The ACT Reading section evaluates a student’s reading comprehension, inference-making skills, and ability to determine a text’s main idea.
This article will outline strategies for the ACT Reading Section, including the section's question types, the difference between the ACT English and Reading Sections, and 5 tips to succeed on the Reading section.
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What is the ACT Reading Section?
The ACT Reading section is the ACT exam’s third section, which tests a student’s reading comprehension, close-reading, attention to detail, inference-making skills, and vocabulary.
The test is broken up into four passages–literary narrative, social science, humanities, and natural science–each followed by ten multiple-choice questions. Since the section has a 35-minute time limit and 40 questions overall, students have 52.5 seconds per question–or 8 minutes and 45 seconds per passage.
Types of Questions in the ACT Reading Section
Each passage includes ten questions that vary in difficulty, including different question “types”.
ACT Reading Section Categories:
Main idea questions
Structure and function questions
Textual detail questions
Inference questions
Vocabulary-Interpretation questions
Main Idea Questions
Main idea questions ask the overall point of a passage or paragraph. They use language like “The main point of the passage is…” or “the main idea of the second paragraph is…” to consider a large chunk of the text, rather than just a single sentence or phrase.
Structure and Function Questions
Structure and function questions ask about the purpose of a sentence, section, or paragraph. They typically use the word “purpose,” such as “the primary purpose of the 9th paragraph is to…”
These questions ask about what a section does or achieves rather than what it says.
Textual Detail Questions
Textual detail questions refer to specific information that is explicitly and directly mentioned in the passage. Typically, these questions use language like “the passage indicates that…” or “in the passage…” that guide you to find concrete evidence for the correct answer.
Often, the correct answer will be stated word-for-word in the text.
Inference Questions
Inference questions ask you to determine what the text suggests or implies–what inferences you can reasonably make. Usually, these questions will use language like “the passage most strongly suggests that…” or “it can be inferred from the passage that…”
Process of elimination is helpful for this question type since three of the four answers won’t be supported by any concrete evidence.
Vocabulary-Interpretation Questions
Vocabulary-interpretation questions identify the meaning of a specific phrase or word used in the text. They indicate the exact phrase or word, and the line number.
Use the context surrounding the word or phrase to determine its meaning. Usually, the sentence itself–or the one immediately before it–is all you need to determine the meaning.
ACT Reading vs ACT English : What’s the Difference?
The difference between the ACT Reading and English sections is that the reading section tests reading comprehension, while the English section focuses more on writing skills like grammar, phrasing, and punctuation.
5 Tips for the ACT Reading Section
Here are 5 tips for the ACT Reading section:
Find the one answer supported by the text
Emphasize the intro: the passage’s first paragraph or the paragraph’s first sentence
Consider the question’s scope: detail, paragraph, or passage
Use the process of elimination every time
Read the whole passage first
1. Find the One Answer Supported by the Text
The correct answer is always supported by the text–not requiring any outside information–and there is only one answer clearly supported by the text. This means each of the three wrong answers will either be a) completely incorrect, or b) not supported by the text’s language.
While this might seem obvious, the reading questions try to trick you with inferred answers that seem like they might be true. However, these wrong answers will often contain one or two words that disagree with the passage. That’s why it’s critical to read the passage–and each answer option–to completion.
In question 1 below, only one answer option is actually suggested by–or similar to–the author’s language.
By reading the passage first, you can eliminate A and D; They have similar meanings, bothered and angry–both opposite to the author’s tone.
Left with B (excited) and C (peaceful), ask yourself: Which of these two words does the passage’s language actually suggest? The author’s word choice and tone suggest peacefulness–pleasant used twice, sat, fine–yet none of the author’s language is energetic enough to suggest excitement, eagerness, or animation.
Therefore, C is the only answer supported by the text.
2. Emphasize the Intro: The Passage’s First Paragraph or Paragraph’s First Sentence
The first part of a section–a passage's first paragraph and paragraph's first sentence–usually outlines what the whole passage or paragraph will be about. Therefore, pay special attention to the passage's first paragraph and each paragraph's first sentence.
A passage or paragraph introduces its main idea right away, in the beginning. So if a question asks about the whole passage, emphasize the first paragraph for clues. Likewise, emphasize a paragraph's first sentence for clues that ask about the paragraph’s overall point.
In question 2, the answer choices try to trick you with 3 wrong options mentioning specific details in the passage, rather than the main idea.
While all of these answer choices are mentioned somewhere in the passage, only B describes the main idea.
A, C, and D describe specific details that are too particular, and not broad enough to be the main idea. Luckily, the author gives away the paragraph’s main idea in the first sentence, providing a roadmap for the paragraph’s overall point.
Takeaway: Emphasize the first sentence or paragraph for “big idea” questions.
3. Consider the Question’s Scope: Detail, Paragraph, or Passage
When you read a question, consider its scope–how large of a “text chunk” it indicates.
For example, main idea questions have a large scope, asking about entire paragraphs and passages. On the other hand, inference questions often refer to just one interaction or a few sentences. Detail or vocabulary questions have the smallest scope, often referring to a single sentence or just a few words.
Why does recognizing a question’s scope help? Because then you can identify overly specific answers, or those that fall outside the question’s scope.
Questions try to trick you into choosing wrong answers with details that are mentioned in the text, but are either a) too specific for a main idea question’s large scope, or b) mentioned outside of a question’s small scope.
Question 5, a main idea question, refers to the whole passage and therefore has a large scope.
Answers B, C, and D are each mentioned at some point in the passage–the narrator drinks coffee, the scene is busy, and it takes place in France. However, these are all wrong answers because they are too specific to encapsulate the passage’s main idea.
The correct answer is A because it fits the question’s broad scope.
4. Use the Process of Elimination Every Time
When answering a question, you should identify, eliminate, and cross off wrong answers. Even on the most difficult questions, you can find answers that are obviously wrong–those details that are irrelevant or clearly contradictory to the passage.
Questions will often give two clearly wrong answers and one trickier wrong answer that’s almost correct. If you can eliminate two wrong answers immediately, your chances of a correct answer double.
Approaching question 6, you may not know what the word “mouthpiece” means.
Even if you find the connection between “mouth” and “spoke” to choose C (the correct answer), you should be able to eliminate the other three to confirm your choice. Considering that the mouthpiece “talks and answers questions for an hour,” you can eliminate B–server. Next, answering press questions doesn’t seem like something an intern would do, eliminating A.
Left with C and D, you must use context to determine the right answer: “spokesperson” or “manager”. Since the mouthpiece speaks for thirty minutes, you can choose C (spokesperson) as the correct option.
5. Read the Whole Passage First
Always read the passage immediately–before answering any questions–because you will need to read the whole thing regardless.
Every ACT Reading passage has 10 questions–a mix of main idea, structure, inference, detail, and vocabulary, so you must read the passage’s every word to synthesize central ideas and small details.
To save time, it’s best to dive right into reading the whole passage right away, before starting on the questions. Briefly read the passage’s title and genre–listed at the top–then get started on the passage. Focus especially on the first paragraph and first sentence of each paragraph, and underline things that seem important (key whos, whats, wheres, whens and whys). Read with focus, and read every word. Then, begin the questions.
Most of the questions will require you to revisit the passage, which is no problem.
Are You Ready for the ACT Reading Section?
With a few practice tests and strategies in mind, you will be prepared for the ACT Reading section. Tips listed above–like considering each question's scope, focusing on the intro for main idea questions, and finding the one answer supported by the text–will help you optimize your time and score.
If you’d like some extra practice and one-on-one help, reach out and we can arrange a virtual session.