Use the quick links below to navigate the page:
Get Your Free ACCUPLACER Study Guide PDF Here
The ACCUPLACER English test is a web-based college assessment designed to appraise a student’s knowledge and skills. The purpose of the ACCUPLACER English Test is to help your college determine whether you are prepared for college-level courses or whether you need to take remedial or extra courses to get you college ready. Your score on the test is used to determine how many remedial courses you will be required to take—if any. A higher score may allow you to avoid taking certain courses altogether.
Find out what your English score means and how to improve it.
The ACCUPLACER English Test is composed of two sections and has no time limit. The first section requires you to write an essay and the second section consists of 40 multiple-choice questions, which increase or decrease in difficulty based on responses to previous questions.
The questions are divided into two topics, and along with the essay, are designed to assess different skills that are needed to take college-level English courses:
The Sentence Skills section of the ACCUPLACER Test focuses on the student’s ability to construct and deconstruct sentences. There are two parts to this test. In the first part, students are asked to rewrite a portion of a sentence by choosing the most appropriate option out of four available options. In the second part, students are given a sentence and are asked to express the sentence's main ideas in a new sentence.
To better understand the format of this section, and boost your understanding with some sentence skills practice questions, click here.
In the ACCUPLACER Reading Comprehension section of the test, students are required to analyze a given text, and deduce inferences, themes, and purposes. The section presents its questions in two different forms. In the first form, the student is given a passage and is asked a question about it. In the second form, the student is given two related sentences and is asked about the relationship between them.
For more information about this section of the test and for free sample questions, click here.
Back to top
The ACCUPLACER WriterPlacer is the essay section of the exam, which evaluates the student's writing skills, focusing on organization, development, clarity, and argument support. The student is given a topic to write about and has one hour to complete an essay of about 300-600 words surrounding that topic. The test is then graded on a scale of 1-8. If the essay is too short to be evaluated or does not focus on the requested topic, the student receives an immediate zero.
For tips on writing a great ACCUPLACER essay, and an opportunity to practice writing one, click here.
Just like for any other test, you can prepare for the ACCUPLACER English section using solid techniques and methods. Below is a list of tips you can use to successfully pass your ACCUPLACER English Exam:
At TestPrep-Online we offer you three ACCUPLACER practice packs, one for English, one for math, and a Premium Pack with over 1,000 math and English questions. The ACCUPLACER English Pravtice Pack includes complete English practice tests and additional practice exercises. The ACCUPLACER Premium Pack includes math and English practice tests, an ACCUPLACER grammar guide, grammar exercises, and additional exercises for optimal preparation.
To enhance your studying process, each question is followed by a detailed explanation, which allows you to see what your strengths are and to learn which skills you need to improve. Start preparing for the ACCUPLACER test today.
ACCUPLACER® and WritePlacer® are trademarks and property of COLLEGE BOARD. The trademark holder is not affiliated with TestPrep-Online or this website.