American Diploma · ACT · English and Reading
ACT English and Reading — Complete Course
Everything on the enhanced ACT English and Reading sections: grammar, punctuation, style and organisation, every Reading question type, and timed practice tests with explanations.
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The enhanced ACT and how to attack the English section.
- The Enhanced ACT: Complete OverviewHow the enhanced ACT is built: sections, timing, the composite score, the English and Reading formats, and a 6-week study plan.
- How to Attack ACT EnglishA step-by-step method for ACT English: reading while you answer, NO CHANGE, the shortest correct answer, DELETE choices, vertical scanning and timing.
English: Conventions of Standard English
Punctuation, usage and sentence structure.
- ACT PunctuationEvery punctuation rule ACT English tests — commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, apostrophes, question marks and when to use no punctuation — with ✓/✗ examples and an ACT-style quiz.
- ACT Grammar and UsageSubject–verb agreement, pronoun case and agreement, who/whom, verb forms, adjectives and adverbs, comparisons, idioms and confused words — with worked items and an ACT-style quiz.
- Sentence StructureFragments, run-ons and comma splices, joining clauses, modifiers, parallelism, comparisons and shifts — each rule with ✓/✗ examples, five worked items and a 12-question ACT-style essay.
English: Production of Writing and Knowledge of Language
Concision, relevance, organisation, word choice and tone.
- Concision and RedundancyRedundant pairs, wordy phrases, active vs passive and the "shortest correct answer" rule with its exceptions — worked items and a 12-question ACT-style essay.
- Relevance: Add, Delete and Writer's GoalHow to answer "Should the writer add/delete this sentence?", "Which choice best accomplishes the goal?" and "Suppose the writer's goal had been…" — a clear method, worked items and a 10-question ACT-style essay.
- Organisation: Order and TransitionsTransition words by logic family, sentence placement, paragraph order, and introduction, conclusion and transition sentences — with a method, worked items and a 10-question ACT-style essay.
- Word Choice and TonePrecision, formal vs casual register, consistent tone, idioms and vague vs specific wording — five checks, worked items and a 10-question ACT-style essay.
Reading
A method for long passages and every question category.
- ACT Reading Strategy: Read Fast, Answer SmartA complete method for the ACT Reading section: a 10-minute-per-passage time plan, active reading with a 3-word map, smart question order and trap-based elimination, with a full practice passage.
- Key Ideas and DetailsMain idea, details, sequence, cause–effect, comparisons and inferences on ACT Reading, with worked examples, trap analysis and a full literary narrative practice passage.
- Craft and StructureVocabulary in context, author's purpose and point of view, the function of paragraphs and sentences, narrator's perspective and tone on ACT Reading, with worked examples and a full humanities practice passage.
- Integration of Knowledge and IdeasPaired passages, passages with tables and charts, and evaluating arguments and evidence on ACT Reading, with worked examples, a full paired-passage practice set and a science passage with data.
Practice tests
Timed English and Reading tests with explanations.
- ACT English — Practice Test 1A full, timed enhanced-ACT English practice test: six original essays, 50 questions in 35 minutes, with an explanation for every answer.
- ACT English — Practice Test 2A full, timed enhanced-ACT English test: six original essays, 50 questions in 35 minutes, with a full explanation for every answer.
- ACT Reading — Practice Test 1A full timed enhanced-ACT Reading test: four original passages (literary narrative, social science, paired humanities passages and natural science with a data table), 36 questions in 40 minutes, with an explanation for every answer.
- ACT Reading — Practice Test 2A full timed enhanced-ACT Reading section: 4 original passages, 36 questions, 40 minutes, with an explanation for every answer.