Introduction to 7 Best ACT® Reading Strategies
Dorms, late classes, new friends, and possibly even a new location! You have so many things to look forward to when getting ready for the transition to college, and you are in that crucial year where we know how hard you are working to get to university.
We want to make sure that you have the best college experience possible by getting into the school of your dreams. We know what schools are looking for, and what they want to see from your standardized tests. One of those necessary (and sometimes dreaded) tests is the ACT®.
You’ve been a diligent worker bee when it comes to prepping for the ACT®, and we want to give you some specific ACT® Reading strategies that will prepare you for a high score and get you one step closer to your dream school.
We’ve boiled it down to the top 7 reading strategies. Here’s the lowdown:
1. Read Each Passage Before its Questions.
Be sure to pace yourself – don’t read too slowly since you want to manage your time; however, don’t read so quickly that you forget the information.
Underline words that stand out to you, and make notes in the margins with the main ideas. When reading, ask yourself the following questions:
a. What is the main idea/point of this passage?
b. Who are the main characters?
c. What are the top 2-3 arguments of this passage?
PRO TIP: After reading each paragraph in the passage, jot down 2-3 words underneath that summarize the idea of that paragraph. This not only helps you to recollect the information, but also helps you to form a single idea about the passage and save you the time of re-reading when answering the questions.
Many students find it helpful to read the quick blurb or introductory line at the top of each passage. It gives an overview of the passage’s main idea and grounds you in what to expect from that author in this particular context.
It’s important to remember that these passages will be pulling from the following subjects:
- Humanities (art, dance, music, architecture)
- Natural Sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, anatomy)
- Social Studies (business, economics, education, history)
- Literary Fiction (short stories, novels, memoirs)
A quick overview of what to expect from the questions for each passage type:
Humanities: Think TONE
Being that Humanities focuses on the arts, these questions are more likely to lean towards asking you about the author’s voice or the feeling that the author is trying to evoke from the reader.
Natural Sciences: Think DETAIL
The study of natural sciences is backed up by evidence. Take a similar evidence-based approach when thinking about the answers to these questions. When you see a question asking you to find a statement in the passage to support the answer, that is a giveaway Natural Sciences question.
Social Studies: Think SUBJECT/POINT OF VIEW.
Social studies encompass the world of psychology and sociology. What do we know about the field of psychology? It is based on how people think, and why they do so. Remember this when encountering a social studies question. The question will ask what you think the author would agree with, or essentially, the main subject/idea of the passage.
Literary Fiction: Think THEME.
Since the literary fiction passages will be memoirs or something similar, think about the idea behind the idea. What is the bigger picture here? If you could boil down this passage into one statement summarizing the big idea, what would it be? Thinking about the big picture will help you when answering literary fiction questions.
2. Read the Questions Second.
After you’ve taken the time to read for understanding and jotted down some quick notes about the main idea, go over the questions one-by-one using these techniques:
- Answer the questions that are easiest and that you feel you can answer confidently without reviewing the passage.
- Circle any questions that you are having trouble with so that you can skip them for now and come back to them.
- When reviewing an individual question, use the process of elimination to narrow your answer choices to the most likely possible answers.
PRO TIP: Examine questions for keywords (words that stand out to you). This will allow you to more easily find the answer when reviewing the passage.
Pay attention to “line” questions that make reference to specific parts of the passage. For example, line questions may start out with “In lines 4-5, what did…?” These questions should be quicker to answer, and will allow you to spend more time answering more difficult questions.
3. Manage Your Time Effectively.
Bring a watch so you can keep a close eye on the amount of time you’re spending reading and answering the questions for each passage. Try to take no more than 8-9 minutes on one passage.
Timing breakdown: 3 minutes reading + 5 minutes reviewing/answering questions = 8 minutes per passage
If you are spending more than 9 minutes on one passage, move on to the next one and come back to it.
If you finish early, go back and check each passage for any questions that you skipped.
PRO TIP: Circle all of your answers in the question book. Once you’ve done so, make sure you transfer all answers you circled to your answer sheet.
4. Put Yourself Ahead of the Game.
Most ACT®-taking students do not get to all of the passages, so it would give you a major advantage if you do. That would get you one step closer to your score of 36!
However, you can only do so if you’ve managed your time effectively. As we discussed earlier, you need to have a method of attack for reading passages and answering questions (keywords, underlining, etc) that is specific to the ACT® Reading section.
PRO TIP: An additional method to save time could include predicting an answer to the question before reading the answer choices. Then, review the answers to see which answer choices are in line with what you had in mind.
Another tip is to do the passages in whatever order you feel comfortable with! If you enjoy reading Literary Fiction the most, feel free to start with that passage and answer those questions first. If the Social Studies passage makes you nervous, save that passage for last so you have more time to focus on and answer those questions.
5. Practice with Many Tests.
You’ll want to practice for the ACT® Reading portion as much as possible to familiarize yourself with the testing format before the big day. Study the different passage types and subjects so you can spend less time determining what subject a passage falls under when it comes time for the test.
Example: If you are reading a passage about the life of Marilyn Monroe, it is safe to conclude that it is a literary fiction passage because memoirs normally fall into this category. Remember to think about the overall theme.
Example:If you are reading a passage that starts discussing popular methods of agriculture, it is safe to conclude that you are reading a passage about the natural sciences. Remember to pay attention to detail.
There are many different methods you can use to prepare for the test, so take advantage of the ones most convenient for you. Go to local bookstores to buy ACT® Prep books or download resources from online. Take the time to practice real tests and study what your testing strengths and weaknesses are. Take at least ten practice tests.
PRO TIP: Time yourself! Remember the timing strategy that we discussed earlier. Time how quickly it takes you to read a passage for comprehension, and to review the questions. If it generally takes you longer than 9 minutes to move past one passage, continue to practice, practice, and practice until you find yourself successfully adhering to your timing strategy.
6. Make Educated Guesses.
If you have referred back to your 2-3 word summaries of each paragraph, used process of elimination, and are still unsure of the answer, your best bet is to make an educated guess.
If you’ve gotten rid of a couple answer choices, you have a better probability of picking the right one when you’re choosing between 2 answers instead of 4! Remember the cues that were discussed in strategy 1 regarding what to look out for based on each passage type.
Context clues will also be helpful. Using the information surrounding words that you are unsure of will help you to get a better idea of the meaning of that word, as well as how to respond to it when used in a question.
7. Read, Read, Read!
A surefire way to make sure that you’ll pass the ACT® Reading test with flying colors is to, well, READ!
Reading will constantly be the most bulletproof ACT® practice there is. Build your reading and comprehension skills by reading as often as you can.
Read magazines, books, manuals, etc. Try to read all types of book formats to familiarize yourself with different writing styles—not just the subjects that you enjoy most or are the most comfortable with.
There you have it, folks! The top ACT® Reading strategies for a high score that will have your dream school begging you to attend.
Did we miss any strategies on this list? Let us know!
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