#actreading

ACT READING ESSENTIALS

Overview of the Reading Test:

40 questions in 35 minutes

4 passages (aim for under 9 minutes per passage)

          Social Studies, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Prose Fiction

One passage will be a “paired passage” with two shorter pieces of writing

Tips for doing well on the Reading test:

Practice reading constantly – it doesn’t matter what you read, just that you read often

Practice skimming (reading quickly) and scanning (finding a specific word/sentence on a page)

Do practice tests and work on your timing, get used to the types of questions

Learn “root words” (usually Latin/Greek) to help with vocabulary

Do the easiest questions (vocabulary, detail) first, and save the hardest (inference, main idea) for last

Use the process of elimination

If you run out of time – guess! Never leave an answer blank!

Types of Questions:

Detail

          Find specific facts/details

          Paraphrasing

          Vocabulary in context

Main Idea

          Main idea of whole passage

          Main idea of paragraph or section

Relationships between facts/ideas

          Comparison (ex: in a natural science passage, how does one scientist’s               idea compare to a different scientist’s idea?)

          Cause & effect (ex: how/why did one event cause another event?)

Making inferences

          Determining meaning or author’s intent that is implied or not directly stated           in the text

Author’s writing choices