Many students are unaware of the ACT sections. If you are one of them, don’t worry, we will clear your doubts. In this article, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive guide of all ACT sections. Further, we’ll dive deep into each section. Finally, we’ll talk about which ACT sections—and scores—are most significant for you.

ACT Sections: In Brief

There are four main sections in the ACT:

1. English
2. Math
3. Reading
4. Science

There’s also an optional fifth section: Writing. The ACT is scored on a scale of 1–36, and each section is also scored on this scale. Your composite score is the average of your four mandatory sections.

Section #1: English

The English section tests grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and rhetorical skills. It has 75 questions to complete in 45 minutes. The questions are based on five reading passages. You’ll answer questions about sentence structure, style, and strategy for each passage.

Section #2: Math

The Math section has 60 questions to complete in 60 minutes. It tests pre-algebra, elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, coordinate geometry, plane geometry, and trigonometry. You can use a calculator on the ACT Math section.

The ACT Math section has different question types, including multiple choice questions, questions with a fill-in or grid-in answer, and some questions that have answers of 0 to 9999.

Section #3: Reading

The Reading section has 40 questions to complete in 35 minutes. The questions are based on four reading passages, each from a different genre (literary narrative/prose fiction, social studies, humanities, and natural sciences). You’ll answer questions about main ideas, details, inferences, and vocabulary.

You’ll need to be able to read quickly and understand long passages in order to do well on this section.

Section #4: Science

The Science section has 40 questions to complete in 35 minutes. The questions are based on seven passages representing three different formats: data representation (graphs, tables, and other data), research summary, and conflicting viewpoints. You’ll need to be able to interpret data and understand scientific investigations in order to do well on this section.

Section #5: Writing (Optional)

The Writing section is optional. It tests your ability to write a persuasive essay in 40 minutes. The essay is scored separately from the rest of the test, on a scale of 2–12. The Writing score is not factored into your ACT composite score.

ACT Scoring

The ACT is scored on a scale of 1–36. Your composite score is the average of your four section scores. Check our blog for more ACT strategy articles.

For ACT prep, visit our ACT Prep page. For SAT prep, see our SAT Prep page.