Score 36 on ACT English — The American College Testing or the ACT is a standardised test used primarily for college admissions in the US, where it is widely recognised. It is not universally required for college admissions worldwide and its relevance varies across different countries and institutions. The ACT evaluates students’ readiness for college level education and is considered alongside their qualifications like GPA, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, interviews and personal essays during their college/university admissions.
Structure Of ACT
CT consists of four mandatory sections – English, Math, Reading, Science and an optional essay section. It is a linear test and your performance in one section does not affect the questions in other sections. ACT has 215 questions to be completed in 2 hours 55 min. The ACT is scored on a scale of 1-36 for each section (English, Math, Reading, Science) and a composite score of 36 (which is the average of the four sections). The breakdown of questions with allotted time is given in the table –
| ACT Test Format | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sections | English | Math | Reading | Science | Writing (Optional) |
| No of Questions | 75 | 60 | 40 | 40 | 1 |
| Time Allotted | 45 min | 60 min | 35 min | 35 min | 40 min |
| Duration of Test | 2 hours 55 min (without the Essay) | ||||
In this article we will explore how to achieve a perfect 36/36 in the English (highlighted) section. Let’s dive in!
What Is A Good Score On The ACT English?
To begin with, you must know that a score of 34 to 36 in the ACT English is as good as it can get. With a 34 and over, you are comfortably placed for the top colleges. But if you have scored a 33 or below, we’d recommend you to push your limits, and aim higher if you are planning to apply in the top colleges. As a test taker, you must know that there is a big difference between a 32 and a 34, solely because a lot of students score a 32 easily, but it’s a lot harder to get a 34.
Why Should You Aim For A Perfect Score In ACT English?
Most Ivy schools have a minimum requirement of 35 in the ACT and other top colleges have a minimum requirement of 34. Scoring a perfect 36 on the ACT English section can significantly help you counteract your weaknesses in other sections like Math, Reading or Science keeping your composite score higher.
How Should You Prepare For The ACT English Section?
The English section in ACT comprises three main categories of questions –
| S.N. | Category | Percentage in Questions | Knowledge Tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Writing | 29-32% | OrganisationStrategyStyle |
| 2. | Knowledge of Language | 15-17% | Word ChoiceStyle and ToneRhetorical Skills |
| 3. | Conventions of Standard English | 50-55% | PunctuationGrammar & UsageSentence Structure & Formation |
The two main areas of English Language Skills that are tested in all these three categories of questions are –
- Usage and Mechanics
- Rhetorical Skills
How To Prepare For ‘Usage and Mechanics’ Of Language Skills For ACT English
Testing the usage and mechanics of English Language Skills include testing grammar, syntax, punctuation and its proper use. Usage and mechanics are based on rules that need memorisation and practice. Some of the strategies that can be applied to improve these skills are –
- Mastering the Basics
- Extensive and Active Reading
- Practice Regularly
- Seeking Feedback
- Reviewing Mistakes
- Using Online Resources
1. Mastering The Basics for ACT English
- Grammar – Practice fundamental grammar rules like subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement and verb forms – tense and conjugation.
- Punctuation – Review the use of punctuation marks like commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, apostrophes and quotation marks.
- Sentence Structure – Learn how to structure sentences correctly, understand the difference between sentence fragments and run-on sentences.
- Idioms and Wrong Word – You must be thorough with idioms and correct usage of words like affect/effect, there/their/they’re, your/you’re, neither..nor and so on.
- Parallel Construction – You must know how to use similar grammatical forms to express ideas of equal importance. Learn to maintain a rhythm and balance in writing. For example –
Incorrect – She likes to stitch, to read and painting
Correct – She likes stitching, reading and painting.
- Faulty Modifiers – These are words or phrases that modify the wrong word or phrase in a sentence. Some common types are dangling modifiers and misplaced modifiers. Students must develop the art of identifying them with extensive reading and practice.
An example of a dangling modifier –
Incorrect – Having finished the ACT exam in time, a sense of relief washed over me.
Correct – Having finished the ACT exam in time, I felt a sense of relief wash over me.
An example of a misplaced modifier –
Incorrect – Covered in hot fudge, the ice cream melted quickly.
Correct – The ice cream, covered in hot fudge, melted quickly.
Handling such questions needs practice and applying logic. Talk to a Grammar Expert to nail such trick questions. You can check Practice Question here.
2. Extensive And Active Reading
- Diverse Reading – Reading a variety of texts like novels, articles and essays exposes you to different writing styles, grammatical structures, enhances your vocabulary and helps understand complex sentence structures to analyse and understand ideas better. Contextual understanding is crucial in the ACT English section.
- Active Reading – Active reading is a powerful tool in ACT English as it improves your reading comprehension. You learn to focus on the text, the author’s ideas and other details which help you to think critically, identify key points and contextual clues. Active reading, by default, also leads to understanding grammar and vocabulary usage better.
3. Practicing Regularly
- Targeted Practice – Target your weaker areas and focus on those specific needs such as punctuation, sentence structure or whichever needs more practice.
