• 60 questions

ACT English Practice Test

Unofficial revising and editing questions in the three reporting categories ACT publishes for its English section.

"When the tide went [out the] children ran to the sandbar." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Exam mode: 50 questions, 35 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with ACT Education Corp. Bank checked October 7, 2026.

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All 60 questions

Conventions of standard English (grammar) 24

  • "The [bicycle, that I bought last week,] already has a flat tire." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), punctuation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 4.
  • "The artist [who's] mural covers the library wall grew up nearby." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), usage. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Apostrophe.
  • "The bakery opens at [six the line] forms by half past five." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), sentence structure and formation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Run-ons, Comma Splices, Fused Sentences.
  • "Both [runner's] times were under four minutes." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), punctuation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Apostrophe.
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Conventions of standard English (grammar), continued

  • "The box of old letters [were] found in the attic last week." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), usage. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree, rule 5.
  • "By the time the bus arrived, the rain [has stopped]." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), sentence structure and formation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Verb Tense Consistency, perfect tenses.
  • Draft: "By practicing every morning helped Dana improve her serve." Which revision is a complete, correct sentence? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), sentence structure and formation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Sentence Fragments, mixed constructions.
  • Draft: "Maya repaired the old radio. Because she wanted to hear her grandfather's station again." Which revision fixes the sentence fragment? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), sentence structure and formation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Sentence Fragments.
  • "Each of the players [has] a locker near the gym." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), usage. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree, rule 6.
  • "The forecast promised [sun, however,] the game was rained out." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), punctuation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses, independent marker words.
  • "The guide handed trail maps to Priya and [I]." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), usage. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Pronoun Case.
  • "The hikers left [their] packs at the trailhead." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), usage. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Using Pronouns Clearly.
  • "Hiking across the valley at dawn, [the fog hid the river from us]." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), sentence structure and formation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them.
  • "The internship taught her to file reports, to schedule meetings, and [to answer] the phones." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), sentence structure and formation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Parallel Structure.
  • "The kit includes a compass, a [whistle and, a] folding map." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), punctuation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 5.
  • "Last spring the choir traveled to the coast, sang in three towns, and [returns] home with a trophy." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), sentence structure and formation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Verb Tense Consistency.
  • "The museum moved [it's] oldest map to a new case." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), punctuation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Apostrophe.
  • "My neighbor's truck, a faded green [pickup, needs] new brakes." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), punctuation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 3.
  • "The quartet played [beautiful] at the spring concert." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), usage. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Difference between Adjectives and Adverbs.
  • "The recipe needs only three [ingredients: flour,] water, and salt." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), punctuation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Brief Overview of Punctuation, colons.
  • "There [is] three reasons the council delayed the vote." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), usage. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Making Subjects and Verbs Agree, rule 9.
  • "The trail was steeper than the map [suggested, we] reached the ridge by noon anyway." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), sentence structure and formation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses, comma splices.
  • "We [could of] caught the earlier train." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), usage. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, The Apostrophe, showing omission of letters.
  • "When the tide went [out the] children ran to the sandbar." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Conventions of Standard English (38–43% of the section), punctuation. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Extended Rules for Using Commas, rule 2.

