2. About the ACT
— The ACT measures your achievement in core academic areas important
for success in college.
— The tests are in English, Math, Reading and Science and an optional
writing test.
— The topics covered in the aforementioned tests align to the topics
covered in high school classes.
— It is not meant to test your IQ. It is an achievement test that has been
carefully designed for evaluating readiness for college work.
— You are not required to memorize facts or vocabulary to do well on the
ACT, of course prior knowledge of such facts will be useful to you.
— You can access www.actstudent.org and request a free booklet
for preparing for the ACT from this website, along with reviewing
general information and sample test item specs.
3. Reading Overview
— 35 minutes timed.
— 4 passages:
— Prose Fiction (10 questions)
— Humanities (10 questions)
— Social Studies (10 questions)
— Natural Sciences (10 questions)
— This means you will have about 8 to 8 and a half
minutes to read each passage.
— 40 multiple choice item questions.
4. Test Taking Strategies
— Relax.
— Accept you are going to make mistakes.
— Save the hard items for last.
— They try to trick you.
— Watch out for words such as: except, not , or least.
— Still don’t have the answer? Eliminate and guess.
— Do your work in the test booklet and write the letter for the answer choice in
your test booklet first.
— Get a comfortable seat in the test are where you are free from distractions.
— Ask to be moved to another seat if you do not feel right with the seat that was
assigned to you.
— You will get some answers wrong on the test which is what the writers of the
test expect to happen.
— The average score for the ACT is about 55 percent correct, so do not let the
difficult questions throw you off.
5. Save the Hard Items for Last
— You are NOT suppose to get all the questions correct,
and some will just be too difficult to even attempt.
— Work through the easy items first and then answer the
hard ones, the second time around.
— If the questions seem too difficult even the second time
around, then circle it in the test booklet and save the
question until the very end.
— Test writers include distracters, which is a way to
trap you into selecting incorrect answers that may
look correct at first glance. You need to watch out
for this tricks.
6. ELIMINATE AND GUESS
— If you can not figure out the correct answer, eliminate
the answers you know for sure are incorrect and work
your way back into the right answer choice.
— Cross off the wrong answer choices and work your way
to a 50-50 choice and then guess the answer if you need
to.
— NEVER leave an item blank. Unlike other tests, there
is NO penalty for guessing on the ACT.
7. Do Your Work in the Test
Booklet
— The test booklet is not scored and therefore you can
write anything you want in it.
— Use the test booklet for scrap paper and mark up any of
the diagrams and tables, if you wish.
— You may want to underline important words, draw
figures, and/or make notations within the white space.
8. Write the Letter for the Answer
Choice in your Test Booklet
— Going back and forth from the test booklet to the answer
sheet may prove to be too distracting.
— To avoid mismarking, write the answer choice in LARGE
print next to the item number in the test booklet, as well as
eliminate any answer choices in the test booklet.
— You have to be very careful about where you are marking
your answers on your answer document. If you skip a
question in your answer test booklet, be sure to skip the
question on you answer document too.
— Suggestion: When you have written the answer choice
letters for each two-page spread, then transfer the answer
choices on the answer sheet.
9. Learn to Pace yourself
— The ACT must be completed within a specific and limited
amount of time.
— Working quickly and efficiently is extremely critical.
— Pacing yourself on a test is very important.
— You need to assign an amount of time to spend on each reading
passage and then determine how much time to then spend on
each associated question.
- Example: It is suggested that you should first decide which
two passages would be your strongest and have the most
interest in, then give yourself 10 minutes to read each said
passage followed by 5 minutes to answer the 10 items for each
selection.
- Suggestion: Use the last 5 minutes to select one letter choice
such as B and its equivalent J and bubble in the remaining
unanswered items B/J all the way through.
10. Read Carefully and Thoroughly
— It is important that you read each question carefully.
Sometimes a very simple question can be missed by
reading carelessly and overlooking an important word
or detail.
