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ACT Coaching

ACT (American College Testing) is a standardized examination that is taken by high school students to secure admission to their desired colleges in the United States of America (USA) and some English-speaking countries. The test measures students’ readiness to enter college and provides colleges with the necessary data to evaluate undergraduate applicants. The ACT exam comprises four sections, namely English, Math, Reading, and Science. There is also an optional Writing test, which an aspirant may be required to take depending on the admission criteria set by the college/university.

ACT exam highlights:

Sections	English, Math, Reading, Science, and Writing (Optional)
Total number of questions	215
Range of score	1-36
Negative Marking	No
Test Duration	2 hours 55 minutes (without optional writing test), 3 hours 40 minutes (with writing test)
Purpose of exam	Admission to colleges and ACT scholarships
ACT score validity	5 years
Organizing body	ACT, Inc.
Format	Computer-based test (for international students)

Who can take the ACT test?

There is no age limit or requirement for the ACT test-takers. However, it is mostly taken by high school graduates to enter college. It can also be taken by students from grades 6 to 9.

ACT exam eligibility:

High school graduates have to mandatorily take the test to prove their readiness to enter college.
Students in grades 6, 7, 8, and 9 can also take the test.
Those below 13 years of age can’t register for the test and hence can’t take it.
There is no upper age limit prescribed by the organizer of the exam.
Applicants must have a valid passport. This serves as an identification card.
Candidate or parent/guardian must possess an international Debit/Credit card to pay the test charge.
Applicants must take the test at least two months prior to the college/university deadline. This is suggested as the result is declared between two to eight weeks after the ACT test.

How to register for the ACT exam?

Read below to find out how to register for the ACT exam in India and other non-US territories:
A candidate will have to register for the test online, and it will approximately take him/her 30 minutes to complete the process. All you will need is a credit card/voucher, a list of grades and courses, and an email address.

Create a MyACT account on www.global.act.org
Sign in to your MyACT account and fill the application form
Pick a test session
Select your desired date
Make the payment

ACT 2021-22 important dates:

Morning and afternoon sessions will be offered for each of the two ACT exam dates.

Test Date	Registration Deadline	Late Fee Required	Photo Upload Deadline
8-9 October 2021	10 September	24 September	1 October
10-11 December 2021	12 November	29 November	3 December
11-12 February 2022	14 January	28 January	4 February
1-2 April 2022	4 March	18 March	25 March
10-11 June 2022	13 May	27 May	3 June
15-16 July 2022	17 June	1 July	8 July

ACT fee:

The ACT test fee is non-refundable, except for the optional writing test fee which is refundable if requested through a written document.

ACT fee with no writing option	$168.50 (INR 12, 310)
ACT fee with writing option	$188.50 (INR 13,771)

The fee is inclusive of a report for the candidate, his/her school, and four colleges of choice, only if codes were provided for them during the registration.

Additional charges:

The additional fee is added to the test charge.

Late registration fee	$36 (INR 2,630)
Test date or center change	$36 (INR 2,922)
Score reports for 5th and 6th colleges	$16 (INR 1,169)

ACT exam pattern and syllabus:

Since the ACT test comprises four compulsory sections and one optional section, let us understand each of them in terms of the number of questions asked and time allotted:

Sub-categories	No of questions	Time allotted	Types of questions
English	75 multiple-choice questions	45 minutes	Tests sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, and rhetorical skills.
Reading	40 multiple-choice questions	35 minutes	Four paragraphs, from the genres prose fiction, humanities, social studies, and social sciences, with 10 questions each.
Science	40 multiple-choice questions	35 minutes	Science-based paragraphs are presented with research summaries, graphs, tables, and charts.
Math	60-multiple choice questions	60 minutes	Geometry, Trigonometry, Algebra I and II.
Writing (Optional)	1 essay prompt	40 minutes	Complements the English and Reading tests.

ACT English syllabus:

The English section of the exam tests two skills: Usage and Mechanics, and Rhetorical skills. The latter tests your comprehension, and ability to work on the passages’ style. Usage and Mechanics test understanding of the sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation. The section contains five passages, having 15 questions each.

