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ACT College and Career Readiness Standards - English Language Arts · ACT 2023
Production of Writing (POW): These questions focus on writing strategies—the choices a writer makes to achieve a purpose. Specifically, questions in this category will ask you to apply your understanding of the purpose and focus of a piece of writing; of organization, unity, and cohesion in writing; and of topic development in writing.
Topic Development: Questions in this category will ask you to demonstrate an understanding of, and skill in, topic development—in terms of a piece of writing’s thesis or controlling idea, the unity of its paragraphs, and the relevance and effectiveness of its supporting material.
Identify the basic purpose or role of a specified phrase or sentence.
Determine the most logical place for a sentence in a paragraph.
Determine whether a phrase or sentence is relevant to the focus of a paragraph or a piece of writing.
Determine whether a proposal for the addition of a phrase or sentence is relevant to the focus of a paragraph or a piece of writing.
Identify the focus of a paragraph or a piece of writing.
Determine whether a piece of writing has met a specified goal.
Identify an effective opening or concluding sentence for a paragraph or a piece of writing.
Evaluate the relevance and effectiveness ofところでmaterial in a piece of writing.
Organization, Unity, and Cohesion: Questions in this category will ask you to demonstrate an understanding of, and skill in, organization, unity, and cohesion in a piece of writing—through considering the most logical order of sentences in a paragraph or paragraphs in a piece of writing; the selection and placement of transitional words, phrases, and sentences; and the selection of an effective opening, body, and closing.
Determine the most logical order of sentences in a paragraph.
Select the most logical transitional word, phrase, or sentence.
Determine the most logical order of paragraphs in a piece of writing.
Select an effective opening, body, or closing for a paragraph or a piece of writing, attending to the specific function of that opening, body, or closing.
Logically organize the development of ideas in a piece of writing.
Knowledge of Language (KLA): These questions focus on effective language use. Specifically, questions in this category will ask you to revise text to improve clarity, precision, and concision, and to ensure that the writer’s tone and style are appropriate for a piece of writing’s purpose and audience.
Word Choice, Style, and Tone: Questions in this category will ask you to demonstrate an understanding of, and skill in, using language effectively—through revising to improve clarity (e.g., eliminating ambiguity, wordiness, and redundancy), ensuring that word choice is precise and concise, and ensuring that a piece of writing’s tone and style are appropriate for its purpose and audience.
Revise to eliminate ambiguous or vague pronouns.
Revise to eliminate wordiness or redundancy.
Select the word or phrase that is most consistent with the style and tone of a piece of writing.
Select the word or phrase that best conveys the intended meaning.
Revise to improve clarity and precision.
Revise to ensure that a piece of writing’s tone and style are appropriate for its purpose and audience.
Conventions of Standard English (CSE): These questions focus on the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics. Specifically, questions in this category will ask you to apply your understanding of sentence structure and formation; of punctuation; and of usage.
Sentence Structure and Formation: Questions in this category will ask you to demonstrate an understanding of, and skill in, sentence structure and formation—through ensuring subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, and pronoun case; through ensuring that modifiers are correctly placed and that modification is not ambiguous; through correcting faulty sentence structures (e.g., sentence fragments, run-on sentences, comma splices); and through ensuring that elements in a series or comparison are parallel in structure.
Correctly form frequently confused words (e.g., accept/except; its/it’s; there/their/they’re; to/too/two; then/than; whose/who’s; your/you’re).
Ensure agreement between subject and verb.
Ensure agreement between pronoun and antecedent.
Ensure correct pronoun case.
Ensure that elements in a series or comparison are parallel in structure.
Correct faulty sentence structures (e.g., sentence fragments, run-on sentences, comma splices).
Ensure that modifiers are correctly placed and that modification is not ambiguous.
Ensure conventional verb formation and use.
Punctuation: Questions in this category will ask you to demonstrate an understanding of, and skill in, punctuation—through ensuring the conventional use of an end-of-sentence punctuation mark (i.e., period, question mark, exclamation point); of a comma to set off an introductory, parenthetical, or nonrestrictive element or to separate items in a series; of a semicolon, colon, dash, or pair of parentheses to link or separate elements of a sentence; and of an apostrophe to indicate possession.
Use an apostrophe to indicate possession.
Use an end-of-sentence punctuation mark (i.e., period, question mark, exclamation point) conventionally.
Use a comma to separate items in a series.
Use a comma to set off an introductory, parenthetical, or nonrestrictive element.
Use a semicolon, colon, dash, or pair of parentheses to link or separate elements of a sentence.
Usage: Questions in this category will ask you to demonstrate an understanding of, and skill in, usage—through ensuring conventional verb formation and use (e.g., main verbs, auxiliary verbs, verb tense); the conventional use of adjectives and adverbs; and the conventional use of idiomatic expressions.
Ensure conventional use of adjectives and adverbs.
Ensure conventional use of idiomatic expressions.