What skills are tested on the ACT English section?

Hi everyone! I'm starting to study for the ACT, and I want to know what specific skills or concepts I should focus on for the English section. Can anyone provide a brief overview of what's tested or point me to a useful resource? Thanks!

The ACT English section focuses on assessing your understanding of grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, strategy, organization, and style in the context of written English. Here's a brief overview of the main skills and concepts you'll need to focus on:

1. Usage and Mechanics:

- Punctuation: Proper use of commas, apostrophes, colons, semicolons, dashes, and periods.

- Grammar: Subject-verb agreement, verb tense, parallelism, dangling modifiers, and pronoun usage (antecedent agreement, pronoun case, and pronoun clarity).

- Sentence Structure: Recognizing and fixing sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma splices.

2. Rhetorical Skills:

- Strategy: Identifying an author's purpose, main ideas, and intended audience. This also includes determining the best way to introduce or conclude a passage and deciding if a statement is relevant and adequately supports the main idea.

- Organization: Understanding the logical structure of sentences and paragraphs, creating smooth transitions, and deciding the best order for ideas to be presented.

- Style: Choosing effective and concise wording, maintaining a consistent tone or style, and eliminating redundant or irrelevant information.

Each of the 75 multiple-choice questions in this section is based on one of five prose passages. To succeed in the ACT English section, it's crucial to have a solid foundation in these skills and practice analyzing passages. As you study for the test, work on targeted skill-building through grammar exercises, reading comprehension, and writing practice. Take timed practice tests to build your confidence and speed in answering questions, too.

For resources, the ACT official website has a preparation guide, and there are many other prep books and online platforms available to help you with studying. Good luck with your ACT preparation!