You will always see 4 passages and you must always answer all 40 questions. The ACT does not penalize you for wrong answers! As you practice, you will start to realize which passages types are easier and which are more challenging for you. For example, if Literary Narrative is your strong point but Natural Science passages make you nervous, it may make sense for you to do the Literary Narrative passage first and save the Natural Science passage for last. Just make sure you're bubbling in the write question number on your answer sheet...
If you are spending more than 3 minutes reading a passages, you may not be able to finish all of the questions on test day. As you become more and more confident with your accuracy, try to get as precise as possible with the timing of your note taking.
Look for words and phrases that reveal the author's opinion, or give the main idea of each paragraph. It doesn't matter if you write all over the test booklet. In fact, it's better if you do! Underline, circle, write 3-5 word summaries of each paragraph ... whatever works for you. Just don't get so carried away with the note taking that you run out of time.
Do you find yourself getting lost in the details, or reading too quickly and missing some of the important information? For the ACT Reading Test, you’ve got to strike a balance between reading for the author’s point of view and for the function of each paragraph, while also noting the location of important details in case you need to come back later. How do you do all of this at the same time?
A commonly used vocab word often takes on a secondary definition within ACT passages. Do not assume that the common meaning is the correct answer; there may be several meanings you do not know. Go back to the passage and see how the word is being used in context.
Before you look at the answer choices, use the passage to predict your own answer. Then match your prediction to the answer choices. This will save you time. Don't get stuck weighing answer choices. Cross out all answer choices that don’t match your prediction, pick the best available answer, and move on!
If you read a question and it is confusing or unclear to you, rephrase it in simpler terms. Think of it as though you were going to explain the question to a small child. What is it really asking?
The ACT Reading Test is 35 minutes long and contains 40 questions (10 questions in each passage). This means you'll have slightly less than 9 minutes to spend on each of the 4 passages, so pacing yourself is essential.
If you do decide to skip around, make sure you are still bubbling your answers into the corresponding numbers on the answer grid. You don’t want to lose points because you bubbled incorrectly!
Full-length practice tests are available in ACT practice books at local bookstores or at your local library. Find a quiet place where you can take the practice ACT, and clear off the table or desk. Try and eliminate any distractions and do the best you can to mimic your test-day environment. Keep a clock or timer in front of you so you can periodically check and see how you are doing. You may want to set the timer to go off every 9-10 minutes. Don’t rush, but make sure you can move confidently from one passage to the next and answer ALL questions in the time allotted.