Transcript ACT Reading Test - Welcome to Mrs. Cintra's class

Main Idea/Point-of-View
 Specific Detail
 Conclusion/Inference
 Extrapolation
 Vocabulary in Context

Answer according to your understanding
of the topic, scope, and purpose.
 Incorrect choices are usually either too
broad or too narrow.

› Topic – What is the passage about?
› Scope – What aspect of the topic does the
passage focus on?
› Why did the author write the passage?
Refer to the passage to find the answer.
 Don’t just choose the answers that
contain words that appeared in the
passage! Answer choices are often
paraphrased to trip you up.
 Make sure the choice you select
responds to the question being asked.

Put information together as evidence for
a conclusion.
 Find STRONG evidence for your answers.
 If you find yourself creating a long chain
of reasoning and including information
from outside the passage when “selling”
the answer…STOP. Probably not right…

These questions go beyond the passage
and find answers that are probably true
based on what you know from the
passage (usually either author’s tone or
detailed information).
 Be sensitive to clues about tone or
attitude.
 Eliminate any choices outside the scope
of the passage.

Simple: just read the answer choices
back into the sentence mentioned in the
question stem and choose the one that
changes the meaning of the sentence
the least!
 Often, the answer to the question is
found in the line before or after the
referenced line or lines.

Skim, Answer, and be DONE!
 75/25
 Chunking
 Set Up to Paint
 Selective Abandonment
 Re-order
 Annotation

This is pretty much self-explanatory.
 Skim over the selection
 Answer using your best response
 THEN, at the end of the test (once
you’ve FINISHED all of the questions), go
back and check the ones you weren’t
sure about
 This method is best for higher level
students (like you!) who like the
traditional approach to reading

Studies show that students tend to spend
about 75% of the time reading the
selections and 25% answering questions.
 How about doing it the other way around?
 You know you have 35 minutes to take the
test and there will be four selections, right?
So, divide that by 4…then again by
4…leaving you with about 2 minutes per
selection to read and 6 to answer
questions.

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Ever find yourself unable to focus on a reading
selection? Here’s a great solution for you!
› This has been proven to be VERY effective for students
with ADD and ADHD
› Also a great option for English Language Learners or
anyone who has a hard time retaining large amounts of
information
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Read the 1st paragraph
Go to the questions that refer to that paragraph.
Answer them.
Read the 2nd paragraph.
Go to the questions that refer to that paragraph.
Answer them.
(Lather, rinse, and) Repeat as needed.
This is an old favorite! Don’t you like to
know what to look for when you’re
reading? It’s better not to be surprised!
 Read all the questions for one selection.
 Then, read the selection.

› It helps to figure out a sort of coded shorthand
for yourself so that…
› As you read, make notes in the test book (you
can do that, you know!) for each question so
you know where to go back to find the answer.
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Do you ever just want to go through and
answer the ones you know and forget about
the rest? This is the one for you!
Here’s how it works!
Read at your own pace for 50% of the readings
and spend your time answering those questions
as accurately as possible.
Then, make your best guess on the rest
Note: This is a good option if you are a slow
reader who answers with accuracy.
› Be honest with yourself.
› You don’t want to bomb the test, either. That’s not
the point!

You know how there are some selections that are SO
BORING and others that don’t suck quite as much?
(Even though we all know they’re pretty bad…)
› This tip is helpful for students who have trouble pacing
themselves or are motivated by initial positive
reinforcement.
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So, start with the ones with subject matter that you
like (or the ones you don’t think you’ll hate) or the
ones that you think might be easier.
Read those and answer those questions first.
Then, go back and do all the others.
› There’s always one narrative/prose fiction, one humanities,
one natural science, and one social science selection.
› What order would YOU do them in?
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You know how to do this already! You’ve
had ANOTHER PowerPoint about it!
› This can go hand in hand with the “Questions
First” method, if you like.
As you read, make notes in the margin of
reactions.
 You’ll start to know the kinds of questions
that will be asked, so you might be able to
predict some anyway.
 If you are a visual learner or if you like to
focus on main ideas over details, this one is
for you!

Determine the main idea of the passage
 Paraphrase the question stems
 Predict answers to questions
 Apply logic – is information actually
stated in the passage or not?

› Inference: conclusion based on what is
stated in the passage
› Assumption: unstated evidence, the missing
link in an author’s argument
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PROCESS OF ELIMINATION
Pick the one that you think will work best
for you and see if you like it.
 Then, for each subsequent test, try
another method until you find the one
that helps you the most.
 You’ll improve your score every time!
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Highlight the numbers of the questions you got
wrong.
Review the passages and the questions for each
incorrect response.
› If you understand why the answer you marked is incorrect
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and can figure out the correct answer, mark the correct
answer and explain mistake and correction.
If you don’t understand what the question is asking or
anything about the question itself, CIRCLE it.
If you got a question wrong and don’t understand why it’s
wrong, mark a !.
If you got a question wrong and don’t understand why the
correct one is correct, mark it with a ?.
If you understand why the answer you marked is incorrect
and why the correct answer is correct, mark a .
If you just ran out of time, indicate how many you ran out
of time for and a reason for why you think you ran out of
time.