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ACT English
What can you expect?
•75 Questions
• 5 Passages
•15 Questions per passage
• 45 Minutes
That equals 9 minutes per
passage.
Concepts
Usage and Mechanics
»Punctuation
»Commas
»Apostrophes
»Colons
»Parenthesis and Dashes
»Combos
•Grammar and Usage
»Grammatical Agreement
»Verb Tense
»Pronoun Forms
»Modifiers
»Idioms
•Sentence Structure
–Sentence Fragments
–Run-ons
–Comma Splices
–Misplaces Modifiers
–Shifts in Construction
Concepts Continued
Rhetorical Skills
»Strategy
»Organization
»Style
»Transitions
What is usage and
mechanics?
Usage/Mechanics problems test how
well you can construct a functional
sentence using:
»the rules of punctuation
»grammar
»sentence structure.
What is usage and
mechanics? Continued
Over 1/2 of the problems in the English Test are
Usage/Mechanics problems. Therefore, every rule
that you learn is another tool in your toolbox that
will help you solve more Usage/Mechanics problems
and ultimately increase your English score.
Commas, Commas, and
more Commas
Punctuation marks are used for more than
sideways faces. ;) This next section will
teach you the formal rules of punctuation
that frequently appear on the ACT English
test.
»Hint
»The answer choices will have the same
set of words with punctuation marks
(sometimes different) in varying locations.
Commas, Commas, and
more Commas
Commas are meant to create natural
pauses in a sentence. When used
improperly (i.e. misplaced, too many, or
not enough) commas disrupt the flow of
the sentence.
» Commas are the most frequently
tested punctuation on the ACT.
Commas
» LISTS- Whenever you see lists containing 3 or
more items of anything in a sentence, you must
place a comma between each item. Insert
commas where needed in the following
sentence:
» Example:
Paul Mark Brett and Derek prepared
served and ate some food that was
delicious and healthy.
Commas- Adjectives and Introductions
ADJECTIVES-
If you see 2 or more adjectives before a
noun, you must place a comma between the adjectives:
Example:
The beautiful young reindeer is dead.
INTRODUCTIONS- A comma should
follow any phrase or word that introduces
a sentences:
Examples:
In this course, students learn how to
master the ACT.
Eventually, Jennifer scored a 36 on the
ACT English Test.
Commas- Removable Phrases
» Removable Phrases- Commas should
surround a non-essential, modifying phrase:
Example:
My dad, who is over 65 years old, is
retired.
If you remove who is over 65 years old, it does NOT
impact the central meaning of the sentence. The
phrase provides additional information, but it is NOT
essential.
Commas- Essential Modifying
Phrases
» Commas should NOT surround
an essential modifying phrase:
Example
People who are over 65 years
old are often retired.
In this case, if you remove who are over 65 years
old, you would be left with a sentence that has a
much different meaning.
THE CLAUSES
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE- a complete
thought that contains at least a
subject and a verb.
Examples of Independent clauses:
The dog ate.
Joe failed the assignment.
Sinclair loves wooden bones.
» A clause that makes sense by
itself is an independent clause.
» A clause that does not make
sense by itself is a dependent
clause.
» A complex sentence contains an
independent and dependent
clause.
Independent clause
Native Americans lived on the
island until they were
attacked.
Dependent clause
The Clauses
» DEPENDENT CLAUSES-
An incomplete
thought composed of at least a subject and a verb.
Examples:
» Although we studied for seventeen
hours straight.
» When you look in the cabinet
beneath the microwave.
» Because he was a fabulous
musician.
» If you finish your homework.
Write I or D for independent or
dependent clause.
»
»
»
»
»
1. if you live on an island______
2. the tides affect your life______
3. the water level rises_____
4. when the tide comes in_____
5. much of the beach disappears
under water_____
» 6. until the tide goes out_____
The Colons (; & :)
Semicolons and colons are often used as
incorrect answers on the English Test,
so you must understand how to use
them properly.
SEMICOLONS (;) can be used to replace a period
when 2 independent clauses are closely related.
Examples
You don’t study the ACT because it’s fun. You
study the ACT because you want to go to college.
