ACT Syllabus
It is very important for ACT aspirants to be aware of the complete ACT exam syllabus, as it will help them to avoid any surprises on the day of the examination.
English
This is the very first and compulsory section of the ACT exam. This section will have 75 MCQs from five passages. The questions are based on a big and detailed picture of the passages. The idea of these questions is to test an aspirant’s grammar usage and rhetorical skills. The usage test will focus on sentence formulation, punctuation and the usage of the right words in a sentence. The rhetorical skills section will be based on comprehension and understanding of the provided passage. Punctuation-related questions are important as they assess the skills of a student to use periods, question marks, commas and colons at the right place. Sentence structure is very important in evaluating clauses, phrases, modifiers and construction. The section will test the ability of the examinees to modify and improve the given passage with appropriate sentences and words. The style of writing is very important to maintain the structure, tone, format, and flow of a passage.
Mathematics
A basic calculator is allowed for this section of the ACT examination. The main topics are percentage, multiples, factors, ratio, profit and loss, exponents, statistics, series, mean/median and mode, linear equations, inequalities, multiplying binomials, quadratic equations, functions, circles, polygons, triangle, geometry, graphs, complex numbers, trigonometry, 3-D Geometry, slope calculations, number lines, midpoints and conic sections. It will include the entire elementary mathematics syllabus for classes 11 and 12.
Reading
The reading test in ACT will have a total of four long paragraphs of four different genres. It will be from sections like prose English, natural science, social science, and the arts. Each of the passages will have 10 questions. It will test the ability to understand and analyse the tone, format and flow of sentences, locate small details in the passage and comprehend the main characters and central ideas. There will be questions based on the description, implied ideas, vocabulary, functional and central idea questions. The best tip to cracking this part will be to solve the easy passages first and then give time to the difficult ones.
Science
The science section will have 40 multiple-choice questions and seven passages in total. The topics will be earth science, chemistry, physics, and biology. Reasoning, scientific ability, analytics, evaluation and knowledge of theories are important. Data, hypothesis, analysing skills and interpretations are some of the topics that will be covered under the ACT exam’s science section.
Writing (Optional)
The cogency of good essay writing is always essential for the ACT exam. This section will have a short passage along with three different viewpoints. The students writing the test need to analyse the viewpoints, note the drawbacks and merits of the viewpoints and give proper reasoning for the comments.
Some ACT Exam Tips
1. Read paragraphs in a detailed manner.
2. Pay attention to diagrams and charts in the mathematics section.
3. Always answer in a concise and precise manner.
4. Skim and note the passages.
5. Do not keep the viewpoint section for the last minute.
6. Focus on the introduction and summary of essays.
7. Skip the difficult questions.
8. Stay calm and confident.
9. Practice a lot of test papers.
10. Train yourself for on-time exam completion.
ACT is a recognized test for high school students moving out to pursue a college degree. The difficulty level is minimal for the students with regular updates, practice and planning.
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