ACT Exam Pattern 2024

What is ACT?

The ACT is a standardized examination that is widely accepted in the United States and a few other countries for undergraduate admissions. Many institutions require an ACT or SAT score as part of the application process. With a few exceptions, all universities in the United States accept both the ACT and the SAT. The goal of the test is to assess students’ college preparation and to assess all students under one roof. ACT exam is owned and run by ACT, a non-profit organization of the same name.

What is Tested on the ACT?

Outside of the United States, the ACT is a computer-based test. The ACT consists of four primary tests: English, Math, Reading, and Science. The ACT also has an optional Writing (Essay) section.

The ACT English test is a passage-based test that assesses grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and persuasive skills. The reading test includes four passages from prose fiction, social studies, humanities, and natural sciences. Algebra, Arithmetic, Data Analysis, some Geometry, and Trigonometry are the key topics covered in the math test. The science test assesses comprehension and data interpretation based on science passages; no prior knowledge of science is required for this test.

ACT Exam Structure

Answer Choices and Scoring Pattern

The ACT provides four answer choices to questions in the English, Reading, and Science tests, but five answer choices to questions in the Math test. The ACT has a unique feature in that the odd-numbered questions have answer choices labeled A through D or E, whereas the even-numbered questions have answer choices labeled F through J or K with the exclusion of I.

Each correct answer on the ACT gets you a raw point, and there is no penalty for wrong answers. A scaled score ranging from 1-36 is computed for each test on the basis of the raw score secured in that test. Scores from the four multiple-choice tests – English, Math, Reading, and Science- are then averaged to generate a composite score on a scale of 1–36.

The Writing test score is awarded on a scale of 2–12, and it doesn’t affect the composite score. Every Essay is also awarded four writing domain scores (Ideas and Analysis, Development, and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions) — each scored on a scale of 2-12. The Writing domain scores that range from 2 to 12 are the sums of the scores awarded by two readers on a scale of 1–6 for each domain. The essay score is also combined with the English score and the Reading score to produce a separate English Language Arts (ELA) score on a scale of 1–36.

The ACT also provides a STEM Score and a range of sub-scores for each of the four subject scores.

ACT English Test

The English test consists of five passages with 15 questions per passage. Most of the questions ask you to select the answer that is most appropriate in grammar and style; or the one that is most consistent with the tone of the passage.

Six elements of effective writing are tested in the English test, that fall under two categories:

1. Usage/Mechanics – 40 Questions
   • punctuation(10 Questions)
   • grammar and usage (12 Questions)
   • sentence structure (18 Questions)
2. Rhetorical Skills – 35 Questions
   • strategy(12 Questions)
   • organization(11 Questions)
   • style(12 Questions)

ACT Math Test

Approximately 14 Pre-algebra-based, 10 Elementary algebra-based, 9 Intermediate Algebra-based, 9 Coordinate geometry-based, 14 Plane geometry-based, and 4 trigonometry-based questions comprise the Math test. While the questions are arranged in ‘general order of difficulty – easy, medium, and hard you may see a few hard questions in the first 20 questions. Conversely, you may also find a few easy questions among the last 20 questions.

ACT Reading Test

Four passages belonging to four genres — prose fiction, social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences comprise the Reading test. As passages always follow this order, and each passage is followed by 10 questions this gives the test taker the advantage of working on those passages belonging to the genres he is most comfortable with first and save the harder ones for the end.

ACT Science Test

The ACT science test does not test any ‘science-based knowledge; rather, it is a test of reading and reasoning based on science-related passages. In this test, you will see about 2-3 Charts and Graphs passages, about 2-3 Science Experiment passages, and 1 or 2 Fighting Scientists passages – the number of questions ranges from 5 to 7.

ACT Writing Test

The Writing test is optional and needs to be taken if the essay score is required by the college you are applying to. The essay task presents you with three perspectives on a debatable issue. You must explain and justify your position on that issue. in the context of the three perspectives.