Two Things Students Must Do to Improve on the ACT English Test

By the time most students sit down to take the ACT, they have been speaking English for about sixteen years.  Some of that might actually be texting, so not all of it necessarily counts as English.  Nevertheless, most test takers will have already been using the language they are being tested on for many years.  It might surprise you to hear that this is a problem.

Because students have so much experience doing things in a particular way, it is sometimes very difficult for them to begin doing them in a different way.  Teenage humans and old dogs are very similar in this respect.  Nearly all students need some correction in their understanding or usage of grammar.  They may be using commas too frequently, misusing semicolons or, in the case of most students, misplacing modifiers.  The problem is that they’ve been practicing these bad habits for a very, very long time.

Telling a student a grammar rule to correct a bad habit almost never gets the job done.  Our brains are required to process extremely large amounts of information when reading passages, and it is very easy to revert to our well-practiced grammar ear so more resources can be devoted to the bazillion other things that we’re trying to think about as we read.  There simply aren’t enough mental resources available to keep simple rules at the forefront of our attention while taking a test.

As a result, the ACT English Test requires a large amount of targeted practice.  The grammar rules must also be learned — there’s no getting by without them — but the real improvement comes in learning them well enough that habits change.  Incorrect grammar that once sounded right will eventually sound wrong, throwing up those valuable mental red flags as a passage is read.  That’s the goal in preparing for the ACT English Test.  The grammar rules must be learned, but that is just the beginning.  Targeted practice that exposes the student to problems calling on an understanding of the rules is where the real improvement comes.

At Test Geek, we’ve identified eleven different types of errors the ACT will test students on.  Our goal is to help students really understand these issues, and then give them a healthy dose of targeted practice and feedback from an expert instructor.  There are huge gains to be had on this section!