— If you read through the question too quickly, you may
select a possibly good answer that may relate to the
passage, but is the incorrect answer choice for the
question being asked.
— You may want to underline or circle key words in the
test booklet first before selecting an answer.
11. Answer Choice Suggestions
— Watch the question’s wording.
— Look for words such as: not or least, especially when they
are not set off with underlining, capital letters, or bold type.
— Pay close attention to qualifying words such as: all, most,
some none, always, usually, seldom, sometimes, never, best,
worst, highest, lowest, smaller, larger, etc.
— A good way to determine whether or not the response is the
best answer is to substitute related qualifiers and see which
make the best statement.
— Example: If the response says “Tests are always difficult”.
You can test this truth by substituting always with
sometimes and other words related to always. If any of the
words other than the one in the answer makes the best
statement, then the response is not the best answer.
12. Answer Choice Suggestions
Continued
— Pay close attention to modifying or limiting phrases in
the statement, for example: “Lewis and Clark, the
great British explorers, began their historic trip to the
West Coast by traveling up the Mississippi.”
— The answer is incorrect because Lewis and Clark were
not British but American. You will not be expected to
know this from memory, because it is in the passage,
but you have to read the phrase carefully to pick up on
this modification.
13. Don’t Panic
— Panic detracts from test performance by causing
students to become confused and discouraged and to
have trouble recalling information that they know.
— One good panic technique is to give yourself a 10 or
20 second “time out” to close your eyes, take slow,
deep breaths, let yourself relax, and visualize
yourself confidently resuming work on the test.
14. Content of the ACT Reading
Test
— The reading test evaluates your ability to
understand the passages that appear in the
test, not your ability to remember relevant
facts from outside of the passage.
— Note: The passages contain all of the
information you need to know to answer
the questions.
15. Types of Passages on the ACT
Reading Test
— Prose Fiction (passages from short stories or novels).
— Humanities (architecture, art, dance, ethics, film,
languages, literary criticisms, memoir, music, personal
essays, philosophy, radio, television, theater).
— Social Studies (anthropology, archeology, biography,
business, economics, education, geography, history, political
science, psychology, sociology).
— Natural Sciences (anatomy, astronomy, biology, botany,
chemistry, ecology, geology, medicine, meteorology,
microbiology, natural history, physiology, technology,
zoology).
16. Prose Fiction Passages
Prose Fiction: Generally includes a narration of events and
revelation of character(s).
— Think about how you would read fiction. What do you look for?
Do you look for the facts or are you being entertained?
— Most people read fiction to “find out what happens to the
characters in the story or passage”.
— Therefore, the prose fiction passages asks the reader questions
about the plot, the characters, the mood of the story, etc.
— As you read, take note of the mood of the passage, the tone, the
relationships of the characters, and the emotion implied by what
the characters say as well as how they say it.
— An author often uses dialogue ,not only to explain a situation to a
reader, but also to reveal characters.
(See sample passages on pages 91 and 92 in The Real ACT Prep Guide.)
17. Humanities Passages
Humanities: Passages describe or analyze ideas or works of art. Some
passages may seem to look like prose fiction, but the difference is that
the memoirs and personal essays in a humanities passages are written as
facts.
— Humanities passages present information, but you need to pay
close attention to what the author is saying and his or her point of
view.
— Sometimes , a question will ask the reader to project the author’s
likely response to a hypothetical situation and/or argument based
on what the passage tells you about the author’s opinions.
— These passages may also have characters, but these characters are
people who have lived or are living, such as: historical figures or
contemporary people. In these passages, the kinds of relationships
you will be asked to infer or identify are those between events,
ideas, people, trends, or modes of thought.
(Refer to page 95 of The Real ACT Prep Guide)
18. Social Studies Passages
Social Studies: Passages typically present information gathered by
research on topics such as: Japanese history, political action, and/or
psychological experiment.
— In these passages you will find names, dates and concepts or ideas.
