Boost your ACT English score with our free practice questions designed to mirror the actual test. These carefully curated problems span all major content areas tested on the ACT, including grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and rhetorical skills.
New questions are added every day, so you can practice consistently and stay sharp for test day.
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ACT English practice questions are split into three categories:
Topic Development: Practice identifying whether content fulfills its intended purpose and determining if sentences should be added or removed.
Organization, Unity, and Cohesion: Work on choosing transition words, logical sentence order, and effective introductions or conclusions.
Precision and Concision: Master recognizing redundant phrasing and wordiness, replacing with more concise alternatives.
Style and Tone Consistency: Practice ensuring consistent style and tone throughout passages.
Sentence Structure and Formation: Practice fixing run-on sentences, fragments, and ensuring parallel structure.
Punctuation: Work on correct use of commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, and apostrophes.
Usage and Grammar: Master subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, and proper tense usage.
To get the most out of ACT English practice questions, we recommend the following strategies (they have been shown to help improve your score twice as fast!):
Take a full-length practice test to identify your strengths and weaknesses. This helps you focus your study time on areas that need improvement.
Work through ACT English problems by content area. Master one topic before moving to the next.
Always practice under timed conditions. Aim for about 36 seconds per question to build the pacing skills you'll need on test day.
Don't just check if you got the answer right. Read the explanations to understand the reasoning and learn new strategies.
Keep a record of your scores and note which types of ACT English questions give you trouble. Focus extra practice on these areas.
Understanding the ACT English test format is crucial for effective practice and test day success. The ACT has announced significant changes to the English section starting in 2025, so it's important to know which version you'll be taking:
| Feature | Current Format | Enhanced Format (Starting April 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Total Questions | 75 multiple-choice questions | 50 multiple-choice questions |
| Time Limit | 45 minutes (about 36 seconds per question) | 35 minutes (about 42 seconds per question) |
| Passage Count | 5 passages (approximately 15 questions each) | Fewer passages (exact distribution not specified) |
| Question Format | Choose the best alternative for an underlined/highlighted portion of text, or "NO CHANGE" if the original is best. | Same format (underlined portions with multiple-choice answers) |
Each correct answer on the ACT English section earns you 1 raw point. There's no penalty for wrong answers, so always guess if you're unsure.
Your raw score is converted to a scaled score from 1-36. The national average is around 19-20, while competitive scores are typically 25+.
Here are some key facts about ACT English scoring:
No penalty for wrong answers – always guess
All questions are worth equal points
English contributes 1/4 to your composite score (1/3 on enhanced test without Science)
ACT offers superscoring across multiple test dates
For comprehensive information about the ACT English section, including detailed explanations of question types, scoring, and test format, check out our complete guides:
ACT English: All You Need to Know - Complete guide to the ACT English section with detailed breakdowns of all question types and skills tested.
ACT Score Range Guide - Understand how ACT English scores translate to college admissions and what scores you need for your target schools.
Enhanced ACT vs Traditional ACT 2025 - Learn about the upcoming changes to the ACT format and how they affect the English section.