ACT Overview

ACT OverviewLA 5

Test     Content

English 75 questions 45 min Measures standard written English and rhetorical skills.

Math 60 questions 60 minMeasures mathematical skills students have

typically acquired in courses taken up to the beginning of grade 12.

Reading 40 questions 35 min Measures reading comprehension.

Science 40 questions 35 minMeasures the interpretation, analysis, evaluation,

reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in the natural sciences.

Optional Writing Test

1 prompt 30 minMeasures writing skills emphasized in high

school English classes and in entry-level college composition courses.

Overview, continuedACT test is about 3½ hours longThere is a short break between the Math and

Reading testsThere is a total of 215 multiple choice

questions and one essayThe ACT does not penalize you for a wrong

answer: ANSWER EVERY QUESTION, even if it is a guess

English TestThe English test is a 75-question, 45-

minute test, covering:Usage/Mechanics

punctuation grammar and usage sentence structure

Rhetorical Skills strategy organization style

Sample English Question:

Reading Test35 minutes, 40 questions4 reading passages

10 questions per passage Factoring out time you’ll initially take to read the

passages, you’ll have approximately 30 seconds per question (more for some, less for others)

4 categories for reading passages:• Social Studies about 1,000• Natural Sciences words:• Humanities college level text• Prose Fiction

Social Studies, Natural Sciences, and Humanities Passages

Well-organized essays with a recognizable theme

You will have one reading from each of these categories

You will be asked questions about: The theme and what its meaning is Specific facts in the essay The structure/organization of the essay

Prose Fiction Passage

Only fiction passage on the ACT ReadingQuestions will ask you to:

Understand thoughts, feelings, motivations of fictional characters even when not explicitly stated in passage

Make lots of inferences

Sample Reading Questions