ACT Reading Test

Description: This course is designed to help students with the ACT Reading test.

Objective: Become familiar with what's on the Reading test, strategies, and more.

The reading section of the ACT tests your reading comprehension. It includes four passages that are written at a college-freshman level of difficulty. You must read each passage and then answer a series of questions on it. You have 35 minutes to answer 40 questions.

Aim to spend two to three minutes reading each passage and about 25 to 35 seconds answering each question. The questions test your ability to derive meaning from what each passage states explicitly and to use reasoning to determine what is implied through the text. You will need to make inferences to determine main ideas, understand sequences of events, make comparisons, understand cause-and-effect relationships, draw generalizations, and more.

The ACT reading test covers four main sections—social studies, which include subjects such as history, psychology, and business; natural sciences, which include topics such as anatomy, physics, and chemistry; prose fiction, which includes excerpts from short stories and novels; and humanities, which includes passages from personal memoirs and essays on art, film, music, and more.

Each section comprises 25 percent of your total score. You’ll receive two sub-scores for the reading test—one for your social studies and sciences reading comprehension and one for your arts and literature reading skills.

Several tips will help improve your score for the reading test:

• Pace yourself. If you spend two to three minutes reading each passage, you’ll have about 35 seconds for each question. If possible, try to leave time at the end to review your answers.

• Read each passage carefully. You should have enough time to read the entire text instead of skimming. As you read, try to make connections between various ideas in the text. Make notes as needed.

• Refer back to the passage as you answer the questions. Don’t answer them based solely on what you remember from one reading. Some questions will come from what the text states directly. Others will ask you to make inferences based on what you read.