ACT Reading syllabus:

Critical reasoning and referring skills will be put to test under this section. The ACT Reading test will have five types of questions that will evaluate a candidate based on the following: Vocabulary, implied ideas, function and development, detail, and main idea. The reading section will include passages from natural science, social science, literary function, and humanities.

ACT Science syllabus:

Around five to seven passages related to physics, chemistry, earth science, and biology may be given under this section. Interpretative questions will be asked based on graphs, charts, tables, and research summaries. Topics include conflicting viewpoints, data representation, high school-level biology, earth or physical science, and research summaries.

ACT Math syllabus:

Questions based on trigonometry, pre-algebra, intermediate algebra, elementary algebra, coordinate geometry, and plane geometry carrying 20-25% weightage each will be asked in this section.

ACT Writing syllabus:

The section assesses a candidate’s ability to analyze arguments and put different opinions together in a coherent essay. A short passage along with three varying perspectives will be given. The test taker will be required to evaluate the three viewpoints and relate them to the original passage. Grammar, punctuation, sentence structure along with other English writing skills will be put to test in this section.

How is the ACT score calculated?

Step 1: Correctly answered questions are counted for each section. These scores are called raw scores. Each question carries one mark and there is no negative marking. Step 2: The raw scores are changed into scale scores. The scale score is the final score and ranges from 1 (lowest) to 36 (highest). It is important to note that raw score doesn’t translate to scale score. The conversion of the raw score into scale score is an equating process and is done to ensure consistency of scores across all test dates, irrespective of the level of the examination. Step 3: The average of scale scores (as calculated for all four sections) is called composite score. The composite score, if in a fraction, is rounded off to the nearest whole number. Each ACT test has a different raw score to scale the score conversion chart, depending on the level of the examination.

Sample ACT scoring chart:

Find below the sample ACT scoring chart, as available on the testing agency’s website:

Scale Score	Raw Scores				Scale Score
	English	Mathematics	Reading	Science
1	0-2	0	0	0	1
2	3-4	-	1	-	2
3	5	1	2	1	3
4	6-8	-	-	2	4
5	9-10	2	3	-	5
6	11-13	-	4	3	6
7	14-15	3	5	4	7
8	17-19	-	6	5	8
9	20-22	4	7	6	9
10	23-24	5	8	7	10
11	25-26	6-7	9-10	8	11
12	27-28	8-9	11-12	9	12
13	29	10-11	13	10	13
14	30-32	12-14	14-15	11	14
15	33-34	15-18	16-17	12	15
16	35-37	19-23	18	13	16
17	38-39	24-26	19	14-15	17
18	40-41	27-28	20-21	16	18
19	42-44	29-30	22	17-18	19
20	45-47	31-32	23-24	19-20	20
21	48-50	33	25	21-22	21
22	51-52	34-35	26	23	22
23	53-55	36-37	27-28	24-25	23
24	56-57	38-40	29	26-27	24
25	58-59	41-42	30	28-29	25
26	60-61	43-44	31	30	26
27	62-63	45-46	32	31-32	27
28	64-65	47-48	33	33	28
29	66	49	34	34	29
30	67	50-51	35	35	30
31	68	52	36	36	31
32	69	53	37	-	32
33	70	54	-	37	33
34	71-72	55-56	38	38	34
35	73-74	57-58	39	39	35
36	75	59-60	40	40	36

Scoring ACT Writing test: The ACT Writing test is scored on a scale of 2 (lowest) to 12 (highest). The average writing score ranges between 6 to 7.

How to check ACT exam results?

Once the scores are revealed, aspirants can check them using their MyACT account.
Steps to check the scores:

Scores of multiple-choice questions can be seen two business days after the test for those who have taken the computer-based test. Candidates who had taken the test through pen-and-pencil format can check their scores two to 10 weeks after the exam.
Scores for the Writing test are available two to three weeks after the release of multiple-choice scores.

