<p>I did horribly on my practice test. I made an 18/36 on the reading section. My favorite is definitely the natural science passage, but I certainly don't have the knack for the others, especially the fiction passage. I have tried the 4-steps strategy by the Princeton review, but it didn't work because it took me longer than 30 seconds to find all the key words in the questions and passages. Help! I am suppose to take the test on April. Any tips and suggestions?</p>
<p>Hey I usually do pretty good with the reading section 22-25 range thats not horrible but its average... I am a very quick reader, if you are to read it quickly answer question have a pace, if you cant answer it find it, its in there somewhere... crash course for the ACT is a good book by princeton review. but I say take 2 practice reading tests before the test. good luck as Ill be doing the same hoping for a 27 :)</p>
<p>I do really hit or miss on the reading...I got a 33 and a 30 on practices at home and a 31 on the day of the test. But...my subscores are 17 and 14...which goes to show how much enjoying the passage can help.</p>
<p>The point of this was to practice the reading and attempt to enjoy the passage...they're usually kinda interesting. Which is why I chose the ACT over the SAT...</p>
<p>yes, attempt to really enjoy the passages. i did this and scored a 33.</p>
<p>Just use common sense. Got me a 34 on this section.</p>
<p>i didn't enjoy the passages but still got a 35; i suggest you just read through the sections at the same pace as your normal reading speed (unless you're a slow reader :p), and try to remember the information you learned as you answer the questions...</p>
<p>p.s. don't be afraid to reread certain parts of the passages if you're unsure of a certain point/bit of information...</p>
<p>Indeed, but I suggest that you watch your time - closely. I ran out of time and guessed on the last 3 questions or so and made a 33. Probably could've made a 35/36 had I managed my time well. In fact, time management in general is important on the ACT, especially in the science section. Practice tests can be deceiving; my practice test science score was a 36, but I only got a 30 on the real thing.</p>
<p>Moral of the story: time management is key.</p>
<p>The problem with the Princton book is that they won't tell you to just read the passage and then answer the question, because that wouldn't take up enough text! So instead, they bog you down with an overly complicated "strategy" that is impractical and nearly impossible to successfully implement because of the time constraints.</p>
<p>Most of the people, including me, that have done really well on the test have simply read the passage and then answered the questions from memory, making sure not to get stuck up on one question for too long. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot. What's a good score to aim for?</p>
<p>I'd try for a 36 :)</p>
<p>Well I took the ACT for the first time in Feb. w/ no studying and got a 36 in Reading. </p>
<p>My basic strategy was to QUICKLY skim the questions and note the questions that were specific detail questions (the ones that ask you about a specific line or phrase in the passage). Then I'd also make a little note on the side of the passage itself where that question was located, so when I read through, I'd stop reading and answer the question. </p>
<p>Then I just read through the passages, answering the specific detail questions as I went through, and then answered the general questions at the end. </p>
<p>I don't know if that would help you, but it worked great for me.</p>
<p>Is it better for a poor reader like me to read the questions first and then look for it in the passages, or the other way around?</p>
<p>Just read books. I got a 35.
Read books and read boring articles - trust me it works!</p>
<p>What kind of articles/books? National Geographic or Digital Fortress?</p>
<p>It doesn't matter. Just read (although I would recommend National Geographic, it's more interesting =])</p>
<p>For reading section i wouldn't recommend doing the priceton review (taking notes wile reading) it's gonna eat up your time.
My method is just read the passage -when you do you ll get the general idea and the tone of the passage- and then answer the question, you might have to look back but don't get tempted and get stuck on 1 or 2 question and waste all your time just; pick the answer that makes most sense and move on.</p>
<p>For me it takes me 26min to do the reading section this way and i roughly score 30 on it.</p>
<p>what I would suggest is briefly skimming through each paragraph and making a quick note (like one word eg) obstacles) on what it was about... then reading the question, finding the paragraph it's in and reading closely.... its much quicker imo. First time around I didn't do this and scored 29, second time I did and scored 34. It really helps with the science section too..</p>