All About the New Enhanced ACT: English Section

The new Enhanced ACT began its rollout in April of 2025 for digital testing, and by September of 2025, this Enhanced ACT will be standardized for both digital and paper testing. Though it is still operating on a 1-36 scale, the new ACT has 44 fewer questions and is structured so that students have more time per question. Additionally, the Science section is now optional, along with the Writing section. There are a lot of factors changing with this new formatting, but the English section is one of the most changed and looks very different from what we’ve seen in the past.

To start, the English section has gone from testing 75 questions in 45 minutes to testing 50 questions in 35 minutes. This gives students about 42 seconds per question compared to the past ACT’s 36 seconds per question. (See Extended-Time table below for accommodated question and timing breakdowns) Because the Science section no longer counts toward your student’s composite score, the English section has gone from 25% of that composite score to 33.33%—which can be a huge advantage to many of our students. 

The content covered on the English test is the same as before. The passage-style questions will test student understanding in three domains: Production of Writing, Knowledge of Language, and Conventions of Standard English. Production of Writing questions test students’ ability to interpret an author’s purpose, strengthen an argument, and logically transition between sentences and paragraphs. Knowledge of Language questions assess student vocabulary, editing, and understanding of style and tone. Conventions of Standard English questions challenge students’ grammar usage, sentence construction, and punctuation. 

While the content in each domain has not changed, the Enhanced ACT has changed the overall percentage each domain will appear on the test. Most notably, there’s been a shift away from Convention of Standard English questions to feature more Production of Writing questions. In fact, the Enhanced ACT now ranks these domains as equal, making up 38-43% of the new English section, respectively.  

Overall, it means that to do well on the new English section students will have to demonstrate more understanding of language, rhetoric, and grasp of a passage’s argument than they had to previously. Before, mastering fundamental grammar rules was literally more than half the battle. Now, it will be crucial for students to make sure they leave enough time in their ACT preparation to focus on those broader reading comprehension, rhetoric, and language skills.    

One change that will help students is the addition of question stems for all English items. Previously, many English questions would look like the image below, with no direct question. 

Now, all questions will come with a direct question that allows students to know what domain it falls under and the kind of skill it is assessing. 

Production of Writing questions will have question stems such as: 

• Which transition word or phrase is most logical in context? 
• If the writer were to delete the highlighted text (adjusting the punctuation as needed), the paragraph would primarily lose: 
• At this point, the writer is considering adding the following accurate sentence: {XYZ}. Should the writer make this addition? 
• The best placement for the highlighted text would be: 
• The writer wants to emphasize {XYZ}. Which choice best accomplishes this goal? 

Knowledge of Language questions will have question stems such as: 

• Which choice is least redundant in context? 
• Which choice is clearest and most precise in context?
• Which choice most effectively maintains the essay’s tone? 
• Which choice best maintains the stylistic pattern of descriptions established earlier in the sentence? 

Convention of Standard English questions will typically only have one question stem: 

• Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?

While it is not necessary for students to know which domain a question falls under, it can offer some useful guidance (and increase the speed with which a student can answer a question) to be able to recognize, “Okay, this is a Knowledge of Language redundancy question, which means I’ll need to select the most concise and clear answer choice.” 

Interestingly, 20% of the Enhanced ACT English test (10 Questions) will also be used as field test questions. These are questions embedded throughout the section that will not count towards your student’s overall score. Your student will not know which questions will be omitted and should therefore make sure to answer every question to the best of their ability. The data from field test items is collected and used to create future ACT tests. It also introduces an element of luck into the testing equation, which can help some students feel like they’ve got a fighting chance. 

Overall, changes to the ACT are coming to everyone by September. For now, your student has the opportunity to familiarize themself with a digital Enhanced ACT, which could end up being their preferred testing format. Reach out to Academic Approach to schedule your free consultation or if you have any questions. We’re here to help!