<p>My ACT (AT the testing site) is E:30,M:34,R:21,S:30</p>
<p>For reading in the past I always lost focus.. I really don't know why. Today I took a practice reading and scored 31 (took 4 extra minutes).</p>
<p>What would be the best way to prepare?</p>
<p>Try to skip passage 1 and do 2,3, and 4 first. The first passage usually takes the longest to complete because it is fiction and you get tied into the story for some reason. I had a time issue too but skipping the first passage really helped me finish on time. Also, maybe try to pick out key words from the first and last sentences of each paragraphs (main ideas), instead of reading every single word. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Ahh that’s what I did. I might have to work on finding a method for me based on how long/well I’m answering questions O_O.</p>
<p>I always have to look back in the passage for Prose…!</p>
<p>For a different strategy to try on practice tests before Saturday, try this (it’s my personal strategy for the reading sections and it’s always netted me 34-36 on the reading section of the ACT): </p>
<p>Prose: Read the entirety, but only to attain the gist: what is the subject? who are the characters? what are their attitudes toward the subject and toward each other? If you can decipher the answers to these questions in a short time, you will have an important foundation in answering all the subsequent ACT questions asked. As this passage involves a fair bit of irony, metaphor, and other stylistic devices, it is the most intense. Prepare to spend the most time here. </p>
<p>For the other three, use what I call the “Puzzle strategy”: </p>
<p>Read the first paragraph to cop a feel for the essay as a whole, but then go immediately to the questions and refer back to the text. Most of these questions are very specific to the text (they give you the paragraph and in most cases the lines where the information is located). I call these “puzzle pieces.” They usually net you the specific answers, but with only one or two, you won’t be able to visualize the picture as a whole, and thus you may lapse when it comes to general questions of authorial intention, attitude, etc. How do you answers those? Well, you simply kill two birds with one stone. Remember your strategy with specific questions? Just add to that: make sure to read surrounding sentences when answering them. By the end of the specific questions, you will have so many “puzzle pieces” that you’ll be able to analyze how each piece contributes to the whole with relatively little brainpower. This is because you’ve spent time answering the specific questions, which in turn has created a sort of short-term memory storage (at least with me). With all these puzzle pieces, you can establish the big picture of the passage with only minor referencing. Again, reading sentences surrounding the specifics (even if they haven’t much to do with the specific question at hand) is a must for this strategy to work. </p>
<p>Try it out and see how it works!</p>
<p>Genius method! I got a 34 using it! And my answers are much more accurate too. Except it took my 35:12 to finish the test.</p>
<p>I’m still kind of bad at your method</p>
<p>(rounded time)
Prose:10 minutes -1
Social Science:9 minutes
Humanities:10 minutes
Natural Science:7 minutes -1</p>
<p>Any tips for when the section lacks line references?</p>
<p>When a section lacks line reference, you will have to refer to the text. The only way to compensate for the time crunch is to avoid looking in places where you know the answers won’t be (i.e. the places where you’ve already found information that answers the specific questions, but wouldn’t help you answer the one that isn’t referencing the text).</p>
<p>If you’re referring to questions like those found in natural science sections (e.g. “Which of the following is something the author DOES NOT use to describe African Climates?”), the answer is usually a triple description within a paragraph (it’s really a specific question disguised as a general one). No, you don’t have to scour the entire text to find the three things the author does describe the climate with, but you will have to refer to the paragraph which concerns the subject, and discern the three things he/she does describe. Since the descriptions are condensed in a paragraph, this should not take you too much time.</p>
<p>I know it’s a lot more difficult than i’ve just described, but with more practice you’ll get these strategies down. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Hey Superbeast, did you really jump from 21 to a 34 on reading using mac’s suggestion? I might try it to, to boost me 32-34ish to 34+ :P</p>
<p>Yes! It might have been a fluke so I’m taking ANOTHER practice reading about 5 minutes in the future of this current time position.</p>
<p>Took another one and got a 31 in 37:20.</p>
<p>I missed Prose(mainly) and Humanities questions. 100% in the Social & Natural sections.</p>
<p>I was really trying to go fast on the Prose because I was running out of time. I guess the reading is ONLY about time. Thanks for that strategy though, it really helps a lot.</p>
<p>Social Science:11 min! -0, Confident in 100%
Humanities:10 min -2, Confident in 70%
Natural Science:8 min - 0, Confident in 90%
Prose:8 min - 5 :(, Confident in 70%</p>
<p>I probably need to more fairly distribute my time per essay. I probably should have went a lot faster in the Social Science passage. Your method works really well but it takes practice haha.</p>
<p>Right now I’m @(Using only lowest scores) E:31,M:??,R:31,S:31
I feel like I can do a lot better at English now that I’m starting to notice multiple errors in problems, etc. For math, I took that Sat Math II to prep. For science, I took the Sat Chem II. I’m still going to take practice tests for those but there would be no point if I can’t get to a 30 reading.</p>
<p>Time to conquer this time limitation!</p>
<p>:
… Some of my wrong answers make no sense.
