<p>Hey all, after taking the ACT this past Saturday I realized I need a good strategy for the Reading section. I tried just reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph but I ended up having to go back to the text for every question, and I had no idea what the Humanities and Prose Fiction passage were about with said method. I currently have the PR and I don't really like the strategy it gives me, so does anybody have advice on a different strategy or a book to get?</p>
<p>I annotate the sections I’m reading as I go along. This helps you concentrate and find answers in the text when required to. I sometimes scribble the main ideas of each paragraph next to it, but this method takes time; I just use this method for the science section because it seems to help me.</p>
<p>^I kinda do what he does. I underline, and I sometimes write 1 word on side of paragraph. I don’t underline too much, though, cuz then it becomes pointless. I underline names, years, and other important things. However, my reading was only 27 this time, and I am not too sure about this time.</p>
<p>I usually underline everything that I feel might pop up or ask about in the question, but this time I just sort of skimmed and noted what each paragraph was about. Then when I was on the questions, I looked for what the questions was asking and found the answer. </p>
<p>If most people go back to the passage in the first place, then don’t waste so much time understanding the passage but rather knowing what or where information is. Most of the questions ask for information in the passage or a vocabulary word in context, not analytical stuff.</p>
<p>This doesn’t specifically apply to the test itself but read more outside of the test. Read some things outside your comfort zone and read some more difficult books. Try some reading speed and retention tests online or maybe ask some english teachers for some help.</p>
<p>I got a 33 (-3)
I read the first three paragraphs to understand tone and basic organization of the questions. That covers the questions that aren’t fact based. Then with the straight content questions it is usually accompanied with a line so you can just go straight to it. I used to just read it and with that i got a 24. 9 point increase, woooohooo!</p>
<p>Advice from someone with a 36: Read it and answer the questions. I found no “strategy.”</p>
<p>I get the gist of most paragraphs that way I know what part of the essay to go back to. I underline sentences that seem important.</p>
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<p>Useful. I compare what I read outside for school w/ sparknotes to understand how well I can get a general understanding of something.</p>
<p>“Advice from someone with a 36: Read it and answer the questions. I found no ‘strategy.’”</p>
<p>As someone else with a 36, this is probably the best honest advice.</p>
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Haha I’m glad to see someone agrees. People ask me what the secret is and I just say there isn’t one. Either you can answer the questions or you can’t. Sure, some tricks might raise you a few points. But I don’t know of any strategies for a perfect score.</p>