1. Practice for ACT Reading

2. Content: One passage each from Prose fiction: passages from short stories or novels Humanities: architecture, dance, ethics, art, film, language, literary criticism, memoir, music, personal essays, philosophy, radio, television, theater Social studies: anthropology, archaeology, biography, business, economics, education, geography, history, political science, psychology, sociology Natural sciences: anatomy, astronomy, biology, chemistry, ecology, geology, medicine, meteorology, microbiology, natural history, physiology, physics, technology, zoology

3. Format You complete 40 questions total You receive a subscore on the social studies/sciences based on the 20 questions on this section of the test You receive a subscore on the 20 questions in the arts/literature section You have 35 minutes to read the four passages and answer the 40 questions. Doing the math, this means you have about 8.5 minutes to read each passage and answer the questions that follow

4. Prose Fiction What is the purpose of reading fiction? Do you read for facts or entertainment? The questions generally focus upon what we pay attention to when we read fiction: plot, characters, mood, setting, etc. Pay attention to the MOOD or TONE in the passage, the relationships among the characters, the emotion implied by what the characters say and how they say it, and the dialogue.

5. Humanities Humanities passages describe or analyze ideas or works or art. If passages from memoirs are used, remember that they are non fiction, which is different from the prose fiction passage Pay attention to point of view. Sometimes a question will ask you to project the author’s likely response to a hypothetical argument or situation based on what the passage tells you about the author’s opinion and what his language implies

6. Social Studies Most of these passages present information gathered by research. They may be about Japanese history or a political action committee or a psychological experiment. The passages will emphasize names, dates, and concepts. Watch for cause-effect relationships, comparisons, and sequences of events.

7. Natural Sciences This type of passage usually presents a science topic and an explanation of the topic’s significance. Pay attention to relationships between natural phenomena, cause-effect relationships, comparisons, and sequences of events. Keep track of laws or rules or theories that are mentioned. This passage may include some specialized or technical language. If you see unfamiliar words, a clue to their definition is usually found within the passage.

8. Types of Questions Identify and interpret details Determine the main idea of a paragraph, paragraphs, or passage Understand comparative relationships Understand cause and effect relationships Make generalizations Determine the meaning of words from context

9. Strategies Pace yourself! Look at the questions before you read the selection. Mark places in the text that answer questions. Answer all questions. There is no penalty for a wrong answer. Don’t ignore the “advance organizers” that precede each passage. Sometimes they provide definitions of words. Sometimes they give context for a passage. Sometimes they provide background information. Do not rely on your own knowledge to answer a question. Use only the information given. Consider all options, although you are looking for the “best answer.”