{"id":5573,"date":"2016-02-29T11:44:52","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T19:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/?p=5573"},"modified":"2017-09-28T08:47:43","modified_gmt":"2017-09-28T15:47:43","slug":"what-is-a-good-act-english-score","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/what-is-a-good-act-english-score\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Good ACT English Score?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first sight that will greet you when you open your ACT test packet will be the ACT English section<\/a>. It contains the most questions of any section on the test (75 of them!), but it only allows you 45 minutes to answer them. Your raw score will be translated into a score from 1-36 and, along with your scores from the Reading, Math, and Science sections, will be included as part of your composite score (more on overall ACT scoring here<\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n

The ACT English section<\/a> focuses on testing your skills in usage\/mechanics and rhetorical skills. This is the nitty gritty part of writing. A good score in this section demonstrates you have a solid grasp on the English language and can recognize when it is used effectively. Perhaps more importantly, it proves you can recognize and fix writing that isn\u2019t effective.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are hoping to be in the top half of test takers, shoot for a scaled score of 20 on the ACT English. Most people consider above average to be a good score.<\/strong> But we’ll break this down a little bit more, depending on what your goals are.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Give it to me straight: What score do I need?<\/b><\/h2>\n

What exactly is a \u201cgood score\u201d? The answer is different for everyone, of course, but here are some general ideas to keep in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the ACT\u2019s <\/span>\u201cNorm Chart\u201d for the multiple choice sections and composite score<\/span><\/a>, the mean, or average, scaled score of the ACT English section is a 20. <\/p>\n

For a good ACT score, shoot for above average: anything above 20 will put you ahead of the pack. For a great ACT score, look to reach the 90th <\/span>percentile of scores<\/span><\/a> (top 10 percent) on the ACT English, where you should score above a 29. And for an exceptional ACT score? If you are applying to more competitive universities, like the Ivy Leagues, you want to ideally be in the 30+ range. <\/p>\n

Most schools don\u2019t throw an otherwise-qualified application out the window because of a lower ACT English score, but it\u2019s always a good idea to shoot for a score similar to those of people who have been accepted in the past. After all, it worked for them!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why does the ACT English test\u00a0matter?<\/b><\/h2>\n

You may be thinking: \u201cI hate grammar and sentence structure. I\u2019d rather study for the other sections and just not do as well on the English. It\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, grammar is not everyone\u2019s favorite subject. However, something to remember about the ACT English section is that it\u2019s included in the composite score. This means your score on this section is averaged with the scores you get on the Math, Science, and Reading sections to produce your single composite score, so you can\u2019t really afford to have a \u201cthrowaway\u201d section. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Confused? Let\u2019s look at an example.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Imagine your section scores broke down like this:<\/span><\/p>\n