Test Strategy

What you'll learn

• Complete a full English passage (15 questions) in 9 minutes or less
• Develop a consistent reading rhythm for English passages
• Identify question types you can answer fastest and use them to bank time
• Practice strategic guessing for questions that take too long
• Apply process of elimination (POE) to narrow down answer choices quickly
• Identify common ACT trap answers in the English section

Key concepts

The ACT English section gives you 35 minutes for 50 questions across 5 passages, meaning roughly 9 minutes per passage and 42 seconds per question. Grammar and mechanics questions (punctuation, agreement, sentence structure) should be answered quickly. Often in 20-30 seconds. Leaving extra time for rhetorical questions that require more thought. The key to speed is recognizing question types instantly. If a question underlines a verb, check agreement and tense. If it underlines a transition word, determine the logical relationship. If it asks about the passage as a whole, it is a rhetorical strategy question. Pattern recognition is faster than reading every answer choice carefully. Process of Elimination (POE) is the single most effective test-taking strategy on the ACT. Even when you are unsure of the right answer, you can often eliminate 2-3 wrong choices and dramatically improve your odds. For ACT English, use these POE rules: (1) If two answer choices say essentially the same thing, both are usually wrong. The ACT does not have two correct answers. (2) The most concise answer is usually correct for English. If an answer adds unnecessary words without changing the meaning, eliminate it. (3) Answers that introduce new errors (comma splices, fragments, pronoun ambiguity) can be immediately eliminated. (4) If you are choosing between 'NO CHANGE' and a revision, do not default to NO CHANGE. Approximately 75% of the time, the passage needs a change.

Pro tips

• Read the passage at a natural pace. Do not skim, but answer grammar questions without rereading.
• If you are stuck for more than 45 seconds, make your best guess, mark it, and move on.
• In practice, aim to finish each passage in 8 minutes so you have a 5-minute buffer at the end.
• Process of elimination tip: if two choices are wordy and one is concise, the concise answer is almost always right.
• If two answer choices mean the same thing in different words, eliminate both. The ACT never has two correct answers.
• Do not assume 'NO CHANGE' is correct just because the original sounds fine. Actively check for errors.