Production of writing 24

  • A notice for students who are new to a school says: "Meet at the Annex before first period." Which addition would help these readers most? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. The draft printed in the question is the only source.
  • A paragraph tells how a shared garden brought one block together: "Neighbors who had never spoken began trading seeds over the fence." The writer is thinking of adding: "My aunt prefers tomatoes from the store." Should the sentence be added? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs, unity.
  • A paragraph tells the story of the morning a class planted an oak behind the school: who dug, who carried water, and what the principal said. Suppose the writer's goal had been to explain how to plant a tree. Would the paragraph meet that goal? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. The draft printed in the question is the only source.
  • A student is writing to ask the city council to keep a pool open on Sundays. Which sentence best states the main request of the letter? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. The draft printed in the question is the only source.
  • "[Because] the storm had knocked out the lights, the bakery still opened on time." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices.
  • Draft: "(1) Most visitors hurry past the small clock shop. (2) Inside, however, Mr. Ode repairs watches a century old. (3) He files each tiny gear by hand." What does sentence 2 mainly do? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. The draft printed in the question is the only source.
  • Draft: "(1) My grandmother's bakery opened in a rented garage. (2) She sold out of rolls the first morning. (3) Within a year she had hired two bakers. (4) Baking at home is different. (5) I use a small oven and make one loaf at a time." Where should a new paragraph begin? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs, when to start a new paragraph.
  • Draft: "(1) Our town's Saturday market began with six farm stands. (2) Today more than forty vendors fill the square. (3) My cousin once sold lemonade at a school fair. (4) Shoppers now come from three counties." Which sentence should be removed to keep the paragraph on its topic? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs, unity.
  • Draft: "(1) The ferry leaves at seven. (2) Miss it, and you wait until noon. (3) So we set two alarms." Where should this sentence be added? "It is the only morning crossing." ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs, coherence.
  • Draft: "(1) The orchestra tuned for a full minute. (2) The hall fell silent. (3) The conductor raised her baton." Where should this sentence be added? "A single violin then began the opening theme." ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs, coherence.
  • Draft: "(1) Then she sanded the wood smooth. (2) First, Ana measured the shelf twice. (3) Finally, she brushed on two coats of varnish. (4) Next, she cut the board along the pencil line." Which order of the sentences is most logical? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs, coherence.
  • Draft: "____ The reading room opens before sunrise. Free coffee waits by the door. By eight, students fill every table." Which sentence best introduces the paragraph? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs, topic sentences.
  • Draft: "Fixing my bike chain took an hour. I dropped the pin twice and put one link on backward. On the fourth try the chain ran clean. ____" Which sentence best ends the paragraph by stating its main point? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. The draft printed in the question is the only source.
  • Draft: "Our debate club lost its first four meets. We changed how we practiced, timing every speech and trading notes afterward. By spring we were winning. ____" Which sentence best concludes the paragraph? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs, unity.
  • Draft: "The new bus route has made mornings easier for students. ____" Which choice supports that claim with the most specific detail? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs, adequate development.
  • Draft: "The repair café meets on the first Sunday of each month. Volunteers fix lamps, toasters and torn jackets for free. ____" Which sentence best continues the paragraph? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, On Paragraphs, unity.
  • "The library cut its evening hours in May. ____ students began meeting at the café instead." Which choice best links the two sentences? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Writing Transitions.
  • "The recipe looked simple. [However,] the bread took three tries to get right." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices.
  • "The reservoir dropped all summer. [Even so,] the town limited lawn watering." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices.
  • "Small repairs can cut a household's water use. [However,] fixing one dripping tap stops a steady loss." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices.
  • "We mixed the plaster. [Then] we poured it into the mold before it could set." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), organization, unity and cohesion. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Transitional Devices.
  • The writer may delete "which had been locked since the flood" from this sentence: "She opened the cellar door, which had been locked since the flood, and found the boxes dry." Without the phrase, the sentence would mainly lose ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. The draft printed in the question is the only source.
  • The writer wants a detail that shows how crowded the first bike repair class was: "On opening night the classroom was full; ____." Which choice does that best? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. The draft printed in the question is the only source.
  • The writer wants to stress how long the repair of the lighthouse took. Which choice does that best? ACT, English Test Description: Production of Writing (38–43% of the section), topic development. The draft printed in the question is the only source.

