My DD has taken ACT and has scored 22 on reading 3 times (other scores are very good). The reading has dogged her. She goes to ACT tutoring, which has done great things for every score - except reading. As we all know, one point can make a world of difference scholarship-wise and she’s at that critical 27->28,29 threshold.
Any thoughts, strategies, help, that anyone can offer? Really appreciated.
Thanks!
I also struggle the most with the reading section, but what I usually do is a specific series of steps. First, read the small blurb above the passage. Second, skim through the questions, making note of line numbers and key words. Third, speed read through the passage, and stop to answer a question once you see something referenced in one of the questions, or once I get to the line numbers mentioned in the question. Hope that helps!
First of all, the ACT reading is not really about “reading” per se. The SAT reading questions are much more difficult overall and require more comprehension skills. The ACT reading is more about searching for key terms. Here’s my strategy for this section:
- Read the question.
- Look for the question’s “key term” in the passage. Typically it will appear verbatim.
- Look at the area surrounding the key term to interpret its meaning.
- Answer the question.
This worked wonderfully for me, and I hope it does for you.