Wow I think I need to go to bed!</p>
<p>Lol. If I were to have read the entire sentence for each location I skimmed (for line references) I would have most likely scored a 33 (looking at how I lost key details). 34 if I didn’t miss a point of view question as well.</p>
<p>So yes… This method works!</p>
<p>this reading section is killing me as well.
scoring a 29ish. but because i dont continue if the time gets over. just to feel the pressure like that of the exam day.
what book are you using?
i am using this PR 1296 one, which i think is pretty difficult, especially with the math sections :|</p>
<p>Hey mac I just had a question for you. When it addresses a specific paragraph and not just a line reference, do you mean go ahead and read the whole paragraph or just try and puzzle that if there are line references in another question about that paragraph?</p>
<p>My worst sections are the social and natural science. I dont tend to miss any in the prose fiction or humanities because of my writing skills (got an 11,10,11 past times).</p>
<p>So do you have any specifics about those sections too?</p>
<p>When and if it addresses a specific paragraph, you should refer to that paragraph. SupberbBlast’s concern was those questions that didn’t refer to paragraphs. </p>
<p>Via the puzzle strategy and questions that do reference lines, especially in the Natural/Social Science passages: (1) read the lines first and (2) read surrounding material in the paragraph where the lines are. This surrounding material will not only confirm the meaning of the lines referenced and help you better answer the specifric question, but it will also provide additional material to illustrate the paragraph (or the puzzle-piece). </p>
<p>Better understanding of individual paragraphs will always generate a greater understanding of the entire essay. This is a given. But the great thing about the “puzzle strategy” I outlined above is that because you’re answering questions while at the same time analyzing the paragraphs, line references, or whatever, you better retain the information (as opposed to, say, just reading the passage in its entirety and forgetting 50% of its content–as readers normally do). This increased retainment makes it easier to answer the “general questions” with little to no referencing. Thus, it reduces time costs and maximizes accuracy.</p>
<p>Of course, you can supplement that retainer through the often-cited strategy of note-taking, where you scribble one or two words to capture the idea of the essay. This will cost you time. You’d be cutting it close to the 35min. mark, but the benefits could prove to outweigh that cost.</p>
<p>More specifically to the Natural and Social Sciences: Often times the question asks you to refer to one of the scientists written about in the text. For example, a passage I recently read concerning Ancient Roman Arcitecture had two or three scientists offering data as to origins and accuracy of our modern interpretations of that Arcitecture (this case being the Coliseum). Nearly half the questions referred to scientist 1, 2, or 3 and his or her work. If you can quickly find the scientist’s name in the essay, you will quickly answer the question. These questions I consider godsends for their relative ease, and by knowing the results of the experiments (which, unlike the conflicting viewpoints passage in the science section, are always related and complimentary), you can quickly figure out the main points of the essay to answer the general questions as to authorial purpose, attitude, etc.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Just to be sure, please use my strategy only if it fits to your character. If, after 2-4 practice exams it doesn’t fit and hasn’t netted you higher scores, DON’T use it. This seems obvious, but I know many people who try to force strategies that simply don’t fit to their test-taking instincts. Trust yourself. By doing so, you benefit yourself, and also deflect any complaints I may otherwise find waiting in my inbox come Saturday!</p>
<p>I just took another practice test and got a 28 in 42 minutes. I did it normally, reading the entire passage then answering the questions + some a lot of underlining. Still, that just takes way too much time and barely any out put.</p>
<p>This method works almost perfectly for me because I think about the NOW rather than just memorizing. I might probably read for science since they are only a few paragraphs each sub section.</p>