Reading Strategies and Techniques Shelly Stille & Haley Henry

What does the Reading Test Entail? The Reading Test is a 40-question, 35-minute test that measures your reading comprehension. You're asked to read several passages and answer questions that show your understanding of: what is directly stated statements with implied meanings Look at a sample passage & questions here (Act.org)

Strategies and Techniques There are 4 passages on the test, and you will have about 8 minutes to work on each. Mark the answers on your answer sheet. If you have difficulty completing all sections slow down a bit, focus on two or three, and simply guess on the remaining questions. If you get 30 out of 40 questions you will end up with scaled reading score of about 28. Current National Average on the reading test is 21.

Sacrificing a reading passage Many students will not have time to attempt all four of the passages. Decide which passage you will sacrifice for the first pass. Let your practice testing help you to decide whether to attack all four passages.

The Perfect Balance In addition to answering 40 questions, you must digest approx. 3,000 words worth of information To achieve on this test, you must BALANCE your time Don’t spend too much time reading, not allowing yourself enough time to answer questions In the same turn, do not breeze through the passage reading only a few words here and there and then try to answer the questions—This will be too difficult as you will not have comprehended the information

Reading the Reading Test Read carefully enough that you are able to understand the general information (topic, theme, argument, etc.) and set-up of the passage When you come across details that seem important, make a mental note or note in the margin, do not get hung up on them Using this balance, you’ll have a good enough sense of the layout of the passage, so that when asked about specific information, it is much easier to go back into the text, check the information & choose the correct answer

Make Notes & Underline Underline information you come upon that you believe may be important & make notes in the margins (Do not spend a lot of time on this though) The point of this is to use the underlined information and your notes as a map through the text when identifying answers to questions This way you do not waste time reading a passage for a second time Practice THIS! Practice reading and annotating as you read! It will make it easier to do on the ACT!

General Strategies Students who apply a key strategy-paraphrasing or skimming-usually get the best scores on this section.

Paraphrasing- Read the Question Stems First The question stems are the prompts, or stimuli that appear before the four answer choices. The questions contains useful information. They might refer to specific names or terms repeatedly or contain references to the line numbers that are printed down the left side of the passage-can be useful information. Do not read the answer choices before the section Most answer choices are wrong-distracting Line numbers-note in the margin so that you know where to begin to find the answers

Paraphrase the passages When you come to a word or phrase that is unfamiliar, just read past it. You can write in your test booklet. So, when you see a topic word, circle it. If you can sum up a paragraph in a word or two, jot it down in the margin. The first sentence is not always the topic sentence. Remember that the idea at this state is not to waste time. Keep moving through the material.

Paraphrase the Question Stem Once you have found the information in the passage that will provide the answer you are looking for, try to answer the question in your mind. Put the question in your own words. Remember that three out of every four answers are incorrect. They were written by experts to confuse you. Try using the phrase, “So what they really are saying is…”

Read and Answer the Questions Start at the beginning of each group of questions. Read the first question and make sure that you understand it. One of the most important skills rewarded by the ACT is the ability to sift through text and find the word or concept for which you are looking. Remember that the most complicated-sounding answer choice is not always correct.

Use the process of elimination The process of elimination is a good tool. It just shouldn’t be the only tool. It is useful to you as a backup strategy for the questions for which either you cannot predict an answer, or your prediction is not listed as a choice.

Apply Logic It is important to know the difference between information that is stated directly in the passage and inferences and assumptions. Inference-a conclusion based on what is stated in the passage. Assumption-unstated evidence.