FREE
ACT English Practice Tests

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Free ACT English Diagnostic Tests

Take the Varsity Learning Tools free diagnostic test for ACT English to determine which academic concepts you understand and which ones require your ongoing attention. Each ACT English problem is tagged down to the core, underlying concept that is being tested. The ACT English diagnostic test results highlight how you performed on each area of the test. You can then utilize the results to create a personalized study plan that is based on your particular area of need.

ACT English Diagnostic Test 1

Questions: 60
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 6 hrs 58 mins

ACT English Diagnostic Test 2

Questions: 60
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 7 hrs 40 mins

ACT English Diagnostic Test 3

Questions: 60
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 9 hrs 44 mins

ACT English Diagnostic Test 4

Questions: 60
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 7 hrs 57 mins

ACT English Diagnostic Test 5

Questions: 75
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 11 hrs 15 mins

ACT English Diagnostic Test 6

Questions: 75
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 12 hrs 4 mins

ACT English Diagnostic Test 7

Questions: 75
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 7 hrs 49 mins

ACT English Diagnostic Test 8

Questions: 75
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 8 hrs 44 mins

ACT English Diagnostic Test 9

Questions: 75
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 10 hrs 30 mins

ACT English Diagnostic Test 10

Questions: 75
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 7 hrs 41 mins

Our free ACT English Practice Tests are each a selection of 10 to 12 questions, which will give you a cross-section of topics from the English section of the official ACT. You might think of them as little quizzes, which you can use to hone your skills. Whether you need top ACT English tutors in Atlanta, ACT English tutors in Houston, or top ACT English tutors in San Francisco, working with a pro may take your studies to the next level.

ACT English Section

What does the ACT English section cover?

The ACT English section tests a student’s ability to identify and correct grammatical and stylistic errors in written English. The student thus demonstrates his or her knowledge of standard written English. The ACT English section also tests a student’s ability to gauge the effect that revisions to a passage have on a reader’s understanding of the material. Varsity Tutors offers resources like a free ACT prep book to help with your self-paced study, or you may want to consider an ACT English tutor.

How many problems are on the ACT English section, and how much time do I have to complete them?

Each ACT English section contains 45 multiple-choice problems, and students are given 75 minutes (one hour and fifteen minutes) to complete them.

Should I guess on the ACT English section?

Absolutely! Unlike the SAT, which calculates students’ scores based on the number of questions which they answer incorrectly, the ACT calculates students’ scores based on the number of questions students answer correctly. In other words, there is no penalty for guessing on the ACT, and guessing can only ever increase your score.

What kinds of problems are on the ACT English section?

The ACT English section consists entirely of passages that purposely contain grammatical and stylistic errors. Certain words, phrases, or sentences are underlined in the passage and include a number underneath the underlined section to associate it with a numbered multiple-choice question that has four possible answers. Questions present several options for rephrasing or rewriting the underlined material; it is your job to select the option that makes the passage grammatically correct and stylistically consistent. Certain questions propose introducing or omitting sentences from the passage, or ask how these changes might affect the reader’s understanding of the passage. Many questions in the ACT English section include “NO CHANGE” as a possible answer; students are to select this choice if the best answer is to leave the underlined material as it is written in the passage.

No other problem types (such as synonyms, analogies, or sentence completions) appear on the ACT English section.

How should I study for the ACT English section?

Use these practice tests to get a sense of how you might do on the ACT’s English section. They can also help you to identify which types of grammatical rules and stylistic conventions you know well, and which ones you need to learn. Focus your studying time on the aspects of English grammar and style that you don’t understand or that are featured in questions that you often miss; this is a great way to increase your ACT English score.

Another resource available through Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools are full-length ACT English practice tests. In fact, you may want to begin your preparation by taking one of the complete practice tests to assist you in customizing your study plan. This comprehensive format gives you the chance to work on your pace and examine each of your skills. As on the concept-specific practice tests, the results page includes extensive explanations and detailed information on each question’s relevant concepts. In addition, the complete practice tests provide the benefit of helping you focus your ACT English review by helping you discover which skills you have mastered, and the topics on which you might like to spend more time reviewing. In addition to the ACT English Practice Tests and ACT English tutoring, you may also want to consider using some of our ACT flashcards. Once you have studied using the other Learning Tools, you can take another full-length ACT English practice test to measure your progress. 

Free ACT English Practice Tests

Our completely free ACT English practice tests are the perfect way to brush up your skills. Take one of our many ACT English practice tests for a run-through of commonly asked questions. You will receive incredibly detailed scoring results at the end of your ACT English practice test to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. Pick one of our ACT English practice tests now and begin!