Knowledge of language 12

  • A formal report to a school board says: "The committee reviewed the budget and found the snack bar figures to be [totally out of whack]." Which choice best fits the style of the report? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), consistent style and tone. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Appropriate Language: Overview.
  • A letter applying for a job reads: "I have two years of experience preparing lab samples, and [I'm super pumped about the gig]." Which choice best fits the letter? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), consistent style and tone. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Appropriate Language: Overview.
  • A light personal essay reads: "I had never baked bread before, and my first loaf came out as flat as a plate. [It is regrettable that the leavening process proved unsuccessful.]" Which choice best keeps the tone of the essay? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), consistent style and tone. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Appropriate Language: Overview, levels of formality.
  • Draft: "The festival draws large crowds. The festival is held each June." Which choice combines the two sentences most concisely? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), precise and concise word choice. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Concision, combining sentences.
  • "[Due to the fact that] the bridge was closed, we took the ferry." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), precise and concise word choice. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Concision.
  • "[The library closes at nine] on weeknights." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), precise and concise word choice. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Concision.
  • "The old gate [made a noise] as it swung open." Which choice describes the sound most precisely? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), precise and concise word choice. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Concision, specific words.
  • "The potter's glaze gives each bowl a [very unique] pattern." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), precise and concise word choice. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Eliminating Words.
  • "The storm [damaged] the pier." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), precise and concise word choice. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Concision, specific words.
  • "The two friends [first met for the first time] at a chess club." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), precise and concise word choice. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Eliminating Words, omit repetitive wording.
  • "The two rivers [join together] just south of town." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), precise and concise word choice. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Eliminating Words, omit repetitive wording.
  • "The walls of the clinic were [pale blue in color]." Which choice best replaces the bracketed part? ACT, English Test Description: Knowledge of Language (18–23% of the section), precise and concise word choice. Rule: Purdue Online Writing Lab, Eliminating Words, omit redundant categories.

How this list was compiled: Our own drafts and questions, written to ACT's published description of the English section (https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-preparation/description-of-english-test.html, read 2026-10-06): Production of Writing 38–43%, Knowledge of Language 18–23%, Conventions of Standard English 38–43%. The bank holds 24, 12 and 24 questions. Each rule of grammar, punctuation and style was read in the page of the Purdue Online Writing Lab (owl.purdue.edu) that the question names, on 2026-10-06. Where a question turns only on the draft printed in it, the draft is the source. Section length (50 questions, 35 minutes; 40 scored and 10 field-test questions) from https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act.html and https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/scores/understanding-your-scores.html, read 2026-10-06. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

This free ACT English practice test has 60 questions of our own: short drafts to revise and edit, each answer with its rule. It is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by ACT Education Corp.

Read the full guide

The three categories

ACT's description of the English section, read October 6, 2026, gives three categories: production of writing (38–43%), knowledge of language (18–23%) and conventions of standard English (38–43%). This bank holds 24, 12 and 24 questions. For ACT practice test grammar questions alone, choose the conventions topic.

Timing

The real section has 50 questions in 35 minutes; ACT's score page counts 40 as scored and 10 as field-test questions. Exam mode uses the same 50 and 35.

Brackets for underlines

The real test underlines or highlights part of an essay. Here the part to judge sits in [square brackets] inside a draft of a few sentences, and NO CHANGE keeps it as written.

  • A wrong answer costs nothing on the ACT, so a guess is better than a blank.
  • Many real questions offer NO CHANGE, ACT says. Here it is the right answer about one time in four.

Questions and answers

Is this ACT English practice test the real exam?

No. The drafts and questions were written for this site from ACT's description of the section. None repeats or rewords a real test question or an official sample, and a result here is not a forecast of your score.

What do these ACT English practice test questions cover?

Editing: punctuation, usage and sentence structure. Style: exact and brief wording and a steady tone. Revising: the purpose, order and focus of a draft. Each grammar rule names the Purdue Online Writing Lab page it was checked against.

Is there an ACT English practice test PDF?

Yes. Print the question sheet lays the drafts and their choices out on paper, and one tick adds the answer key. For a file, pick Save as PDF in the print window.

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