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ACT English Hard practice

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Hard practice

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Question 1

An essay about Japanese architecture includes this passage: "Traditional Japanese buildings use sliding shoji screens instead of solid walls. These screens allow natural light to filter through rice paper panels, creating soft interior light. The result is a sense of harmony between the inside and outside world, which Japanese aesthetics prizes above all." The writer wants to add a sentence at the end that serves as a bridge to the next paragraph, which discusses how modern architects have incorporated these principles. Which addition best serves that purpose?

A."Japan's aesthetic traditions have their roots in Zen Buddhism and Shinto philosophy."B."This principle — that architecture should blur the boundary between built space and nature — has become one of Japan's most enduring gifts to modern design worldwide."C."Shoji screens are now available for purchase in Western home improvement stores."D."Japan's traditional buildings also feature steeply pitched roofs designed to shed heavy snowfall."

Question 2

A fashion magazine article describes a jacket as "an innovative new design that represents a novel departure from conventional traditional styles." Identify all instances of redundancy in this phrase and select the best revision.

A."an innovative new design that represents a novel departure from conventional styles"B."a design that represents a novel departure from conventional styles"C."an innovative design that departs from conventional traditional styles"D."an innovative new style departing from tradition"

Question 3

An essay on urban development states: "The construction of new apartment buildings in the downtown core area is an issue that has sparked controversy and debate among residents." Which revision best improves concision?

A."The construction of new downtown apartment buildings has sparked controversy among residents."B."The issue of constructing new apartment buildings downtown is controversial and debated by residents."C."The construction of new apartment buildings in the downtown core area is a controversial issue."D."Building apartments downtown has sparked quite a bit of controversy among neighborhood residents."

Question 4

A writer is revising an essay about urban noise pollution. The current paragraph reads: "Chronic exposure to traffic noise has been linked to cardiovascular disease, sleep disorders, and reduced cognitive performance in children. Noise can be measured in decibels. City planners have begun requiring acoustic barriers alongside major highways." Which revision best improves the paragraph's organization?

A.Keep the paragraph as written; the decibel sentence provides necessary context.B.Delete the sentence "Noise can be measured in decibels" and add a sentence connecting health effects to the policy response.C.Move the sentence "Noise can be measured in decibels" to the beginning of the paragraph.D.Replace "City planners have begun requiring acoustic barriers" with a second sentence about sleep disorders.

Question 5

A student essays, "The rainforest provides habitat for more than half of the world's species. Deforestation destroys these habitats at an alarming rate. Although conservation efforts have had limited success. Scientists worry that dozens of species go extinct every day." The underlined portion "Although conservation efforts have had limited success." needs revision. What is the most likely issue?

A.The sentence introduces an irrelevant idea that should be deleted entirely.B.The sentence is a fragment created by the subordinating conjunction "although," which requires a main clause to complete the thought.C.The sentence should begin with a comma, not a period, because it continues the previous sentence.D.The word "although" should be replaced with "however" to create a correct contrast.

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Question 6

In a literary analysis essay, a student writes: "Shakespeare was a very good author who wrote many plays. His works are still popular to this day and people still read them." Which revision best elevates the style to match formal literary analysis?

A."Shakespeare was a talented author whose plays are still popular and widely read."B."Shakespeare was a great writer whose plays continue to be performed and studied across the globe."C."Shakespeare's dramatic works have endured for four centuries because they probe the unchanging tensions of ambition, love, and betrayal with unmatched psychological depth."D."Shakespeare, who wrote many plays, is still read and performed today, making him a very influential figure."

Question 7

A student writes: "The teams performance, which included both the offense's and defenses contributions, exceeded the coaches' expectations for the season." How many apostrophe errors does this sentence contain?

A.One error — "teams" should be "team's" (possessive).B.Two errors — "teams" should be "team's" and "defenses" should be "defense's."C.Three errors — "teams," "defenses," and "coaches'" all need corrections.D.No errors — all apostrophes are used correctly in the sentence.

Question 8

Choose the correct version of the underlined word: "Each of the solutions have/has its own set of tradeoffs that engineers must weigh carefully."

A."have" — because "solutions" is plural, the verb should be plural.B."has" — because the subject is "Each," which is always singular.C."have" — because the verb should agree with the object of the preposition ("solutions").D."has" — because "its" in the same sentence is singular, so the verb must match.

Question 9

A student writes in a formal essay: "The reason why the experiment failed was because the temperature was not properly controlled." Which revision corrects both the grammatical error and improves concision?

A."The reason why the experiment failed was that the temperature was not properly controlled."B."The experiment failed because the temperature was not properly controlled."C."The reason the experiment failed was because of improper temperature control."D."The reason behind the experiment's failure was a lack of proper temperature control."

Question 10

A sentence reads: "The new policy affects everyone who works in the building, the employees must therefore sign the updated agreement." What is the grammatical error?

A.No error — the comma before "the employees" correctly introduces the consequence.B.Comma splice — two independent clauses are joined only by a comma.C."therefore" requires a semicolon after it to function as a conjunctive adverb.D."affects" should be "effects" — the policy has an effect on employees.

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Question 11

Consider the sentence: "Walking into the room, the chandelier's crystals sparkled above the guests." What is the grammatical problem, and how should it be corrected?

A.No error — the participial phrase correctly modifies "crystals," which were above the walking guests.B.Dangling modifier — "walking into the room" modifies no person named in the main clause; fix by making "the guests" the subject: "Walking into the room, the guests admired the chandelier's sparkling crystals."C.Misplaced modifier — move "the chandelier's crystals" to the beginning of the main clause to fix the error.D.No error — participial phrases can describe the setting rather than a specific subject.

ACT English Hard practice — Free with Answer Explanations | Test Practice Hub