The ACT English section tests students largely on their understanding of English grammar and rhetorical skills. One area in which students can expect a handful of questions is the category of “vocabulary.” These questions can be difficult to prepare for, as there’s no way to know what exact vocabulary words the ACT will throw at you during any given ACT English test. Here, we’re looking at some trends in types of vocab words and vocab question types that have been seen frequently in past ACT tests and how to approach them so you can be as adequately prepared as possible for tackling this type of ACT English question.

Vocabulary is an important aspect of all four sections of the ACT. For all sections, there is section-specific vocabulary and knowledge of this vocab will help students to work through questions and answer options much more easily. Today, we are looking at the English section of the ACT. In the English section, there are both questions that ask about vocabulary and questions and answers that are made up of specific vocabulary. That means that in order to get a perfect score you need to have knowledge of the vocabulary that shows up throughout this section.

What do vocabulary questions look like on the ACT? Well, they can come in a few different forms. For example, the ACT loves testing words with multiple meanings—for example think about the difference between “He was determined” (determined = having made a firm decision) and “The study determined what was true” (determined = ascertain or establish). On a similar note, the ACT likes to test homophones, or words that sound the same. Think the difference between effect and affect.

These are just a couple examples of how vocabulary questions can show up on the ACT. As we noted earlier, questions and answers can also contain vocabulary that, although not the direct question, knowledge of will help students work through. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know exactly what vocabulary words will be quizzed on any given ACT test. Here, we’ve put together a list of vocabulary words that have shown up somewhat frequently on previous ACT tests. If you’re preparing for an upcoming ACT, it’s a great idea to review these vocabulary terms as part of your ACT English prep.

Common ACT English Vocab Words

• Affect vs. Effect

  • Affect = Verb - to have an effect on

    The loud music affected his ability to hear well.

  • Effect = Noun - a change or result

    The sound effects in the movie were impressive.

• Then vs. Than

  • Then = at a certain time; afterward "

    First, we went to the restaurant. Then we went to the movies.

  • Than = comparison word

    He is shorter than his brother.

• Analyze = to examine in detail

• Compose = create; make up

• Engage = occupy, attract, or involve

• Precede = come before

  Common ACT English question type: “If the writer were to delete the preceding sentence, the story would primarily lose…”

  For this type of question, they are inquiring about the sentence that comes BEFORE the spot marked by the question.

• Infer = deduce or conclude

  Common ACT Reading question type: “It can reasonably be inferred that…”

  For this type of question,

• Differentiate = recognize what makes something different

• Correlate = have a mutual connection

• Redundant = repetitive

  Example of a repetitive sentence: Yesterday in Mary’s office, Mary wrote a letter to her grandmother in her office.

  There are two pieces of information repeated here: Mary and Mary’s office — the ACT does not like this type of repetition, so the correct answer would be to rewrite this phrase without the repetitive pieces.

• Relevant = closely connected

How to Approach ACT English Vocab Questions

There are some vocabulary words (affect/effect, then/than, etc.) that show up often enough on the ACT that it is worth taking the time to learn them and understand the difference between them. However, this is not the case for most of the vocabulary that shows up on the ACT. The types of words that will get thrown your way are a complete toss up. You have no real way of knowing what kind of vocabulary questions you’ll see on any given ACT test.

Add in the fact that there are only approximately 4-5 vocabulary questions in total on any one ACT exam, and it really isn’t worth the time or the effort to spend too much time studying vocabulary. Rather, students are wise to have a thought process in place that helps them work through vocabulary questions regardless of the exact words in question.

Recommendations for thinking through ACT English vocabulary questions:

1. Use context clues

   Think back to how you learned to read as an elementary schooler. English is a hard language when it comes to spelling. We have so many words that are not spelled anything like how they sound when we say them. For that reason, kids have a hard time learning to read English, and teachers often prompt them to “use your context clues.” Even if you don’t know what a word is or means, you probably are familiar with the other words around it and can make an educated guess as to what the word might mean to complete the thought.

2. Use process of elimination

   Remember that all sections of the ACT are multiple choice. What’s great about multiple choice is that each answer that you rule out makes your likelihood of selecting the correct answer higher. When you don’t know the correct answer outright, it’s a game of probability. If you can rule out one answer, you move your probability of guessing correctly from 25% to 33%. Similarly, if you can rule out two incorrect answers, you now have a 50% chance of guessing the correct answer. While ideally you will know the answer to the question outright, that is not always the case. Give each answer option a critical look and cross out any answers you know can’t work.

3. Don’t overthink it

   Especially with vocabulary questions, it’s important not to overthink your English intuition. There are bound to be some questions where you’re not familiar with one or two of the answer option terms. If there is an answer option that you are familiar with and that makes even remote sense, then that is the answer that you should go with. It’s better to pick an answer that is a term you know (as long as it makes sense in the context) than to guess a term that you don’t even know what it means.

4. Don’t assume fancier is better

   Sometimes, the best answer is going to be a simple word. Remember, the ACT likes things to be short and sweet and concise. Their language will almost always be very academic and well-versed, but don’t assume they’re going to be flamboyant and over-the-top. Oftentimes, these answer options will not be the correct choice.

How to Study ACT English Vocab

The absolute best way to help yourself prepare for the English section of the ACT is to take actual practice tests. The best practice materials you can use are old ACT tests. Take as many practice ACTs as you can. Pay attention to the vocabulary that shows up, the words that you’re unfamiliar with, and get familiar with them.