ACT Reading Prep

ACT Prep--Reading

GOAL: 8 mins per passage

--gives 3 minutes for review

​35 minutes

4 passages
10 questions each

40 questions

Test Basics

-natural sciences, social sciences, humanities
-follows a basic "essay" format

​nonfiction

-literary narrative
-usually first

fiction

Types of Passages

-main idea is found in 1st paragraph
-each body paragraph has a topic sentence

​nonfiction

-focuses on a memory, character or single instance

-not usually in chronological order

fiction

The passages....

Multiple Choice

How many questions are on the Reading test?

• 25

• 30

• 40

• 50

Multiple Choice

How long does the Reading test last?

• 50 mins

• 60 mins

• 45 mins

• 35 mins

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a type of reading passage?

• historical narrative

• literary narrative

• social science

• humanities

STRATEGY 1: POD
(personal order of difficulty)

-follow a more predictable pattern
-usually easier

STRATEGY: JIST

nonfiction

-usually hard to answer due to the structure or format


SAVE FOR LAST!!!

fiction

Choose your HARD!!

Multiple Choice

Which type of passage tends to be more difficult due to the structure or format?

• fiction

• nonfiction

Within the nonfiction

the more interesting the topic, the better you will do on the passage....

So do the passages in order of your interests :)

​STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR ORDER

requires the WHOLE passage

JIST-Read 1st/last paragraph
1st/last sentence of each
body paragraph

DO LATER

-gives a specific location to find the answer
(line or paragraaph #)

put a ⭐️ or ⭕️ the #

DO NOW

code the questions...

Multiple Choice

NOW or Later?

• NOW

• LATER

Multiple Choice

NOW or LATER?

• NOW

• LATER

Multiple Choice

NOW or LATER?

• LATER

• NOW

Multiple Choice

NOW or LATER?

• NOW

• LATER

LATER questions:

look for key words within the question that will be EASY To locate within the passage!! Circle these words.

Main purpose=main idea (1st/last paragraphs)

Practice!