Tips on how to prepare for a high ACT score:

Prepare your own strategy for each section:
Don’t leave any questions:
Decide on a target score:
Take practice exams:

Studying abroad will ensure quality education and it will be more rewarding if taken up at the right stage of your career. The best time to make a decision regarding studying abroad should be after high school. To study in the most reputed international countries like America and Canada, students would need to pass one language exam along with a standardized test used for college admissions. Colleges and universities set an eligibility score for exams like ACT for high school pass outs to filter them for their bachelor’s programs. ACT stands for American College Test and is used by various colleges and universities to offer admission to undergraduate courses. ACT syllabus is a planned educational curriculum that tests a high school graduate on his/her readiness for college.

ACT is recognized by ACT Inc. – an American non-profit organization and basis that over 1.67 million high school graduates apply every year globally to study abroad. It is regarded as a standard examination, used to check the eligibility of high school graduates in the areas of Mathematics, Science, English, and Reading. The very first section is English, and the questions are based on usage, grammar, rhetoric and sentence construction. Mathematics includes elementary topics like algebra, geometry and trigonometry. The science structure is mainly based on problem-solving, interpretation and analytical skills. The test’s reading part focuses on ideas, knowledge, development and comprehension. The writing part of the examination is optional, and it depends upon the universities or colleges to decide that part. The ACT exam pattern is simple, and it is a computer-based test with multiple-choice questions. The ACT exam has no passing score, and the average score is 21, on a scale of 1-36. A high score will make admissions easier at prestigious and notable universities.

Here are some very important details about the ACT test which every aspiring high school graduate should know:

Name of the examination	ACT
ACT sections	English, Mathematics, Science and Reading, Writing (optional).
Average and maximum score	21-36
ACT duration	2 hours 55 minutes (40 minutes more if writing is included)
Number of attempts	USA: 7 times a year
	Canada: 7 times a year
	Other countries: 5 times a year

ACT exam pattern for students

The ACT exam is a standard exam that assesses the readiness of high school graduates to get admission into undergraduate courses at various reputed and recognized American colleges. The ACT test syllabus focuses on four main sections-Mathematics, English, Science, Reading and Writing (optional). It is around three hours of examination, sans writing section, with a multiple-choice question pattern.

Students need to check the eligibility and requirements shared by every college and university to find out if they have been asked for the writing exam scores too. There will be a total of 215 questions with no negative marking. The average score is 21, and the recognized ranked universities always have a high score requirement. To prepare better, students should have the ACT exam pattern at their fingertips:

SECTION	TYPES OF QUESTIONS	SUB-SECTIONS	TIME ALLOTTED
ENGLISH	75 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs)	Usage of language	45 Minutes
		Grammar
		Usage
		Punctuation
		Sentence structure
		Rhetorical Language Skill
		Organization
		Style
		Strategy
MATHEMATICS	60 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs)	Intermediate Algebra	60 Minutes
		Coordinate Geometry
		Trigonometry
		Plane Geometry
		Pre- Algebra
		Algebra Elementary
Break	Break	Break	Break
READING	40 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs)	There will be a total of four passages. Each passage will be given from various sections like fiction, humanities, social studies and science.	30 Minutes
SCIENCE	40 Multiple-Choice Question (MCQs)	Conflicting viewpoints	35 Minutes
		Data representations
		Graphs and tables
		Research methodology and summary
WRITING	1 Essay	One writing topic	40 Minutes
Total time allotted: 3 hours 35 minutes (excluding the breaks)	215 Questions	4 compulsory Sections (Writing optional)	3.35 Hours

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.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

Are you also taking the upcoming ACT exam? If yes, you can seek any kind of guidance and information by visiting the AESPL website. The academic counselor will guide you to getting the best ACT scores.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. In which countries is the ACT score accepted?

ACT is a standardized examination required to get admission to an undergraduate course in various countries. The list includes America, Canada, Germany, Europe, Puerto Rico, Australia and Singapore. There is no need for ACT exam scores in the United Kingdom.

Q2. What is a good ACT score?

ACT score ranges on a scale from 1-36, where 21 is an average score. A good score is above 24 and for the best colleges and universities, the cut-off is always very high. Try for a score above 30 for admission to good-ranked colleges and universities.

Q3. Which section of the ACT test is the most difficult?

There are a total of four compulsory sections, out of which the mathematics section is the most difficult. However, with the right planning and daily practice, students can easily score better.

