The Official Act Reading Guide

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9781119634553
• ISBN10: 1119634555
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2020-04-21
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Are you prepared to do your best on the ACT reading section test?

The Official ACT Reading Guide is the only test prep resource created by the makers of the ACT to prepare you for the ACT reading test. This step-by-step guide reviews the entire ACT reading test, allowing you to familiarize yourself with the types of questions you can expect to see on test day. You'll learn tips and advice that will help you do your best, as well as how to approach each question type. Learn how to quickly read and retain information, and see explanations of each question’s answer to improve your performance and gain the confidence you need to succeed!

Additionally, the book includes a PIN on the inside front cover that provides access to the full print version and pool of questions online. This offers a customizable learning experience.

The Official ACT Reading Guide helps you work toward the score you're targeting and take one major step toward achieving your educational goals!

• The only book with real ACT reading questions organized by question type
• Includes tips and advice for reading more quickly and retaining information
• Detailed explanations for every official ACT reading question in the book

With this concept-based guide straight from the makers of the ACT, you know you’re preparing to do your absolute best on the ACT reading.

Author Biography

ACT (Iowa City, IA) is a not-for-profit organization providing assessment, research, information, and program management services to support education and workforce development. Known most widely as the makers of the ACT exam--the college readiness and placement assessment taken by some 1.8 million high school students each year--ACT produces a number of assessments and services reaching more than 10 million people along the kindergarten through career continuum. ACT's rigorous research informs policy decisions and helps develop programs that boost lifelong learning potential in schools and workplaces around the world. To learn more, visit www.act.org.

Table of Contents

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: Questions 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 Type 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 207

Answer Key 208

Explanatory Answers 209