions involves several tactics:
Eliminating redundancy
Avoiding ambiguity
Recognizing tone
Choosing appropriate language
All of these areas relate to making the passage flow smoothly from one paragraph to another, remaining consistent in tone and writing style throughout. Errors are signaled by choppy, awkward-sounding sentences, changes in tone from one part of the passage to another, and style variation between parts of the passage.
This topic was addressed earlier in the chapter—see English 36 Strategy 4: Shorter is sweeter. The key is to cut any words or phrases that repeat ideas, based on the principle that any time you say the same thing twice, you’re wasting the reader’s time. Because the ACT in general hates filler material, you should seek out and remove repeated ideas wherever you find them. Take a look at the repetition in the following sentences:
The fact that you followed your brother is already expressed by the fact that he is leading you—repeating the fact is a waste of words and ACT exam writers expect you to remove them.
The abbreviation “PM” implies evening, so “in the evening” isn’t necessary.
In general, if you can remove part of the sentence without losing any important information, you should remove it. Redundancy, on the ACT as well as in the real world, is a sign of bad writing style and should be eliminated.
Your writing—and the writing you see in ACT English—should be as clear and specific as possible. Avoid general, vague terms like the plague. Especially avoid using “this” and “that,” as in “This shows …” and “That shows …”. What shows? Sentences like “this shows that he’s very upset” fail to demonstrate what exactly “shows that he’s very upset.” Instead of using these general terms, specify the subject. For example:
After reading the second sentence, you have a much better idea of what’s actually going on. Be as clear and specific in your writing as possible; using general terms makes your writing less accurate and harder to understand. Here’s a short list of words to avoid:
good
bad
happy
sad
this
that
important
special
Wherever possible, replace these words with accurate, specific counterparts. Why paint a story with a sloppy magic marker when you could be sketching with an ultrafine-point pen?
These questions ask you to assess the tone of a passage, that is, to decide whether certain phrases and ways of writing are consistent with the author’s tone. You’ll explore this concept more extensively in the chapter on ACT Reading.
My high school teachers constantly proclaimed that tone isn’t what you say, it’s how you say it. Since tone is often considered the “mood” or manner in which content is delivered, the choices for tone are nearly endless. Lighthearted, somber, jovial, triumphant, playful, gloomy—all these are tones you may encounter in ACT English. The content of a passage should help narrow down the choices. For example, a presentation of historical or literary material is usually done in an academic tone: long, complex sentences; big words; and little or no humor. On the other hand, personal accounts are often conversational and peppered with shorter, simpler sentences; familiar vocabulary; and, often, humor.
Once you ascertain the mood of the author’s writing by reading the passage, you need to choose phrases or sentences consistent with that mood. If the essay is formal, don’t opt for a choice that includes slang or familiar language. If the essay is informal, avoid long, complex sentences and archaic words. It should be relatively easy to tell which answer choices are appropriate and which aren’t.
While recognizing tone focuses on phrases and sentences, this tactic concentrates on words. The same approach is used, however: assess the tone of the passage and select words that reflect the same degree of formality. In a history of the life and achievements of John Hancock, you wouldn’t write “John was a cool guy.” Similarly, in a casual note to a friend, you wouldn’t write “John consistently displays deep affection for his classmates and genuine interest in the subject material.”
There are no black-and-white rules for assessing tone and choosing the right word. Instead, rely on your intuition to help you know whether a word can and should be used in a certain context. For clues, look at the length and type of neighboring words. Let’s say you need to describe the facial expression of a disappointed friend. If the surrounding sentences contain words like “somber,” “morose,” and “disheartened,” you should choose a complex word—“dejected,” for example. On the other hand, if the surrounding sentences contain words like “sad,” “hurt,” and “frowning,” your word choice should reflect that level of simplicity, so “gloomy” would be better than “dejected.”
Reading widely and working through practice questions will help you develop the skill to recognize tone and choose appropriate language.
Practice problem set Organization and style
1. B. This is an example of a misplaced modifier. The phrase “wanting … social scene” needs to be placed directly next to “the student,” which it modifies.
2. J. Sentence 1 should remain at the beginning—it introduces the topic. Sentence 3 seems to contain a concluding idea, so it should be last. Sentence 4 introduces the idea of school assistance, on which Sentence 2 elaborates. Therefore, the correct order should be 1, 4, 2, 3.
3. B. This is an example of redundancy. “A trying time” and “a difficult period in their lives” are essentially the same thing, and stating this idea twice does not give the reader any new information. Thus, the best choice is to remove the redundant phrase.
4. G. The vague “this” in the original sentence leaves the reader wondering what exactly it is that means some students will struggle. Choice G provides an explicit answer, and it is the only response that successfully eliminates ambiguity from the sentence.
5. D. This question concerns recognizing tone. Thus far, the passage has been fairly formal—written in the style of a school newspaper article. “Which is cool” is too casual for the passage and adds no new information, so it should be removed. Choice B, at the other extreme, is too wordy to match the style of the passage.
6. F. There is no need to add redundant information. None of the other choices would provide any valuable or new information.
7. D. As pointed out earlier, the tone of the passage isn’t extremely formal, but it certainly isn’t the casual, perky style that would work with an exclamation like “Yay!” In the context of the paragraph and passage, this exclamation is unexpected and unprofessional, and should be eliminated.
8. H. Sentence 4 provides the reason for the “new social environment” in Sentence 1 and sets the stage for “meeting all new friends” in Sentence 2. Therefore, Sentence 4 belongs after Sentence 1.
9. B. Since Paragraph 2 introduces the topic of the transition to high school, it should be placed first. Paragraph 5 clearly belongs where it is, because it sums up the ideas in the passage. The three middle paragraphs should mirror the order in which they appear in the new first paragraph: “a new environment” (Paragraph 3), “new people” (Paragraph 4), and “increasing demands on time and energy” (Paragraph 1).
