The English portion of the ACT is a 45-minute test made up of 75 questions. You will be tested on your knowledge of sentence structure, grammar and punctuation by reading five different passages of prose and answering multiple-choice questions on each written piece. Strategy, organization and style questions are also included to measure your proficiency and your ability to be successful in English coursework at the college level.
You will have one hour to complete the 60 questions that make up the math section of the ACT. You will encounter questions that are used to evaluate math skills that have typically been learned by your senior year of high school. While you aren't required to memorize complex formulas or perform advanced computation, basic formula knowledge and computation skills are necessary for successful passage of this test. Calculators are permitted on this section.
The ACT Reading Test requires that you read several passages and demonstrate your comprehension and understanding of what the passages are stating directly as well as what the passages are implying. The test consists of 40 questions and divided into four sections. Each section contains one long or two short passages on a wide range of subjects typical of those you will see in your first year of college. This test requires you to determine main ideas, recognize significant details, comprehend cause and effect and draw generalizations.
Testing your knowledge of natural sciences, the 40-question Science Test requires you to display your ability to interpret, analyze and evaluate sets of scientific data. You will be provided several sets of scientific information in the form of graphs or tables, research summaries and conflicting viewpoints. To effectively answer these questions, you must recognize basic scientific features and concepts, examine the relationship between information provided and hypotheses and make educated guesses to draw conclusions.