The ACT English section gives you 45 minutes to answer 75 questions across 5 passages—roughly 9 minutes per passage. Many students rush and make careless mistakes, while others get stuck on difficult questions and run out of time.

Effective timing strategies include: reading passages quickly to understand the main idea rather than every detail, flagging difficult questions and returning to them later, and practicing with the official time limit repeatedly. A tutor can help you identify whether you're spending too much time reading, answering, or second-guessing yourself, then build habits that work for your pace.

They're challenging in different ways. ACT English tests grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and rhetoric—skills you can practice and master systematically. The Reading section requires speed, comprehension, and inference across unfamiliar topics, which feels harder for many students because it's less formulaic.

Most students find ACT English more improvable through targeted study since the rules are clearer. If you struggle with English, focused tutoring on grammar patterns and question types typically yields faster score gains than Reading section prep.

For solid ACT English preparation, aim to take 3-5 full practice tests under real timing conditions, which helps you build stamina and identify patterns in your mistakes. More importantly than quantity is quality—reviewing every single wrong answer to understand why you missed it matters far more than rushing through extra tests.

Varsity Tutors connects you with tutors who can guide your practice test strategy, help you analyze your results to spot weak areas, and adjust your study plan based on what the data shows. This targeted approach is much more effective than just taking test after test hoping your score improves.

ACT English focuses on practical grammar rules that appear consistently: subject-verb agreement, verb tense, pronoun consistency, comma usage, sentence fragments, run-ons, and modifier placement. You also need to understand rhetorical questions about word choice, transitions, and sentence placement within passages.

The good news? These rules follow patterns you can learn and practice. Rather than memorizing every grammar rule ever created, a tutor can help you master the specific rules ACT tests most often, then teach you how to spot them quickly on test day.

Most students start seeing noticeable improvements within 2-3 weeks of consistent tutoring, especially if they're studying between sessions. Meaningful score gains usually take 6-10 weeks depending on your starting score, the score goal, and how frequently you meet with a tutor.

San Francisco students juggling school, extracurriculars, and college applications often work with tutors for 1-2 sessions per week. Your tutor will create a realistic timeline based on your current performance, target score, and test date, then adjust the plan as you progress.

Test anxiety often comes from two sources: fear of the unknown and rushing. You can reduce both significantly through repeated practice and building confidence with question types. When you've seen dozens of similar questions and know the strategies that work, test day feels less frightening.

Tutors also teach breathing techniques, time-management strategies that reduce panic, and how to skip difficult questions without spiraling—practical tools that help you stay calm and focused. Many students find that their anxiety drops dramatically once they trust themselves to handle whatever the test throws at them.