Conventions of Standard English Passages

The Standard English Conventions domain accounts for approximately half of the questions on the test.

In the test, you will see three types of questions in the English section. One that involve multiple paragraphs, sometimes covering the whole passage (e.g. after which paragraph should you insert this sentence?), another one that considers an entire paragraph (e.g. after which sentence should you insert this sentencxe?), and the last one that only requires you to focus on single sentences. The Standard English Conventions domain only involves questions that focus on single underlined sentences.

Here's a breakdown of the key conventions tested:

Sentence Structure and Formation

These questions assess your ability to construct grammatically correct sentences. You’ll be tested on:

Fragments and run-ons: Identifying incomplete sentences or improperly joined sentences.
- Fragment (incomplete sentence):
  - Incorrect: Because he was tired.
  - ❌ This is a dependent clause—it needs an independent clause to be complete.
  - ✅ Correct: He went to bed early because he was tired.
- Run-on (two independent clauses improperly joined):
  - Incorrect: She loves painting she spends hours on it every day.
  - ❌ Two complete thoughts with no proper punctuation or conjunction.
  - ✅ Correct: She loves painting, and she spends hours on it every day.
  - ✅ Or: She loves painting; she spends hours on it every day.
Comma splices: Incorrectly using commas to join independent clauses.
- Comma Splice:
  - Incorrect: I finished my essay, I submitted it online.
  - ❌ The two independent clauses are only separated by a comma.
  - ✅ Correct:
    - I finished my essay, and I submitted it online.
    - I finished my essay; I submitted it online.
    - I finished my essay. I submitted it online.
Parallel structure: Ensuring items in a list or series use the same grammatical form.
- Faulty Parallelism:
  - Incorrect: She likes running, to swim, and biking.
  - ❌ Mixed verb forms: running (gerund), to swim (infinitive), biking (gerund).
  - ✅ Correct:
    - She likes running, swimming, and biking.
    - Or: She likes to run, to swim, and to bike.
Modifier placement: Placing descriptive words/phrases close to the words they modify.
- Misplaced Modifier:
  - Incorrect: Running through the forest, the birds startled her.
  - ❌ It sounds like the birds are running through the forest.
  - ✅ Correct: Running through the forest, she was startled by the birds.
- Dangling Modifier:
  - Tired from studying, the exam felt impossible.
  - ❌ The exam isn’t tired.
  - ✅ Correct: Tired from studying, she felt the exam was impossible.

Punctuation

These questions focus on proper use of punctuation marks:

Commas:
- To separate items in a list
  - ✅ Example: I bought apples, oranges, and bananas.
- After introductory elements
  - Incorrect: After the game we went home.
  - ❌ Missing a comma after an introductory phrase.
  - ✅ Correct: After the game, we went home.
- Around nonessential (parenthetical) information
  - Incorrect: My brother who lives in Chicago is visiting.
  - ❌ Missing commas around nonessential info.
  - ✅ Correct: My brother, who lives in Chicago, is visiting.
Apostrophes:
- For contractions (e.g., it's vs. its)
  - Incorrect: Its a beautiful day.
  - ❌ Missing apostrophe in It's (short for It is).
  - ✅ Correct: It’s a beautiful day.
- To show possession (e.g., student's vs. students')
  - Incorrect: The dogs bone was missing.
  - ❌ Should show that the bone belongs to the dog.
  - ✅ Correct: The dog’s bone was missing.
- Plural vs possessive:
  - Incorrect: All the student’s books were on the table.
  - ❌ Student’s = one student; likely meant more than one.
  - ✅ Correct: All the students’ books were on the table.
Colons and semicolons:
- Colon (:) — introduces a list or explanation
  - She brought the following items: a pen, a notebook, and a calculator.
  - ✅ Correct use of colon after a complete sentence.
- Semicolon (;) — connects closely related independent clauses
  - I was hungry; I hadn’t eaten all day.
  - ✅ Correct use: two related full sentences.
- Incorrect:
  - I like coffee: it keeps me awake.
  - ❌ Not a proper colon use (colon must follow a complete idea).
  - ✅ Correct: I like coffee because it keeps me awake.
  - ✅ Or: I like coffee; it keeps me awake.
Dashes and parentheses: Used to set off nonessential information or interruptions
- Dash misuse:
  - Incorrect: She brought—bread, cheese, and fruit.
  - ❌ Dash used without a full independent clause before it.
  - ✅ Correct: She brought three things—bread, cheese, and fruit.
- Parentheses misuse:
  - He finally (after taking five minutes to think) answered.
  - ❌ Parenthetical phrase interrupts the sentence unnaturally.
  - ✅ Correct: He finally answered (after taking five minutes to think).
- Alternate (using dashes for emphasis):
  - He finally answered—after taking five minutes to think. ✅

Usage

These questions cover word-level grammar and correct word choices:

Verb tense and form:
- Consistency in tense (past, present, future)
- Correct participles and irregular verb forms
Subject-verb agreement:
- Ensuring the subject and verb match in number (e.g., The team is vs. The players are)
Pronoun usage:
- Agreement in number and case
- Clear antecedents (what the pronoun refers to)
- Ambiguous Pronoun:
  - Incorrect: When Jim talked to Kevin, he was angry.
  - ❌ Who was angry—Jim or Kevin
  - ✅ Clearer: Jim was angry when he talked to Kevin.
  - ✅ Or: Kevin made Jim angry when they talked.
- Pronoun Agreement:
  - Everyone must bring their own lunch.
  - ❌ "Everyone" is singular; "their" is plural (informally accepted, but not ACT-approved).
  - ✅ Correct: Everyone must bring his or her own lunch.
Adjective vs. adverb use:
- She runs quickly (adverb) vs. She is a quick runner (adjective)
Commonly confused words:
- e.g., affect/effect, than/then, there/their/they’re

Tips for Success:

Read the full sentence and paragraph for context.
Trust clarity and conciseness — simpler, correct constructions are often preferred.
Review basic grammar rules before the test, especially areas you're unsure about.