Q. Q4. What items are allowed to be brought to the ACT test center?

The following items are allowed in the ACT exam center-printed exam ticket, basic calculator, identity proof, a watch, snacks, pencils, pens and erasers. Don’t bring a scientific calculator as it is not allowed.

The ACT is a widely accepted and standardized examination in the U.S. and several other countries. It is used majorly for undergraduate admissions into several colleges and universities. Learning about the ACT exam pattern is important since many foreign institutions ask for SAT/ACT scores as a part of the application package. All universities in the U.S. accept the same with only a few exceptions. The examination is run by a non-profit organization by the same name, i.e. ACT. It is a computer-based examination and comprises four primary portions, i.e. Math, English, Science and Reading. It also comes with an optional Writing (Essay) section.

The ACT exam structure offers passages which evaluate punctuation, grammar, persuasive abilities, and sentence structure. The reading test has four passages from social studies, prose fiction, natural sciences, and humanities. Major math test topics include Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Data Analysis and Trigonometry. The science test evaluates data interpretation and comprehension based on science passages. No prior knowledge of science is needed for this test. The examination takes 3 hours and if the optional writing section is chosen, then it will take up to 4 hours. The score range is 1-36 for all the four skills and the optional writing section is called the ACT Plus Writing section with multiple choice questions. There is no negative marking and a total of 215 questions are present in the test.

ACT Exam Pattern, Duration & Crucial Aspects

Here is a brief look at the ACT exam format

Total Time- 2 hours and 55 minutes
ACT Test 2021 Format	Two formats- ACT (no writing)
ACT Test 2021 Format	ACT (with writing)
Number of Questions	215 or 216 (One extra essay question for ACT with writing)
Type of Questions	Multiple-choice questions (MCQ)
Subjects asked in ACT® Test	English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science
Additional time	Additional 40 minutes is given to those choosing ACT(with optional essay writing)

Here is a closer look at the ACT exam pattern–

Subjects	Time (minutes)	Number of Questions	Answer Options
Mathematics	60	60	Multiple-choice questions with four or five choices
Reading	35	40	Multiple-choice referring and reasoning questions with four or five choices
Science	35	40	Four-choices for one question, multiple-choice data representation, research summaries, and conflicting viewpoints questions
English	45	75	Four-choice, multiple-choice usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills questions
Writing (optional essay)	40	1	One writing prompt

Scoring Pattern and Other Aspects

Number of Answer Choices (Reading, Science, English)	4
Number of Answer Choices (Math)	5
Odd-Numbered Questions	A-D/E Labeling
Even-Numbered Questions	F-J/K (I is excluded)
Correct Answer Marking	Raw point for each correct answer without negative marking/penalties
Score Range for Every Test	1-36
Composite Score Generation	Averaging English + Math + Reading + Science Scores
Writing Test Scores	2-12 without impacting Composite Score
Essay Scores	4 Writing Domain Scores (Development and Support, Ideas and Analysis, Language Use and Conventions and Organization). Each one is scored on a 2-12 scale. Writing domain scores ranging from 2-12 are sums of scores given by two readers on the 1-6 scale for every domain. The essay score is combined with the Reading and English score to generate separate ELA (English Language Arts) score between 1-36.
STEM Score	Provided by ACT Test and sub-score range for each of the four subject-based scores

Components of Subjects

English	Math	Reading	Writing (Optional)	Science
Usage Mechanics- 40 Questions	Pre-Algebra (14 questions)	Prose Fiction Passage (10 questions)	3 Perspectives on any Debatable Topic/Issue	2-3 Charts and Graphs Passages (5-7 questions)
a. Punctuation (10 questions)	Elementary Algebra (10 questions)	Humanities Passage (10 questions)		2-3 Science Experiment Passages (5-7 questions)
b. Grammar & Usage (12 questions)	Intermediate Algebra (9 questions)	Social Sciences Passage (10 questions)		1/2 Fighting Scientists Passages (5-7 questions
c. Sentence Structure (18 questions)	Coordinate Geometry (9 questions)	Natural Sciences Passage (10 questions)
Rhetorical Skills- 35 Questions	Plane Geometry (14 questions)
a. Strategy (12 questions)	Trigonometry (4 questions)
b. Organization (11 questions)
c. Style (12 questions)

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