ACT English: Conventions of Standard English Overview

TL;DR

The ACT English section has 50 questions (40 scored) in 35 minutes across 5 passages. Over half the scored questions fall under Conventions of Standard English, which covers sentence structure, punctuation, and usage. This guide explains what those questions look like and how to approach them.

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ACT English Section Structure

The ACT English section contains 50 multiple-choice questions (40 scored) completed in 35 minutes, spread across 5 passages. Questions fall into three categories:

• Production of Writing (29–32%): Purpose, focus, and organization of a piece of writing.
• Knowledge of Language (15–17%): Concise word choices and consistent tone.
• Conventions of Standard English (52–55%): Grammar, usage, and mechanics applied to revising text.

Conventions of Standard English makes up more than half the section, so it deserves focused preparation.

Conventions of Standard English

This category breaks into three question types:

• Sentence Structure and Formation
• Punctuation
• Usage

For all of these, you're acting as an editor. You read a passage and decide what changes, if any, are needed to make the text grammatically correct and clear.

Example Question Walkthroughs

Punctuation: Comma Placement

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This question asks how to punctuate the underlined portion. All answer choices involve comma placement.

Commas separate list items and add structure to complex sentences—they signal a pause. Here's how to work through it:

1. The comma after "students" interrupts the natural flow, so rule out A and B.
2. The comma after "Silver" also breaks the sentence without adding clarity—unnecessary.
3. C removes the unneeded commas and lets the sentence read smoothly. C is correct.

Usage: Modifier Clarity

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Read the sentence with each answer choice plugged in.

The writer wants to explain that tiny bar codes were used to track bees' activities. As written, the sentence implies the bees were doing the tracking. A change is needed.

1. F (no change) keeps the confusing phrasing. Rule it out.
2. G still frames the bees as the ones tracking. Rule it out.
3. H shifts focus to the bar codes but reads awkwardly.
4. J makes the bar codes' purpose clear and reads smoothly. J is correct.

When multiple choices fix the core problem, choose the one that flows most naturally.

Sentence Structure: Comma Splice

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This question asks what words, if any, should follow the comma after "basket."

Look at both sides of the comma: the winning piece was a basket and it was eighteen inches tall with a curved, vaselike silhouette. Both are independent clauses—each could stand alone as a complete sentence. Joining two independent clauses with only a comma creates a comma splice, which is grammatically incorrect.

1. G and H both preserve a complete second clause, so the comma splice remains. Rule them out.
2. J (deleting the underlined portion) makes the second clause dependent, fixing the comma splice. J is correct.

Punctuation: Em-Dash Pairs

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Em-dash pairs work like parentheses—they insert an aside into a sentence. To check whether they're used correctly, verify two things:

1. The interjected phrase is fully contained within the em-dashes.
2. The sentence still makes sense if you remove the portion between the em-dashes.

In this case, both checks pass. The sentence reads correctly with and without the interjected phrase, so NO CHANGE is the answer.

Don't hesitate to choose "NO CHANGE." A meaningful number of ACT questions require no fix at all. If you read each alternative and none is clearly better than the original, the original is likely correct.

Study Tips for the English Section

• Read around the underline. Always read a sentence or two before and after the underlined portion to understand the context before choosing an answer.
• Read all answer choices. Multiple options may be technically acceptable, but the ACT asks for the best one. Don't stop at the first choice that looks right.
• Watch for answers that fix one problem but create another. Check each choice for both correctness and readability within the passage.
• Think like an editor. Ask which option communicates the meaning most clearly and flows most smoothly in context.
• Answer every question. There is no penalty for wrong answers on the ACT, so always make your best informed guess rather than leaving a question blank.

The more passages you practice editing, the faster you'll recognize common error patterns and move through the section efficiently.