ACT Syllabus, 2025, now include only three main sections, i.e. English, Math, and Reading. The Science and Writing sections were made student choice (optional) from September 2025. The ACT exam now contains multiple-choice questions (MCQ) on the English, Mathematics, and Reading sections, which sum up to a total of 131 questions. The ACT test also consists of an optional writing and science section, which are required by some universities. Therefore, attempting the writing and science sections of the ACT test can be beneficial for the students; however, there is a separate fee to add both of these to the ACT test.
The ACT exam is designed in such a way that the aspirants can relate to their high school curriculum, and thus, the ACT exam syllabus includes topics from all major subjects for a fair assessment.
ACT syllabus 2025 is designed in such a manner that it assesses the applicant's logical reasoning, problem-solving skills and editing skills. ACT syllabus is vast in comparison to SAT and also has two more sections, unlike SAT. There is also an optional writing section for which additional charges apply, applicable only for ACT test givers and not for SAT applicants.
Check: ACT vs. SAT.Indian students willing to take the ACT exam in 2025 must be prepared for huge changes that are going to take place in the patterna and format of the ACT exam in 2025. Here are a few changes that are going to take place in the ACT exam, starting September 2025:
- Shorter Test Duration: The ACT test's duration is going to reduce from 195 min to 125 min (approx.) with the total number of questions getting reduced from 215 to 171. However, this won't affect the efficacy of the exam. This will in fact allow students to have more time per question - which will reduce complexity and ease up the stress among Indian students.
- Science Section to go Optional: Starting Sep 2025, the Science section of this much anticipated test is going to be made optional and will depend entirely on the students' choice whether they want to take the Science section or not. Following this, the composite test score on the ACT test will be based only on the English, Maths and Reading sections.
- Reduced answer choices in the Maths section: Instead of the 5 answer choices, the Maths section will soon be having only 4 answer choices, simplifying the decision-making among students.
No, there is a slight difference in ACT and SAT syllabus. There is a Science section in ACT while there is no separate Science section in SAT. The ACT syllabus includes an essay writing question too which is optional but SAT doesn't have any essay types questions tested. Also there are subject tests in ACT but subject tests are not tested on SAT anymore. The ACT math section requires calculator use in some sections but SAT has allowed the use of calculators for throughout the Maths section.
No, there is no penalty for a wrong guess in the ACT exam and test takers should aim to answer as many questions as possible within the given time frame.
- ACT Exam Syllabus 2025
- ACT Exam Pattern 2025
- ACT Exam 2025 Syllabus Time Management
- ACT Syllabus 2025 FAQs
ACT Exam Syllabus 2025
Here is ACT test syllabus-
ACT English Section Syllabus
The ACT's English section basically focuses on following areas of study to understand student's understanding of language:
1. Usage/Mechanics: This section holds a weightage of 52-55% and requires students to apply knowledge of their grammar rules, usage and mechanics to assess fault in text.
- Punctuation – The questions test the knowledge of internal and ‘end of sentence’ punctuation, with a focus on the relationship of punctuation to meaning.
- Grammar and Usage – These questions test your understanding of the agreement between pronoun and antecedent, between subject and verb, and between modifiers and the word modified; pronoun case; verb formation; idiomatic usage; and formation of comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs.
- Sentence Structure – Candidates are tested on their understanding of relationships between and among clauses, shifts in construction, and placement of modifiers.
2. Rhetorical Skills: weightage for this section is between 15-17% and assesses students' knowledge of correct usage in terms of tone and consistency.
- Strategy – These questions test how well you develop a topic by choosing appropriate expressions to an essay's purpose and audience; judging the effect of adding, deleting, or revising supporting material; and testing the relevance of statements in context.
- Organization – These questions test how well you organize ideas, as well as how you choose an effective opening, transitional, and closing sentence.
- Style – These questions test how well you choose appropriate words and images, manage sentence elements, maintain the level of style and tone, and avoid ambiguous pronouns.
Also Read: ACT Registration.
ACT Mathematics Section Syllabus
The mathematics section tested in ACT is also divided into two broad categories:
1. Pre-Algebra/Elementary Algebra: This section holds a weightage of 57-60% and aims to understand applicant's knowledge in areas of understanding of these topics at large.
