How do you choose the best opening or closing sentence on the ACT so it introduces or wraps up the right material and fits the paragraph or passage?
Introductions and conclusions on ACT English: choosing an opening sentence that previews the paragraph's or passage's actual content and a closing sentence that summarizes or completes it, matching the introduction or conclusion to what the text actually contains rather than to an unrelated idea.
A focused answer to introduction and conclusion questions on ACT English: choosing an opening that previews the paragraph's or passage's real content and a closing that summarizes or completes it, matching the sentence to what the text actually contains, with a routine for these framing questions.
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What this skill is asking
Introductions and conclusions are the framing sentences of a paragraph or passage, and the ACT tests whether you can choose one that fits the actual content. A good introduction previews what the text covers; a good conclusion summarizes or completes it. The trap is an option that is well-written but introduces or concludes the wrong material, an idea the text does not actually develop. The skill is reading the paragraph or passage for its real content, then choosing the framing sentence that matches it.
Introductions preview the real content
An opening sentence is a promise about what follows, so it must match what follows.
The method is backward: read the paragraph's body to see what it is really about, then choose the opening that previews exactly that. An opening about bees stinging cannot introduce a paragraph about pollination, however true it is.
Conclusions summarize or complete
A closing sentence should tie off what the text covered, not launch a new topic.
The common wrong conclusion is a broad, true statement that floats away from the passage ("Pollution remains a problem in many cities") instead of completing this passage's specific story. The right conclusion stays anchored to what the passage actually covered.
Applying it to a framing question
Read the body for its focus, then match the framing sentence.
Why content-first framing is reliable
Framing questions reward reading the body before choosing the frame. An introduction must preview what the text covers, and a conclusion must summarize or complete it, so the answer is determined by the actual content, not by which option is most eloquent. This is the same purpose-and-relevance logic that runs through Production of Writing: the text sets the standard, and the best choice serves it. Resist the well-written distractor that frames the wrong material; match the frame to the body it frames.
Try this
Q1. What should an introduction do, and what should a conclusion do, on the ACT? [Recall]
- Cue. An introduction should preview the actual main idea or focus of the paragraph or passage; a conclusion should summarize or complete what the text actually covered, often stating the outcome or significance. Both must match the real content, not a related-but-different idea.
Q2. A paragraph explains three causes of the 2008 financial crisis. Why would the opening sentence "Stock markets can be exciting to watch" be a poor introduction? [Short explanation]
- Cue. It does not preview the paragraph's real content, the causes of the 2008 crisis. "Stock markets can be exciting to watch" is vaguely related but announces the wrong focus, so it fails to set up the body. A good introduction would name the topic the paragraph develops, such as the factors that led to the crisis.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of ACT exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
ACT English (style)1 marksA paragraph describes three ways bees help pollinate crops. Which is the best opening sentence? (A) Bees can sting when threatened. (B) Bees play a vital role in pollinating many food crops. (C) Honey has been eaten for thousands of years. (D) Beekeeping is a popular hobby.Show worked answer →
The correct answer is (B). A good opening sentence previews what the paragraph actually covers. The paragraph is about how bees pollinate crops, and (B) introduces exactly that focus.
Why not the others: (A) stinging is unrelated to pollination; (C) honey's history is off-topic; (D) beekeeping as a hobby does not preview crop pollination. The introduction must match the paragraph's real content, which is pollination.
ACT English (style)1 marksA passage has explained how a community restored a polluted river over ten years. Which is the best concluding sentence? (A) Rivers are found on every continent. (B) The mayor enjoys fishing on weekends. (C) Thanks to a decade of effort, the once-polluted river now supports thriving wildlife. (D) Pollution remains a problem in many cities.Show worked answer →
The correct answer is (C). A strong conclusion completes or summarizes the passage. The passage is about the community restoring the river over ten years, and (C) wraps up that story by stating the successful outcome.
Why not the others: (A) a general fact about rivers does not conclude this specific story; (B) the mayor's hobby is off-topic; (D) a broad statement about other cities drifts away from this passage's focus. The conclusion must summarize what the passage actually covered.
Related dot points
- Topic development and purpose on ACT English: judging whether a sentence, phrase, or detail supports the writer's stated purpose or the passage's main point, using the question stem to identify the goal, and choosing the option that accomplishes that goal rather than one that is merely true or interesting.
A focused answer to topic development on ACT English: judging whether a choice supports the writer's stated purpose or the passage's main point, using the question stem to identify the goal, and choosing the option that accomplishes that goal rather than one that is just true, with a routine for purpose questions.
- Organization and sentence order on ACT English: ordering sentences for logical flow and finding the best placement for a sentence by following the clues inside it (pronouns, transitions, and references that must point to something already introduced), and recognizing logical and chronological sequence.
A focused answer to organization questions on ACT English: ordering sentences for logical flow and placing a sentence by following its internal clues (pronouns, transitions, and references that must point back to something already introduced), and using chronological or logical sequence, with a routine for placement questions.
- Transitions and cohesion on ACT English: identifying the logical relationship between the ideas before and after a transition (addition, contrast, cause and effect, example, sequence) and choosing the connective that matches it, reading both sides rather than the transition alone, to keep the passage cohesive.
A focused answer to transition questions on ACT English: identifying the logical relationship between the ideas on each side of a transition (addition, contrast, cause, example, sequence) and choosing the connective that matches it, reading both sides not just the transition, to keep the passage cohesive, with a routine.
- The writer's goal questions on ACT English: judging whether an essay or paragraph accomplishes a goal stated in the question (for example, to summarize a process or argue a position), deciding yes or no by what the text actually does, and choosing the option whose yes/no answer and reason both match.
A focused answer to the writer's goal questions on ACT English: deciding whether an essay or paragraph accomplishes a stated goal by judging what the text actually does, then choosing the option whose yes-or-no answer and reason both match, with a routine for these whole-passage two-part questions.
Sources & how we know this
- Description of the ACT English Test — ACT, Inc. (2025)
- Preparing for the ACT Test — ACT, Inc. (2025)