OR
You don’t study the ACT because it’s fun; you
study the ACT because you want to go to college.
Both versions are correct. When you see a
semicolon, make sure it separates 2 independent
clauses; otherwise, it is incorrect.
Colons (:)
COLONS are generally used to
introduce a list.
Example-
We ate a magnificent dinner:
lobster, shrimp, steak, and
ribs.
Tip- Make sure that you DO NOT confuse the colon
with the semicolon as they are obviously used
for very different purposes.
It’s vs. its
It’s (abbreviation of it is)
Its (the possessive form of it)
Hint: Plug in it is and see if it
makes sense.
They’re vs. their vs. there
» They’re (abbreviation for they are)
» Their (the possessive form of they)
» There (indicates location or used as
expletive)
Examples:
They’re a really nice couple.
Their dog is very lazy.
There are no paper towels left.
Grammatical Agreement
» Grammatical disagreement occurs when the
words within a sentence do NOT work well
together.
» The pronoun should match the
antecedent/subject.
» Incorrect: The team run up the hill.
» Correct: The team runs up the hill.
» Incorrect:The company ran out of
money, so they went out of business.
» Correct: The company ran out of
money, so it went out of business.
Incorrect: If a student pays little attention in
class, they won’t improve their score.
Correct: If students pay little attention in class,
they won’t improve their scores.
or
Correct: If a student pays little attention in
class, he or she won’t improve his or her score.
Verb Tense
When dealing with lists of verbs, make sure
that the verbs are of the same tense and
consistent. It may be helpful to remove the
other verbs from the list to help eliminate
wrong answers
1. A. No Change
Example
We want you to search,
identify, and eliminate
incorrect answers.
B. be searching
C. have searched
D. search for
English Guessing
Strategy
» What do I do if I have absolutely no
idea what is going on in a certain
question?
» Try the famous GOSH strategy!
» Use this strategy only for the
English portion of the ACT.
Subject vs. Object
» Pronouns change when used in
different cases (subject, object, or
possesive)
» The University of Illinois accepted Justin,
Jim, and I.
» This almost sounds correct BUT it’s
not.The sentence is properly
written:
» The University of Illinois accepted Justin,
Jim, and me.
» The University of Illinois accepted I.
» OR
» The University of Illinois accepted
me.
Do it yourself..
»Justin, Jim, and
____ went to the
University of Illinois.
Fragments
» Incomplete sentences AKA
fragments are the most common
sentence structure error. You will
often see a sentence that is
composed of only a dependent
clause.
» You can easily turn a dependent
clause into an independent clause
by removing what we call the
handcuff.
Example
» Because the dog ate a bone.
^handcuff
This is a fragment
» The dog ate a bone.
This is grammatically correct.
TIP: If a sentence seems incomplete, it is
potentially a fragment. The answer
choices often contain handcuffs, commas
or semicolons in different locations.
Comma Splices
»
A comma splice attempts to use
the following combination.
Independent (comma) Independent (period)
EX: The dog ate his homework, Joe failed the
assignment.
This is not a legal combo because it is
missing a conjuction (and, or, or
but)
Run-Ons
» Run-on sentences are the same
as comma splices without the
comma.
» EX: The dog ate his homework
Joe failed the assignment.
TIP: If a sentence seems excessively long,
it is potentially a run-on or comma splice.
The answer choices often contain
commas or semicolons in different
locations.
Misplaced Modifiers
» A misplaced modifier is a
modifying phrase or word that has
wandered too far away from what it
is supposed to be modifying, leaving
it confusing.
» Adam bought ice cream for his students
with chocolate sprinkles.
Do the students have chocolate
sprinkles or does the ice cream?
» Correctly Stated
» Adam bought ice cream with chocolate
sprinkles for his students.
TIP: Misplaced modifier questions are the
only usage/mechanics questions that
frequently appear in a format other than
the “NO CHANGE” format. They may
ask, “The best placement for the
underlined portion would be”.
Helpful Hints for During
the Exam
» Sit up Straight
» Relax and Breathe
» Take Advantage of the Break
Helpful Hints for Before
the Exam
»
»
»
»
Rest Well
Eat Something……Healthy
Dress in Layers
Don’t Freak
The End