The elements of Style by Strunk and White
Below is a link to The Elements of Style by E.B. White and William Strunk. It contains basic rules of writing and grammar, a good overview to help you prepare for the English section of the ACT. Right click on the link and choose "Go to hyperlink" to see the book.
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Elements_of_Style.html?id=3Yw6AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
Elementary Rules of Usage:
1. Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's.
2. In a series of three or more terms, use a comma between each term except the last.
3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.
4. Place a comma before "and" or "but" preceding an independent (stand-alone) clause.
5. Do not join independent clauses with a comma.
6. Do not break sentences in two. In other words, do not use periods for commas.
7. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.
8. Divide words at line-ends according to their syllabic formation and pronunciation.
Elementary Rules of Composition:
9. Make the paragraph the basic unit of composition, one paragraph to each topic.
10. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence.
11. Use the active voice (make sure the subject is taking action rather than being acted upon passively).
12. Put statements in positive form. Never hesitate or apologize in writing.
13 Omit Needless Words. "A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts."
14. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.
15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form. This is known as parallel construction. Correlative expressions (not only, but also; both, and; first, second, third, etc.) should be followed by the same grammatical construction.
16. Keep related words together.
17. In summaries, keep to one tense. With fiction, this is most often the present tense. In historical accounts or journalistic reports, this is most often past tense.
18. Powerful, emphatic phrases belong at the end of a sentence. Powerful, emphatic sentences belong at the beginning or the end.
Exercise
Correct the following sentences on notebook paper. Match the rules listed above to the example sentences below. Write the number of the rule in parentheses after the corrected sentence.
1. The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time is to travel on foot.
2. Harry Connick jr played piano for the New Orleans Symphony last Saturday.
3. The situation is perilous but there is still one chance of escape.
4. It is nearly past five we cannot reach town before dark.
5. He was an interesting talker. A man who had traveled all over the world and had lived in half a dozen countries.
6. Not only was the house a wreck, but the real estate agent rushed us to another wreck within fifteen minutes.
7. Being in a dilapidated condition, I was able to buy the house very cheaply.
8. My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.
9. She is not much of a fan of the opera.
10. As a destination, Hawaii is exotic, stimulating, and it has a lot of natural beauty.
11. Macbeth listened to everyone but himself. This is the mistake he makes throughout the play.
12. Her mother made her Fourth of July costume red, white, and, blue.
13. The question as to whether fossil fuels should continue to be used for energy purposes is the most important question.
14. The reason I believe that fossil fuels should not be used is because, the way I see it, we aren't conserving or replenishing fossil fuels when we use them.
15. His brother, who is a student at the same high school, is said to have pulled the fire alarm that day, saving many lives.
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Elements_of_Style.html?id=3Yw6AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
Elementary Rules of Usage:
1. Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's.
2. In a series of three or more terms, use a comma between each term except the last.
3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.
4. Place a comma before "and" or "but" preceding an independent (stand-alone) clause.
5. Do not join independent clauses with a comma.
6. Do not break sentences in two. In other words, do not use periods for commas.
7. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.
8. Divide words at line-ends according to their syllabic formation and pronunciation.
Elementary Rules of Composition:
9. Make the paragraph the basic unit of composition, one paragraph to each topic.
10. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence.
11. Use the active voice (make sure the subject is taking action rather than being acted upon passively).
12. Put statements in positive form. Never hesitate or apologize in writing.
13 Omit Needless Words. "A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts."
14. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.
15. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form. This is known as parallel construction. Correlative expressions (not only, but also; both, and; first, second, third, etc.) should be followed by the same grammatical construction.
16. Keep related words together.
17. In summaries, keep to one tense. With fiction, this is most often the present tense. In historical accounts or journalistic reports, this is most often past tense.
18. Powerful, emphatic phrases belong at the end of a sentence. Powerful, emphatic sentences belong at the beginning or the end.
Exercise
Correct the following sentences on notebook paper. Match the rules listed above to the example sentences below. Write the number of the rule in parentheses after the corrected sentence.
1. The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time is to travel on foot.
2. Harry Connick jr played piano for the New Orleans Symphony last Saturday.
3. The situation is perilous but there is still one chance of escape.
4. It is nearly past five we cannot reach town before dark.
5. He was an interesting talker. A man who had traveled all over the world and had lived in half a dozen countries.
6. Not only was the house a wreck, but the real estate agent rushed us to another wreck within fifteen minutes.
7. Being in a dilapidated condition, I was able to buy the house very cheaply.
8. My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.
9. She is not much of a fan of the opera.
10. As a destination, Hawaii is exotic, stimulating, and it has a lot of natural beauty.
11. Macbeth listened to everyone but himself. This is the mistake he makes throughout the play.
12. Her mother made her Fourth of July costume red, white, and, blue.
13. The question as to whether fossil fuels should continue to be used for energy purposes is the most important question.
14. The reason I believe that fossil fuels should not be used is because, the way I see it, we aren't conserving or replenishing fossil fuels when we use them.
15. His brother, who is a student at the same high school, is said to have pulled the fire alarm that day, saving many lives.