1. ACT English When in Doubt, Take it out

2. The ACT English test includes: 10 punctuation questions 12 grammar and usage questions 18 sentence structure questions 12 strategy questions 11 organization questions 12 style questions

3. More than 20 questions test your awareness of: Redundancy Redundancy Verbosity Verbosity Relevance Relevance

4. Redundancy The wrong answers make the passage say the same thing twice The ACT is very strict about redundancy: Never let the text in a sentence repeat itself

5. Verbosity The wrong answers force the reader to read more words, but they are no clearer than the short answers, and they don’t add meaning. ACT rule: The best way to write something is the shortest way, AS LONG AS it doesn’t violate any rules of grammar or punctuation.

6. Relevance What is the paragraph about? Omit ideas that are not directly tied in with the purpose of the passage.

7. When in Doubt … The shortest answer is correct with great frequency. If you’re not sure whether an idea is redundant, it probably is, so TAKE IT OUT. If you’re not sure whether a certain way to say something is too verbose, it probably is, so TAKE IT OUT. If you’re not sure whether an idea is relevant, it probably isn’t, so TAKE IT OUT

8. Skimming English Questions Skim one paragraph, then do the questions it contains, then skim the next paragraph, do the questions that one contains, etc. Read carefully when tackling the questions

9. Step 1: Does this stuff belong here? Does the underlined section belong? Is it expressed as succinctly as possible? If the answer is no: Choose the answer that gets rid of the stuff that doesn’t belong Choose the answer that gets rid of the stuff that doesn’t belong If the answer is yes: Move on to Step 2 … Move on to Step 2 …

10. Step 2: Does this stuff make sense? Does the underlined portion make logical sense? If not, choose the answer that turns nonsense into sense If yes, move on to Step 3 …

11. Step 3: Does this stuff sound like English? Many grammar errors will sound wrong to your ear. Create your own personal “RED FLAG” list of the grammar rules that you struggle with.