- ACT Practice Tests – Practise official ACT practice tests to familiarise yourself with the format, question types, timing and so on.
- Simulation – Practice under simulated conditions, time yourself and review your mistakes.
4. Seeking Feedback
- Teacher Feedback – Seek guidance from your English teacher by asking them to review your writing, identify weaker areas and how to improve upon them.
- Peer Review – Exchange papers with your peers, classmates and friends and ask them for constructive criticism. Exchange effective study techniques and explore opportunities for mutual improvement.
- Workshops – Participate in English writing workshops. Join writing groups to get feedback on your writing.
5. Reviewing Your Mistakes
- Review incorrect answers – Analyse your incorrect answers and decode why where the mistake lies.
- Identify patterns – Look for repeated patterns in your mistakes and analyze them to identify knowledge gaps and prioritize areas for improvement.
6. Using Online Resources
- Explore grammar websites that offer valuable resources for improving grammar and writing skills.
- Many websites also offer ACT practice tests with answers and explanations.
- You can connect with our team for ACT tutoring at Ascend Now and get custom resources and practise with the best digital ACT certified tutors. Remember – Practice is the key. Pick a way to do it.
By consistently practicing these strategies, you can significantly improve your usage and mechanics skills and boost your ACT English score.
Training Yourself For The Rhetorical Skills Section Of ACT English
Rhetorical skills are techniques that are used to communicate ideas effectively while using a language. It may be referred to as the art of using language to inform, persuade or entertain.
The students should try to learn the following rhetorical skills for effective communication –
- Ethos – It refers to the credibility and trustworthiness of the writer by establishing authority and building a rapport with the reader.
- Pathos – IT refers to the ability to appeal to the reader’s emotions by using vivid language and strong storytelling to connect with them on a personal level.
- Logos – This is a skill to use evidence like facts, statistics, expert opinions and logical reasoning to support your writing.
- Rhetorical Devices – Students must develop these special techniques to enhance the impact of their language usage –
- Metaphor
- Simile
- Personification
- Hyperbole
- Understatement
- Irony
For example – Instead of saying, – ‘Her laughter was pleasing to him’, if you use a metaphor – ‘Her laughter was music to his ears’, it would make a more impactful sentence. Rhetorical skills can make you a more persuasive and engaging communicator.
Follow the strategies below to applying rhetorical skills in the ACT English Test
- Active Reading – Practicing effective reading comprehension skills like active reading to identify the main ideas, key points, evidence etc. in the passage.
- Macro Logic – Applying macro logic refers to understanding and analysing the overall structure and organisation of a passage.
- Transitional Logic – Applying transitional logic refers to understanding the use of words or phrases that connect ideas smoothly within a sentence, paragraph, or the passage.
- Rhetorical Devices – Learning to identify rhetorical devices in all kinds of texts including fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
- Author’s Intent – Identifying the author’s purpose and goals in a passage.
- Author’s Relevance – Analysing whether the author has achieved his purpose of engaging the readers effectively.
- Formality and Tone – Whether the author has been able to influence the readers with his/her writing style and tone.
How To Score A Perfect 36 In ACT English?
- The first strategy is to know your strengths and weaknesses well. Figure out what you need to work more on – knowledge or timing. Acing ACT is a combination of nailing both these aspects.
- Learn and practice grammar rules and rhetorical skills to the T. As we have mentioned earlier, getting a 32 is easy. But in order to get a 36, you will also need to learn the less common grammar rules as well.
- Perseverance is the key. Practice as much as you can. When you make a mistake, dive deep and understand why you made that mistake and practice more questions based on the concept to avoid making the mistake again. Getting a perfect 36 requires being perfect at your preparation as well.
- If you are unable to point out the error in a sentence – read again, read slowly and read carefully. When we read fast, we tend to oversee the errors in spellings and grammar and go by how it sounds. For example – Its and It’s sound the same, but have different meanings. Look for such errors carefully.
- ACT features trick questions and most of them have a ‘No change’ option. More often than not, it’s easy for students with poor grammar skills to unsee the error and go with this option. We recommend you double-check before choosing this option.
- ACT English is very close to everyday English. It’s based on English grammar and rhetorical skills we encounter in our day-to-day texts from books, essays, articles and conversations. Read extensively, interact with teachers and peers and use the language as much as possible, in all forms – reading, writing and listening.
- Experiment with different reading approaches (paragraph-by-paragraph, skimming, etc.) to find what works best for you. Jot down key points and ideas for easy reference while answering questions later. Tackle easier questions first to build momentum and save time for more challenging questions.
- Once you finish the section, double-check all your answers for careless mistakes, revise the difficult and tricky questions, look for any missed questions and tackle the flagged questions you may have left for later.
Work towards that perfect 36/36 on ACT English with our team at Ascend Now. We offer private and one-to- one coaching with expert ACT tutors who have aced the exam themselves. Get custom resources and practice exams and study guides with our certified tutors. 80% of our students have seen a 4+ point increase in their ACT scores and 95% of our students got into the top 100 universities. Register and start your ACT exam journey with us on Ascend Now, today!
