My 2 Biggest Tips for the ACT/SAT English & Writing Section

Hello everyone! In this week’s blog post, I’ll be going over my 2 biggest tips for the English/writing sections on the SAT and ACT. Read on to learn more!

The SAT Evidence-based Writing Section consists of 44 multiple-choice questions, to be answered in a span of 35 minutes. The ACT English Section consists of 75 multiple-choice questions, to be completed in 45 minutes. Both tests have different formats of questions, but they both test you in the same aspects. They’re testing your ability to properly use standard English conventions and grammar rules. Simply, they’re testing your ability to use English grammar rules effectively and accurately.

Both tests follow the approach of having passages and asking a set of questions based upon each passage. Questions can ask about punctuation rules, word choice, style, etc. There will also be comprehension-based questions, where you will be asked to choose the answer choice that fits in best with the context of the passage.

There are many different approaches to the English/writing sections of these standardized tests. Some students don’t read the passage at all, and just answer the questions and refer to the passage when needed. Other students read the entire passage and then answer the questions. Additionally, there are some students who answer questions as they read the passage.

When it comes to one of the three aforementioned approaches, you should aim to utilize the approach that works the best for you. There is a bit of a time crunch in these sections, and you’ll have to answer a ton of questions in a short amount of time. Therefore, utilize the approach that will allow you to answer as many questions as possible.

I’ll be going over my two biggest tips for this section of the SAT/ACT. These tips can be utilized for both tests and will help you finetune your skills in time for test day. Always remember: practice is key when it comes to the English/writing section of the SAT/ACT, so that should be your main goal when studying!

Tip #1: Read Aloud

This is a tip that got me through half of the English sections on both tests. For the questions that are primarily based on grammar, you can read sentence aloud (in your head, of course) and see which one sounds best. This isn’t a foolproof method, but it does help in some questions and should be done cautiously.

For those who are fluent in English, this method works seamlessly, since you’ll be able to point out the correct answer just by seeing if it seems right. However, for those who are not so familiar with the language, this tip must be used cautiously. I would also recommend learning some basic grammar rules to help in case the “Read aloud” method doesn’t work.

Tip #2: Do Drills

The best way to study for the English sections on both of these tests is to practice. Apart from learning grammar rules, doing repeated questions and drilling yourself can be very helpful. There are many standard English conventions that the SAT/ACT frequently asks about on this part of the test, and by drilling yourself with questions, you can become familiar with the format and types of questions.

Always make sure you note or markdown your incorrect answers, so you can study that specific grammar concept later. Practice questions based on that concept, and soon enough, you’ll get the hang of it.

I hope you all found this post useful! Please feel free to contact me with any questions!

Until next time, bye!