Get Ready for the ACT English Test!

Want to improve your score on the English portion of the ACT? Read and WRITE!

The test includes an entire section covering the six elements of effective writing: punctuation, grammar and usage, sentence structure, strategy, organization and style.

To gauge your skill in these areas, you will read several passages and answer multiple choice questions about each. The ACT website suggests the following tips for doing well on the exam:

• Be aware of the writing style used in each passage.
• Consider the elements of writing that are included in each underlined portion of the passage. Some questions will ask you to base your decision on a specific element of writing, such as the tone or emphasis the text should convey.
• Be aware of questions with no underlined portions — that means you will be asked about a section of the passage or about the passage as a whole.
• Examine each answer choice and determine how it differs from the others. Many of the questions will involve more than one aspect of writing.
• Read and consider all of the answer choices before you select the one that best responds to the question.
• Determine the best answer.
• Reread the sentence, using your selected answer.

In addition to the English portion, you will also have an opportunity to apply your grammar and usage skills on the ACT Writing Test. Wow offers several classes to help you prepare for this 30-minute timed essay. Our next class takes place Thursday, March 22, at West Bloomfield High School.

Check the Wow Writing Workshop schedule to register or for more information on upcoming ACT, scholarship and college essay workshops.

Kim Lifton, a former journalist and communications consultant, is a writing coach and Wow Writing Workshop co-founder.