Practice Tests by Concept

Correcting grammatical errors practice test

Questions: 40
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 5 mins

Phrase, clause, and sentence errors practice test

Questions: 26
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 9 mins

Appositive and interrupting phrase errors practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 32 secs

Appositive errors practice test

Questions: 2
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 10 mins

Interrupting phrase errors practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 25 secs

Conjunction errors practice test

Questions: 26
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 16 mins

Correlative conjunction errors practice test

Questions: 16
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 47 mins

Other conjunction errors practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 36 secs

Subordinating conjunction errors practice test

Questions: 10
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 40 mins

Modifier placement errors practice test

Questions: 12
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 39 mins

Ambiguous modifier errors practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 2 mins 27 secs

Dangling modifier errors practice test

Questions: 8
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 42 mins

Misplaced or interrupting modifier errors practice test

Questions: 4
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 3 mins

Other phrase, clause, and sentence errors practice test

Questions: 27
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 2 hrs 4 mins

Parallel structure errors practice test

Questions: 27
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 15 hrs 16 mins

Sentence fragment and sentence combination errors practice test

Questions: 3
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 21 mins

Punctuation errors practice test

Questions: 40
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 6 hrs 31 mins

Apostrophe errors practice test

Questions: 40
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 17 mins

Colon errors practice test

Questions: 14
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 7 mins

Comma errors practice test

Questions: 40
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 4 hrs 46 mins

Errors involving hyphens, dashes, and parentheses practice test

Questions: 7
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 2 hrs 40 mins

Period, exclamation point, and question mark errors practice test

Questions: 24
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 48 mins

Quotation mark errors practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 29 secs

Semicolon errors practice test

Questions: 24
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 5 hrs 2 mins

Word usage errors practice test

Questions: 40
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 3 hrs 10 mins

Agreement errors practice test

Questions: 40
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 3 hrs 10 mins

Modifier-word modified agreement errors practice test

Questions: 7
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 5 mins

Modifier-word modified countability errors practice test

Questions: 12
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 4 mins

Modifier-word modified number errors practice test

Questions: 7
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 7 mins

Other modifier-word modified agreement errors practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 mins 1 secs

Pronoun-antecedent agreement errors practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 42 secs

Other pronoun-antecedent errors practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 mins 16 secs

Pronoun-antecedent gender errors practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 45 secs

Pronoun-antecedent number errors practice test

Questions: 3
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 mins 42 secs

Subject-verb agreement errors practice test

Questions: 40
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 2 hrs 47 mins

Compound subject errors practice test

Questions: 8
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 20 mins

Simple subject errors practice test

Questions: 34
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 3 hrs 8 mins

Usage errors practice test

Questions: 8
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 3 mins

Other usage errors practice test

Questions: 11
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 5 mins

Comparative and superlative adjective and adverb errors practice test

Questions: 11
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 5 mins

Conventional and idiomatic usage errors practice test

Questions: 17
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 2 mins

Other adjective and adverb errors practice test

Questions: 40
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 4 mins

Preposition errors practice test

Questions: 2
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 mins 0 secs

Pronoun usage errors practice test

Questions: 37
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 3 hrs 19 mins

Other pronoun errors practice test

Questions: 8
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 14 mins

Other pronoun usage errors practice test

Questions: 5
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 14 mins

Relative pronoun usage errors practice test

Questions: 17
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 43 mins

Pronoun case errors practice test

Questions: 16
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 41 mins

Possessive pronoun errors practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 27 secs

Subjective and objective pronoun errors practice test

Questions: 16
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 2 hrs 50 mins

Verb formation errors practice test

Questions: 8
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 14 mins

Other verb usage errors practice test

Questions: 7
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 9 mins

Verb mood errors practice test

Questions: 12
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 25 mins

Verb tense errors practice test

Questions: 40
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 5 hrs 12 mins

Verb voice errors practice test

Questions: 8
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 2 hrs 9 mins

Writing and revising effectively practice test

Questions: 8
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 9 mins

Inserting and removing content practice test

Questions: 2
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 mins 44 secs

Inserting content practice test

Questions: 2
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 mins 27 secs

Removing content practice test

Questions: 2
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 5 hrs 31 mins

Reorganizing content practice test

Questions: 25
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 3 hrs 25 mins

Separating, combining, or reordering paragraphs practice test

Questions: 6
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 39 mins

Separating, combining, or reordering sentences practice test

Questions: 19
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 18 mins

Revising content practice test

Questions: 8
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 2 hrs 44 mins

Analyzing contextual relevance practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:

Analyzing effectiveness practice test

Questions: 12
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 14 mins

Avoiding ambiguity and redundancy practice test

Questions: 25
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 hrs 45 mins

Introductions, transitions, and conclusions practice test

Questions: 1
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 1 mins 8 secs

Understanding referents practice test

Questions: 17
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 8 hrs 39 mins

Word choice, style, and tone practice test

Questions: 8
Test Difficulty:
Average Time Spent: 40 mins
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