- Pre-Algebra – Candidates have to answer questions based on operations like whole numbers, decimals, place value; the concept of exponents; square roots and approximations; fractions, linear equations in one variable; and integers; scientific notation; factors; ratio, proportion, data collection, representation, and interpretation; and percent; and understanding descriptive statistics.
- Elementary Algebra – Candidates have to solve questions based on solving quadratic equations, multiplying binomials, solving linear equations, solving inequalities, substituting, and simplifying expressions.
2. Trigonometry: weightage of this section is between 12-15%, and how students apply their knowledge is basic catch here.
- Plane Geometry – The questions are related to 3-D geometry, triangles, parallelograms, lines and angles, volume, polygons, and properties of circles, triangles, and parallelograms.
- Trigonometry – The questions are based on trigonometric identities and graphs, graphing trigonometric functions and triangles, and solving trigonometric equations.
ACT Reading Section Syllabus
The weightage of reading section in ACT exam is divided into three categories - Key Ideas & Details, which holds a weightage of 52-60%, Craft & Structure, which holds a weightage of 25-30% and Integration of Knowledge & Ideas which holds a weightage of 13-23%. students are assessed in following areas of study-
- Social Studies - questions based on passages in areas of biography, anthropology, business, economics, psychology, history, archaeology, geography, political science, education and sociology.
- Humanities - questions based on passages in areas of art, dance, film, language, radio, literary criticism, philosophy, music, television, ethics, architecture and theatre.
ACT Science Section Syllabus
The weightage in ACT's Science section is divided based on subsections. Read on for more details:
- Data Representation (25-30%) – This section has Graphic and tabular material similar to those in science journals and texts. The questions associated with this format measure skills like graph reading, interpretation of the information presented in tables, and interpretation of scatterplots.
- Research Summaries (45-60%) - This section provides descriptions of experiments and the questions focus on the design of experiments and the explanation of results.
- Conflicting Viewpoints (15-20%) - This section presents several hypotheses or view points that may be based on differing premises or incomplete data. The questions focus on the analysis, understanding, and comparison of alternative hypotheses.
Commonly asked questions
Students who hold a strong hand in math and Science might find ACT math easier than SAT. Math in the ACT includes charts, graphs, and formulas and it's straightforward. Plus, maths section includes algebra, geometry, functions, etc. All major topics are tested as part of the ACT Math section syllabus. International students can prepare for ACT math syllabus based on class XII. However, SAT Math syllabus is though similar but the questions are more analytical in nature in comparison to ACT math syllabus.
ACT exam takes place in Feb, April, June, July, September, October, and December. ACT is conducted once every month; hence, those who are planning to appear for ACT again will have to plan their dates and university applications accordingly. The ACT exam dates usually do not change once announced, hence caution must be exercised when opting for ACT exam dates, centre and while making the final payment too.
Yes, ACT syllabus is vast and it includes testing students on various sections. The syllabus includes topics from Science, Maths and English most importantly. All major topics of these subjects are tested and are a part of the ACT exam syllabus. Hence, yes, it is not wrong to say that ACT exam syllabus is vast because of three major subjects that are tested and moreover a deeper understanding of the topics is prioritized when tested on the ACT.
ACT Exam Pattern 2025
ACT test consists of 3 subjects (English, Math and Reading) and an optional Writing test - Essay. Duration of new ACT test format starting from September 2025 is going to be 2 hours 45 minutes without the essay. There are two breaks in the test. A short break is provided after the second test. The second break is after the fourth test.
| ACT Exam Pattern 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| ACT Test Sections |
Type of questions |
Subsections |
| English (35 minutes) |
50 multiple-choice questions |
Usage/Mechanics
Rhetorical Skills
|
| Mathematics (50 minutes) |
45 multiple-choice questions |
|
| Break |
||
| Reading (40 minutes) |
36 multiple-choice questions |
Reading Comprehension: Four passages are given, each passage from a different section like social studies, natural science, fiction and humanities |
| Science (student choice) (40 minutes) |
40 multiple-choice questions |
|
| Break |
||
| Writing (optional) (40 minutes) |
1 essay |
One writing prompt |
| Total: 3 hours and 25 minutes (excluding breaks) |
172 questions |
4 sections (One optional) |
Commonly asked questions
Although one can take the ACT test 12 times but usually students give the exam 2-3 times. Candidates retake the exam to improve their scores. For the next ACT exam, one needs to check for ACT exam dates and also if the applicant has enough time to sit for ACT once more and then apply to various colleges and universities.
