The Official ACT Reading Guide

Introduction vii

Chapter 1: An Overview of the ACT Reading Test 1

Passage Types 1

Timing and Pacing 3

Checking Your Answers 3

Scaled Scoring 3

Take a Diagnostic Practice Test 4

How to Use This Guide 4

Chapter 2: General Reading Skills 7

Skimming 7

Scanning 15

Speed Reading 16

Annotating 17

Chapter 3: Test-Taking Strategies 19

Invest Most of Your Time in Answering the Questions 20

Invest Your Time in Reading Upfront 20

Save Your Worst Passage for the End 21

Worry Less about Each Individual Answer 22

Vary Your Reading Pace According to the Passage 22

Change the Order of the Passages 22

Read Half the Passage Then Answer Half the Questions 23

Answer the “Easy” Questions First 23

Chapter 4: Question and Answer Types 27

EXCEPT and NOT Questions 27

Common Wrong Answer Types 37

Chapter 5: Skills and Reporting Categories 45

Chapter 6: Key Ideas and Details 47

Main Idea Questions 47

Strategies for Determining the Main Idea for Social Science, Humanities, or Natural Science Passages 48

Function of Detail Questions 52

Fact Finding 58

Inferences 67

Paraphrasing Complex Ideas 75

Compare and Contrast 76

Questions about Shifts 100

Chapter 7: Craft and Structure 105

Using Context Clues 105

Word-Meaning Questions 106

Vocabulary 118

Interpreting Figurative Language 123

The Author’s Point of View 127

The Primary Purpose of the Passage 133

Chapter 8: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 139

Arguments 141

Reasoning and Evidence 142

Chapter 9: Passage Types 143

Literary Narrative Genre Conventions 143

Social Science and Humanities Genre Conventions 157

Natural Science Genre Conventions 160

Paired Passages 166

Chapter 10: Practice Questions 177

Chapter 11: Answers and Explanations 239

Answer Key 240

Explanatory Answers 242