ACT Reading Strategies That Save Time and Points

ACT Reading is an evidence test. Every right answer is supported by the passage, and every wrong answer fails in a predictable way.

Read the passage once, with a purpose

You do not have time to read each passage twice. Read it once at a steady pace and, as you go, jot two or three words beside each paragraph for what it does: the setup, an example, a turn, the conclusion. This map lets you jump back to the right spot for any question in seconds.

Answer from the text, not from memory

Before looking at the choices, find the lines that answer the question and put the answer in your own words. Then pick the choice that matches. If you read the choices first, a well-written wrong answer can sound right.

How wrong answers fail

• Too extreme: words like always, never, completely or only go further than the passage does.
• Out of scope: it sounds reasonable but the passage never says it.
• Half right: the first half matches the passage and the second half does not.
• Reversed: it uses the passage's ideas but flips who did what or which caused which.
• Right fact, wrong question: true in the passage, but it does not answer what was asked.

Question types and how to handle them

• Detail questions: go back to the line and match the wording closely.
• Main idea and purpose: use your paragraph notes. The answer covers the whole passage, not one paragraph.
• Inference: the answer must follow directly from the text. Pick the least adventurous choice.
• Vocabulary in context: cover the word, predict a replacement from the sentence, then match it.
• Author's tone: look at the adjectives and verbs the author chooses.

Manage the clock

Reading is a pace problem for many students. Decide how long you can give each passage, and start with the passage type you find easiest. If one question has eaten more than a minute, mark your best guess and move on. Easy points later in the section are worth the same as the hard one.

Try these ideas on the ACT Reading practice questions, then see how to study for the ACT.

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