Students can start taking the ACT test as soon as they reach grade 6. Most students prefer to take the ACT exam for the first time during spring of their junior year and or the fall their senior year. This allows them to retake the exam if required, and make improvements in the areas of weaknesses.
The ACT test includes Reading, English, Math, and Science apart from the optional Writing section. Each section includes a different set of questions, you can check the above article and read in detail about the ACT syllabus. There is a total of 215 multiple-choice questions on the ACT. Each section has multiple topics which are tested and each topic in turn has a certain weightage attached to it as in the number of questions that would be tested.
ACT Exam 2025 Syllabus Time Management
The following table shows time an applicant must spare for each section of ACT test in 2025-
| ACT Sections | Time to be Spent per ACT Section | Number of Questions on the ACT |
|---|---|---|
| English Section | 35 minutes | 50 questions |
| Mathematics Section | 50 minutes | 35 questions |
| Reading Section | 40 minutes | 36 questions |
| Science Section | 40 minutes | 40 questions |
| Writing Test Section (Optional) | 30 minutes | 1 essay prompt |
This is just brief on how applicants can time their ACT exam. There may be a case where applicants may require lesser time on one section and more on the other, hence, they can manage their time accordingly depending upon their weak and strong prep on the ACT syllabus.
Commonly asked questions
The pattern for both ACT and SAT examination similar and both the examination hold equal value.
There is no comparison of which one is easy, it totally depends upon the strength of the candidates.
ACT has a Science section that need a well understanding and quick pace however SAT is more of a math based examination.
The duration of SAT is three hours while that of ACT is two hours and forty five minutes.
SAT question paper is divided into sections - Reading, Writing and Language, Calculative and non calculative math.
ACT question paper is divided into sections - English, Math, Reading and Science.
Students can choose from their strengths and weaknesses that which of the two is their cup of tea .
To know more about the examination, refer to the official website.
Students who hold a strong hand in math and Science might find ACT math easier than SAT. Math in the ACT includes charts, graphs, and formulas and it's straightforward. Plus, maths section includes algebra, geometry, functions, etc. All major topics are tested as part of the ACT Math section syllabus. International students can prepare for ACT math syllabus based on class XII. However, SAT Math syllabus is though similar but the questions are more analytical in nature in comparison to ACT math syllabus.
The preparation for SAT and ACT depends on the applicants and how they plan to work on their syllabus. For those, who wish to submit either SAT or ACT scores will have to first check what suits them the best and then begin their preparations. The SAT preparation may seem easier for those who are more inclined towards reading and logical reasoning. Whereas, those who have a practical plus logical bent of mind will find ACT exam preparation easier. But again the ease of preparation completely depends on the applicant and on his/her previous knowledge.
ACT Syllabus 2025 FAQs
Check out the frequently asked questions on ACT exam syllabus below.
Commonly asked questions
The ACT syllabus coverage timeline depends upon the student's previous knowledge. Some of those who have a good academic background and excelled in Maths can cover the Maths syllabus in a few weeks time, same goes for Science students. For English syllabus, it is a process and needs practice regularly to crack the section also includes Maths in this regard. Thus, overall a student should dedicate a month or two for the ACT exam preparation to be able to fully cover the ACT syllabus and practice as well.
The ACT test is a pen-paper test while the SAT is now digital. Students have to attempt questions on OMR sheets provided at their respective test centres, but those appearing for SAT can appear on their own laptops, iPads or Chromebooks. The new pattern of SAT exam is also different from that of ACT. For more details check out How is ACT Different from SAT?
No, ACT exam syllabus does not change frequently. The ACT syllabus has been the same for some time now and last minute changes are also out of question. Thus, whatever is given officially for ACT syllabus is final and students will be tested in and around the proposed topics only. There is nothing that is tested out of ACT syllabus. Thus, students must prepare for the exam keeping the ACT syllabus handy.
The average math score for the ACT is 20.7, so anything higher than this is above average. However, at times above average may not be enough to get into a good college. Anything above 30 or more is a good math score.
All the questions in the math section are multiple-choice questions. Questions in the math section are covered from six areas of:
- Plane geometry
- Coordinate geometry
- Trigonometry
- Pre-algebra
- Elementary algebra
- Intermediate algebra
The Maths section syllabus for ACT exam includes mostly high school knowledge and students can prepare based on the above given syllabus plus do check the weightage assigned for each of the topics.
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