The document provides tips and strategies for taking the ACT Reading exam. It discusses the structure of the exam, including different types of passages and questions. Key advice includes annotating passages by writing summaries in margins and marking important details, using process of elimination to choose answers, and being aware of different question types like main idea, detail, inference, and vocabulary questions. The overall strategy is to focus first on easier passages, read and annotate within time limits, and return to guessed questions if possible.

1. The ACT Reading Exam
Tips & Strategies

3. The Structure
• Prose
– Events that show
characters’ beliefs &
motivations
– Asks for setting, plot,
theme, tone, feelings
• Social sciences
– Anthropology, archaeology,
business, economics,
education, geography,
history, political science,
psychology, sociology
– Often presents opposing
viewpoints
• Humanities
– Architecture, art, culture,
dance, film, literature, music,
philosophy, radio, television,
theater
– Details, vocab, inferences,
author’s POV, important
contributions of the subject
• Natural sciences
– Anatomy, astronomy,
biology, chemistry, ecology,
geology, medicine,
meteorology, microbiology,
natural history, physics,
technology
– Most specific of questions

4. The Nitty Gritty
• 8 ½ minutes per section
• All questions worth the
same # of points
• No wrong points for
guessing
• A score of 20 = must answer
20/40 correctly (2 sections!)
• A score of 25 = must answer
28/40 correctly (3 sections!)
• A score of 30 = answer
34/40 correctly (3 ½
sections!)
• Concentrate on the
passages where you’re
strong
• Take your time on the
questions you’re most
likely to get right
• Right answer isn’t
always the “perfect”
answer

7. Your #1 best tool… Annotations
• Write 1-word summaries in margins of most
important ideas
– Look for the TOPIC sentence (it’s not necessarily
the first sentence!)
• Underline things that seem important
– Put “eg” or “ex” next to examples
– Circle shifters (although, despite, even though,
nonetheless…)
• Mark “+” or “-” to indicate tone
• Number parts of an argument

8. Process of Elimination (POE)
• Avoid absolutes (“always” or “never”)
• Avoid extremes (“hateful” or “ecstatic”)
• The “bait and switch” answers – they use the
exact wording of the passages, but have one
small change that makes it wrong
– Right answers will be a paraphrase, NOT a
quotation
• Be careful of “NOT” or “EXCEPT” questions!

9. Know your question types
Detail questions
Inferences
Point of view
Cause & effect
Main ideas
Vocabulary

10. Main idea questions
• Main idea of entire piece, or JUST a certain
section
• Should be able to answer without going back to
the passage
• If in doubt, go back and look at your annotations!
• Types of questions include:
• “The main idea is…”
• “One of the main ideas is…”

11. Detail questions
• Read around in the excerpt for context
– Very common to have one potential answer that
looks true in the section, but is later revealed to
be incorrect
• Tend to be straightforward answers
• Types of questions include:
• “According to the passage…”
• “The passage indicates…”

12. Inference questions
• Ask for implied information; often difficult!
• Reread lines before & after for context
• Look for shifter words (although, nevertheless,
however, but…) to break down the argument
• Types of questions include anything that uses
the words:
• “Suggest,” “infer,” “imply,” “indicate”…

13. Point of view questions
• What does the WRITER think of the subject?
– Look at your “+” & “-” annotations
– What is their tone? Negative? Sympathetic?
• The correct answer probably isn’t the perfect
answer
• Types of questions include:
• “With which of the following statements would
the author most likely agree? ”

14. Cause & effect questions
• FACT-BASED questions! Do not involve
inferences
• Are you looking for the CAUSE, or the EFFECT?
• Types of questions include:
• “…because…”
• “Resulted in,” “led to,” “caused by…”

15. Vocab questions
• Find definition of word based on context
• Go back and reread the sentence – can you
substitute a similar word?
– A word that looks like a “+” in the sentence will
also have a “+”-sounding word as the answer
• Types of questions include:
• “As it is used in line ___, the word _________
most nearly means…”

16. Your overall strategy
• Go to the passages where you are strongest first
– don’t be afraid to skip around
– Do one WHOLE passage at a time
• 3 minutes to read
• ANNOTATE!!
• Know your question types – are you looking for
facts (in the text), or inferences (your best
guess?)
• If no time left over, fill in every bubble!
• With time left over, you MUST go back to a
passage you mostly guessed on