I am in top band of my class, getting straight As and winning a lot of accolades. However, ACT reading is my nightmare. I have taken more than 10 practice tests and the maximum score I ever got on reading is 26. I average about 33 on math and sci. I often get 34s on English but reading is something not meant for me. I practiced a ACT reading section in doble time and still got 27. This shows that I have serious comprehension issues. I have taken sat twice. got 1800/2400 and 1370/1600. In SAT I had problem in CR. Is there anything I can do? I am willing to give 5-6 hours a day and am already studying for 2-3 hours for SAT/ACT from past two months. In sept, it would be an year since I first started studying for Sat. I consider myself to be a huge failure. Sat is the only hurdle in my path right now. I have good ecs. I won two international competitions for my country and am part of an international NGO do projects in UK. I have also played football at regional level. English is not my native language btw. I have my ACT in sept and I guess that is my second last chance. Please give me some advice, some tips or tell me about anything that can help me boost my act reading score to 30. I am aiming for 33 plus and right now reading is the only hurdle in my path. Should I read novels? Should I read newspaper? What should I do assuming that I only have one month left.
ACT reading is the absolute easiest. Timing is the only hurdle.
Use this as law when practicing: the answer choice must be supported by the passage. Never choose a choice because it sounds logical, after all, if only one answer is correct what are the other three? Traps.
I suggest you take time and practice without a time limit for a good while. Forget reading more. Just do the practice tests. At one point it’ll hit you, and thereafter you’ll keep getting a constant 36.
I am another you! I’m top 0.05 % of the students in India. I got outstanding board results. But when it comes to Act reading, I feel embarrassed. I can easily score 32+ in all other sections, but never more than 27 in reading.
Don’t be embarrassed, and don’t feel like you are a HUGE failure. I work with US students, and I have 2 categories of reading performances: students that don’t finish, and those that barely finish. As a broad scope suggestion, practice your pacing by doing a single, 10-question section of a practice test, and force yourself to do it in 8.5 minutes. Do that for several times, and you’ll start to get the feel of the pacing you need. Then, work on accuracy within that time frame. These tips will work for US as well as international students.
My daughter raised her reading score from a 30 to a 35 using one simple concept from the ACT Prep Black Book. Essentially, that concept boils down to picking the clearest answer to the question as written in the passage. It seems too simple, but it works.
Pls reply if you figure it out. I’m having the same issue