ACT Reading Strategies

Before the testing day Get a GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP! Eat a good breakfast *You are paying for this test AND it could earn you money for college or a spot in a competitive program…make sure you are mentally alert! Eat a good breakfast *Protein for breakfast (eggs, sausage or bacon) is better than a sugar-filled breakfast of pop tarts or pastries!

R A F T On the Testing Days… elax ttitude ocus hink! • breathe  • do exactly what directions ask R A F T elax • stay positive • remember: this is for you! ttitude • be like a shark -- keep moving • answer every question ocus • seek best answers • do what your brain does best! hink!

Now, let’s focus on the ACT Reading Test… • Read 4 Passages • Answer 40 Multiple Choice Questions • In 35 Minutes (≈ 8 1/2 min. / passage) The ACT Reading Test assesses a student’s ability to • read and understand the lines • read and understand between the lines.

***Each reading passages represents a different type of text: Fiction (a novel or short story excerpt) II. Social Science (an informative piece from anthropology, business, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology, etc.) Humanities (a “personal” or informative piece from the arts, literature,music, philosophy, etc.) IV. Natural Science (an informative piece from biology, chemistry, geology, medicine, physics, technology, zoology, etc.)

***ACT Reading Test Questions Ask Students To… • determine main ideas • locate & interpret important details • understand sequences of events • make comparisons • determine cause/effect relationships • make generalizations / conclusions • analyze the passage's mood or tone Pay attention to • names, dates, titles, theories • italicized terms

General Tips/Strategies Answer the easy questions first…don’t waste time on questions that are too difficult! Questions are NOT presented in order of difficulty. SKIP difficult questions and come back later (circle these in test booklet). Refer back to the passage as needed Process of Elimination is key! Narrowing down answer choices before taking an educated guess improves your chances of getting the answer correct!

Easy Questions These questions will ask you about one word or phrase. Do them first! These questions will contain line numbers that tell you exactly where in the passage you need to look

Medium Questions Strengthen/Weaken Questions: Example: “If true, the author’s argument would be most weakened by…” or “The author’s argument would most likely be strengthened…” *ACT wants you to either provide more evidence to support the point, or contradictory information to attack the point. Inference Questions Inferences are NOT directly stated in the text and MUST be true based on what you read “Except” Questions Find the answer that is NOT supported by the passage…use POE

Hard Questions “Big Picture” Questions *You must understand the point and purpose of the passage. *Always save these for last. Examples: “The tone of the author can best be described as…” “The main point of the passage is that…” *Saving for last means you have already referred back to the passage several times and should know the main point/tone by then.

ACT TRAPS Deceptive language (answer could sound true or be related to the passage, but does not answer the question) Extreme words (best, never, must, most, worst, totally, always, only, cannot, all, …etc.) When you see these words, eliminate the answer. True statements that are not supported by the passage BE ALERT! ACT LOVES to use this to trick you! Half wrong/half right READ ENTIRE ANSWER…ACT is testing to make sure you read the entire answer choice before selecting your answer

***A Nonfiction Strategy: 4. Read 1st sentence of other ¶s. Mark key words. Skim rest of ¶, looking for impt. info. 1. Underline title & author for clues to topic. 2. Closely read 1st ¶ for author’s thesis. What does s/he want you to know, think, or believe? 3. Closely read last ¶ to verify thesis. Reader should now know author’s main point.

***A Fiction Strategy: 1. Read the 1st column to identify • setting • characters • the problem 2. Read the 2nd column to identify • attempted solutions *** don’t expect a full solution Read with a pencil in hand!

***Regardless of the reading passage… • Mark the text / underline / annotate. • Expect the text to be uninteresting -- make yourself think & read! (After all, it’s only 35 min.) • When answering questions, only go back and reread the passage when a line number appears in the item. • Trust your impressions of the text. • Pace yourself -- work smarter.

Final Tips A shorter answer is USUALLY better than a longer answer REMEMBER to use POE (process of elimination) to improve your chances of getting answers correct Choose a “letter of the day” and use it (AFTER using POE and you still don’t know the answer) Look for a theme among the correct answers…correct answers should all agree with each other

ACT Reading Test Remember the Format: • Read 4 Passages • Answer 40 Multiple Choice Questions • In 35 Minutes (≈ 8 1/2 min. / passage)

***Each reading passages represents a different type of text: Fiction (a novel or short story excerpt) II. Social Science (an informative piece from anthropology, business, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology, etc.) Humanities (a “personal” or informative piece from the arts, literature,music, philosophy, etc.) IV. Natural Science (an informative piece from biology, chemistry, geology, medicine, physics, technology, zoology, etc.)