Test Prep · reading, writing and English
Reading, writing and grammar
Every test here has a reading section and a writing or English section. Below is what each one asks, today and before the recent changes, with links to the test makers' own free practice. Then practice the part that follows clear rules: grammar and punctuation, in each test's style.
The sections, test by test
SAT Reading and Writing
- One section: 54 questions in 64 minutes, in two adaptive modules of 32 minutes. How the SAT Is Structured · The Digital SAT Suite of Assessments: Specifications Overview
- Each question has its own short passage of 25 to 150 words, and four choices. The Reading and Writing Section · Do Changes in SAT Reading Passage Length Change Student Performance?
- Four kinds of questions: Craft and Structure (about 28%: words in context, how a text is built), Information and Ideas (about 26%: reading closely, using evidence and data), Standard English Conventions (about 26%: grammar, usage and punctuation) and Expression of Ideas (about 20%: revising for a goal, transitions). The Digital SAT Suite of Assessments: Specifications Overview · The Reading and Writing Section
Paper SAT, 2016–2023: Two tests: Reading (52 questions in 65 minutes) and Writing and Language (44 questions in 35 minutes), built on nine long passages of 400 to 750 words with several questions each. SAT Student Guide 2018–2019 · Do Changes in SAT Reading Passage Length Change Student Performance?
Standard English Conventions is the part that follows clear rules, so our grammar practice covers it, in the SAT's fill-the-blank style. The rest asks for close reading of real passages; for that, the College Board's own free practice is the best place.
Free official practice: SAT Suite Practice and Preparation · How to Use Khan Academy
ACT English and Reading
- English: 50 questions in 35 minutes (40 scored). You edit passages: many questions point to an underlined part and offer NO CHANGE as a choice. Preparing for the ACT, 2025–2026 · Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements
- About 38–43% of English questions are Conventions of Standard English: sentence structure, punctuation and usage. The rest are about organizing and improving the writing. Preparing for the ACT, 2025–2026
- Reading: 36 questions in 40 minutes (27 scored), on long and short passages, some with a graph or table. Science is optional: 40 questions in 40 minutes. Preparing for the ACT, 2025–2026 · Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements
Legacy ACT, before 2025: English had 75 questions in 45 minutes, Reading 40 in 35, and Science (required) 40 in 35. Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements · ACT Test Content
The conventions questions follow clear rules, so our grammar practice covers them, in the ACT's underlined, NO CHANGE style. For the rest of English, and for Reading and Science, use ACT's own free practice tests.
Free official practice: Free ACT Practice Tests and Prep
CLT Verbal Reasoning and Grammar/Writing
- Verbal Reasoning: 40 questions in 40 minutes on passages; every answer comes from the passage, and the last two questions on each passage are analogies. CLT Sample Test · CLT overview for school administrators
- Grammar/Writing: 40 questions in 35 minutes. Most questions point to a numbered part of a passage and ask you to fix an error or improve it, with NO CHANGE when it's already right. Style and tone count as well as grammar and punctuation. CLT Sample Test · What Does the CLT Actually Test?
Has it changed? We found no recent change to either section. The CLT · The Classic Learning Test Takes Aim at the SAT–ACT Duopoly
Grammar/Writing follows the same rules as the other tests' conventions questions, in a NO CHANGE style, so our grammar practice covers that part. For Verbal Reasoning, use the CLT's own free practice test.
Free official practice: Take a CLT or CLT10 Practice Exam
As of October 17, 2026, from the test makers' public pages. Tests change, so check the official page before test day.
Grammar and punctuation practice
Eleven rules of the kind all three tests ask about, in sentences of our own. Every question has exactly one right choice, and every answer comes with the rule and why the other choices don't work. Nothing you answer here is stored.
Timed mixed set
Questions on every rule, at the pace of the style you picked: the Reading and Writing section's pace: 64 minutes for 54 questions. On the real test, these questions are mixed with others.
Practice one rule
Eight questions on one rule, untimed, with the explanation after each answer.
The rules
Short and plain, with an example of each. Your results link back here.
Also on Test Prep: SAT Math · ACT Math · CLT Quantitative Reasoning · How the SAT changed · How the ACT changed