The ACT® English Test contains passages that are followed by multiple-choice questions. Most of the questions relate to underlined words, sentences, or phrases within the passage. To find the portion of the text in question, look for the question number that is tagged below the underlined text.
Sometimes, the question number is placed in a box at the end of a paragraph or at the end of the passage. When this occurs, the question will direct your attention to the previous paragraph or the entire passage.
Types of Questions on the ACT English Test
The questions on the ACT English Test can be broken up into two categories: grammar questions and rhetorical skills questions.
What Are Grammar Questions?
Grammar questions will require your knowledge of punctuation rules and standard English conventions. Most grammar questions are recognizable because they focus on an underlined word or phrase, and ask you to decide whether an improvement is available in the answer choices.
Grammar questions look like this:
Choose the best answer.
a. NO CHANGE
b. _____
c. _____
d. _____
What Are Rhetorical Questions?
Instead of offering a piece of underlined text with options to replace it, rhetorical questions ask an actual question. There are common rhetorical questions that you can expect to encounter at some point in the ACT English exam. The following is a breakdown of some common ACT English rhetorical skills questions.
Commonly Asked Rhetorical Questions
1. Questions That Ask About the Passage as a Whole
These questions focus on your ability to understand the main idea (or purpose) of the passage and may ask you to evaluate the writer’s efficacy in fulfilling his or her goals.
Example: Suppose the writer had intended to write an essay that [does something]. Would this essay successfully fulfill the writer’s goal?
a. Yes, because _____.
b. Yes, because _____.
c. No, because _____.
d. No, because _____.
2. Questions That Ask You to Make Edits to Better Accomplish a Given Purpose
These questions may ask you to evaluate whether an underlined text is effective for a given purpose. If you find that the underlined text isn’t the most effective option, you can choose to replace it. These questions often focus on transitions between paragraphs.
Example: Which choice most effectively signals the shift from the preceding paragraph to this paragraph?
a. NO CHANGE
b. _____
c. _____
d. _____
Example: Which of the following choices best emphasizes [something]?
a. NO CHANGE
b. _____
c. _____
d. _____
3. Questions That Ask You How Deleting the Underlined Text Impacts the Sentence
These questions focus on your ability to pinpoint the purpose of the underlined text. You should be able to evaluate whether the underlined information is necessary to the meaning of the sentence, or the logic of the passage as a whole.
Example: If the writer deletes the underlined text, the essay would primarily lose a detail that:
a. _____
b. _____
c. _____
d. _____
4. Questions That Ask You If Adding a Given Sentence Is a Good Idea
These questions will require that you evaluate the impact the additional information has on the paragraph or passage as a whole. Consider the tone and context of the surrounding sentences while evaluating your answer.
Example: At this point, the writer is considering adding the following true statement:
Should the writer make this addition here?
a. Yes, because _____.
b. Yes, because _____.
c. No, because _____.
d. No, because _____.
You may also be asked to decide where a portion of underlined text should be added. When answering these questions, you must have an understanding of paragraph structures.
Example: The best placement for the underlined text would be:
a. where it is now.
b. ____
c. ____
d. ____
5. Questions That Ask You To Decide the Proper Placement Of An Existing Paragraph
These questions will require your knowledge of paragraph structures. You will need to make decisions to improve the logic of the argument or the flow of ideas.
Example: For the sake of the logic and coherence of the essay, paragraph 4 should be placed:
a. where it is now.
b. before paragraph 2
c. after paragraph 5
d. after paragraph 6
6. Questions That Ask You To Improve Sentence Organization or Sentence Structure
These questions test your ability to improve the order of ideas in a paragraph. Some of these questions could also ask you to improve the parallel structure in a presentation of ideas.
Example: Which of the following sentence sequences makes this paragraph most logical?
a. NO CHANGE
b. _____
c. _____
d. _____
As you prepare for the ACT exam, consider the different types of ACT English rhetorical skills questions you will encounter. You can use your practice work to get familiar with the common rhetorical questions we have outlined above.
Get familiar with the structure and level of difficulty presented in the most common rhetorical questions. Gain some experience answering ACT rhetorical skills practice questions to get an idea of which ones you may need to work on more.
You can use the performance tracking tools offered by UWorld’s ACT Prep Course to determine the question types, sections, or subsections that you can improve the most. Use this tool to personalize and streamline your study plan to efficiently improve your scores.
Our prep tools have detailed answer explanations and thousands of sample questions including ACT rhetorical skills practice questions. You can use the detailed answer explanations to learn from your mistakes or dive deeper into more complicated concepts and skills.
The thousands of sample questions will offer you many opportunities to get comfortable with the style and level of difficulty you will face on an official ACT exam. Try it out to create a study plan that is right for you!
