How to teach ACT English

Why this matters

Many students answer ACT English questions by ear and pick the version that sounds better. A plural noun next to the verb can make a wrong sentence sound right, so the student keeps NO CHANGE when the verb needed fixing. An answer key marks the choice wrong without saying which rule the student is missing, and the teacher has to wait for the next practice test score to find out who is still choosing by sound.

What the ACT English section covers

On the enhanced ACT, the English section has 50 questions in 35 minutes, down from 75 questions in 45 minutes on the legacy test (ACT). For national testing, ACT started giving the enhanced test online in April 2025 and on paper in September 2025, and its FAQ schedules state and district testing for spring 2026 (ACT).

The section is a set of passages, each followed by multiple-choice questions. Some questions refer to underlined portions of the passage on paper, or highlighted portions online, and many offer "NO CHANGE" as one of the choices (ACT). ACT reports three categories: Production of Writing (38-43%), Knowledge of Language (18-23%), and Conventions of Standard English (38-43%), which covers sentence structure, punctuation and usage. ACT's own examples of conventions errors include run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers and subject-verb agreement, and its Knowledge of Language questions ask students to cut redundant words (ACT).

Flint is not affiliated with ACT, and the activity's passage is original practice text, not an official ACT question. Each student fixes four underlined portions and names the grammar rule behind each fix. A printed practice test only marks the choice; Sparky asks the student why the fix is right, so a student who fixes by ear finds out which rule she is missing.

Sparky gets Nora to name the rule behind each fix

Nora ends up fixing all four portions by rule and catching a NO CHANGE trap she first fell for. Every student gets the same passage, and Sparky's replies depend on the fixes and reasons each student sends.

Sparky connects the passage to Nora's newspaperSparky sends Nora back to her own sentence or an earlier fixRight fixes with the right rules get a harder item

N

Nora

Interest: Writing for the school newspaperStarting point: Fixes by ear, so she misses NO CHANGE answers

Sparky

Today's passage is literally about a school newspaper staff, so you'll feel right at home! Start with [1]. How would you fix it, and what grammar rule does your fix use?

Nora

the editor checks every headline and she reads each one out loud. idk the rule it just sounds better with and

Sparky

Good instinct on the fix! But "it sounds better" isn't the rule. Look at the original: "The editor checks every headline, she reads each one out loud." How many complete sentences (subject + verb) do you have on each side of that comma?

Nora

oh theres a whole sentence on both sides. the editor checks every headline is one and she reads each one out loud is another. so a comma cant hold 2 sentences together by itself, you need and or a period

Sparky

All four fixed, nice work, Nora! Now here's a harder item, the kind the ACT uses to trip people up. What's your answer, and which rule makes you pick it?

Nora

A no change. three staff writers review sounds right to me

Sparky

Good instinct to think about the verb, but try the same trick you used on [2]. Cover up "along with three staff writers" and read just the core sentence. Who is the real subject, and what verb does it need?

Nora

oh the editor review. thats wrong, the editor reviews. so B. along with three staff writers is just extra stuff in commas so its still one editor, singular subject singular verb

Fixed all four portions by rule, then caught the NO CHANGE trap

After Nora counted the sentences, she named the rule herself: a comma splice. On portion [2] she first said "stories are, so i would say no change", and Sparky had her cover up "of stories on the editor's desk" to find the subject, stack. She fixed [3] and [4] and named each rule before the harder item. Nora is an example student, and Sparky's replies are shortened.

What Flint did for Nora

• Sparky put the passage into a document with the four portions underlined and numbered, and marked each portion fixed once Nora fixed it and named its rule.
• When Nora said her first fix "just sounds better", Sparky asked how many complete sentences sat on each side of the comma instead of naming the rule.
• When Nora picked NO CHANGE on the harder item by ear, Sparky sent her back to the trick she had used on portion [2].

A teacher can't do this by hand for 30 students, and Sparky does it in every student's chat.

The activity page shows who still picks NO CHANGE by ear

While the class works, Needs attention shows the teacher which student is stuck and on which message. After three or more students submit, activity analytics lists what the class did well, where students went wrong, and a follow-up to practice next.

Set up the activity for free

Open the ACT English activity in Flint's public library, select Use activity to copy it into a free Flint account, and assign it to a class. The activity's guidelines hold the passage and tell Sparky to put it in a document, so there is no setting to turn on. To practice with a different passage, replace the passage in the guidelines with your own original text and list its underlined portions.

For more test prep activities, see Flint for test prep.