Upward Bound ACT Prep ACT Reading Test Copyright

Reading Statistics Each passage contains about 750 words. . . Of the 40 questions, 14 are referring and 26 are reasoning questions.

The Key to ACT Reading Read quickly, but actively. . . Think ahead. . . Look for a general outline. . . Don’t worry about details. . . Look for key words. . .

Know Where You Are Going. . . For example: 1. I can’t believe my good luck! The one time I buy a lottery ticket, I ________. 2. As their habitat is destroyed, wild animals _______. Look for structural clues: • Indicating a contrast: but, however, on the other hand, neverthless. • Indicating a contribution with a similar or complementary thought: moreover, furthermore, ; (semicolon). • Indicating a conclusion: therefore, thus. • Indicating reasons for a conclusion: since, because of, due to. • Indicating an example of illustration: for instance, for example.

Three Step Reading Approach 1. Preread the passage: • Quickly work through the passage. • Anticipate how the parts of the passage will fit together. • Understand the main idea. • Underline key points, jot down note, or label each paragraph. • DON’T READ SLOWLY. • DON’T GET BOGGED DOWN WITH DETAILS

2. Consider the question stem. ♦ Don’t let the answer choices direct your thinking. ♦Think about the question stem without looking at the choices. 3. Refer to the passage. ♦ Don’t trust your memory ♦ Don’t confine yourself to the EXACT words used in the passage. ♦ Your answer should match the passage - not exact vocabulary.

Types of ACT Passages 1. Prose Fiction: ♦ Not a well-structured essay. ♦ Won’t break down into an orderly outline. ♦ Pay attention to the story and characters. ♦ Answer these questions: ♦ Who are these people? (What are they like? ) ♦ What is their state of mind? ♦ What is going on?

2. Nonfiction: Social Science - Natural Science - Humanities ♦ Illustrations, graphs, tables may be included. ♦ Read to understand the ideas rather than analyzing experiments and data. ♦ Don’t panic with unfamiliar vocabulary. ♦ Don’t get lost in complex details - read for the main idea.

Types of Questions 1. Specific detail questions. ♦ When given a specific line, ALWAYS read the few lines before and after it. 2. Inference Questions. ♦ Something that’s not stated explicitly in the passage, but is definitely said implicitly. ♦ Key words: suggest, inference, imply. ♦ “Read between the lines”.

3. Big Picture Questions: ♦ Main points ♦ Author’s attitude or tone ♦ Logic underlying the author’s argument ♦ How ideas in different parts of the passage relate to each other ♦ Difference between fact and opinion.

Running Out of Time? ♦ Don’t spend time re-reading the passage… ♦ Scan the questions without reading the passage and look first for the ones that mention line numbers or specific paragraphs. Do these first, then the others.