— You will need to pay close attention to what name goes with which
concept in a discussion of political systems and to keep track of
who said what in a passage discussing different views of a
constitutional amendment, for example.
— Look for: cause and effect, compare and contrast, and sequence of
events in these passages.
— Pay close attention to the specifics especially in the way in which
it helps you shape the idea of the passage’s subject.
— (Refer to pages 93 and 94 The Real ACT Prep Guide.)
19. Natural Sciences Passages
Natural Sciences: Passages usually presents a science
topic and an explanation of the topic’s significance.
— The author is typically concerned with the relationships
in a natural phenomena.
— Pay special attention to cause-effect relationships, comparisons,
and sequence of events.
— Keep track of any specific laws, rules, and theories, that are
mentioned, but do not try to memorize them, just make notations
as you come across this information in the text.
— Do not let new words, specialized or technical words, throw you
off. The passage will provide context clues for you to help with
the meaning.
(Refer to pages 96 and 97 The Real ACT Prep Guide.)
20. Types of Questions on the ACT
Reading Test
— All questions will fall into one of two basic categories:
— Referring
— Reasoning
— Referring questions ask you to find or use information
that is clearly stated in the passage.
— Reasoning questions ask you to take information that
is either stated or implied in the passage and use it to
answer more complex questions.
21. Frequently Asked Questions on the
Reading Test
— The list below should give you an idea of what kinds of
questions are asked most frequently on the Reading Test.
You will be comfortable in knowing that the information
you need to determine the best answer for a question, will
always available in the passage.
— Identify and interpret details
— Determine the main idea of a paragraph, paragraphs, or a passage
— Understand comparative relationships (comparisons and contrasts).
— Understand cause-effect relationships.
— Make generalizations.
— Determine the meaning of words from context.
— Understand sequences of events.
— Draw conclusions about the author’s voice and method.
22. Details
— Some questions will ask you to pick out a detail from a
passage.
— A detail can be something as simple as a characteristic of a
person, place, thing or a particular date.
— Other questions of this type may ask you to do a bit more,
such as interpreting minor or subtle stated details.
— Sometimes students may be asked to find the one detail that
does not support a particular point. Such questions are
usually signaled by words such as not and except. Note that
the format in this example is being reversed, so pay close
attention.
23. Main Idea
— To answer this kind of question, you need to be able to
determine the focus of a passage of a paragraph or
paragraphs.
— You will need to figure out what the author’s main
point is by reading the paragraphs or passages
carefully.
— The main idea can be straight forward, but do not
assume that the main idea can be found in the first
sentence of each paragraph.
24. Comparative Ideas
— You are likely to find questions asking you to make
comparisons and contrasts in passages that contain a
lot of information or that feature multiple characters
or points of view.
— You may be asked to process a lot of information and
weigh one concept against another or identify a
significant difference between the two.
— Sometimes the comparison is direct, but not all
comparative relationship questions are direct, so pay
close attention to subtle differences.
25. Cause-Effect Relationships
— Cause and Effect Relationships may be found in prose
fiction where one character’s actions cause another
character to react a certain way.
— Cause and Effect questions may also be found in
natural science passages in which a process is
described.
— Sometimes the cause and effect questions is stated in
the passage; sometimes you have to put together the
information you’ve read and work out the answer on
your own.
26. Generalizations
— This type of question will most likely ask you to take
in a lot of information and cut it down into a shorter
and more concise and compact form.
— This type of question may ask you to interpret mood,
tone, or character, or it may ask you to make some kind
of general observation or draw a conclusion about the
nature of an argument the author is making.
27. Meanings of Words
— These types of questions will ask you to determine from
context what a particular word, phrase, or statement means.
— In some cases the words will probably be unfamiliar to you,
but you would then have to look at the context in which
they appear in the passage to determine the closest synonym
antonym, or you may need to paraphrase.
— Sometimes you may have to look at sentences ahead or after
the unfamiliar word, phrase, or statement to determine its
meaning.
— Sometimes you have to just base your decision on what type
of feeling you get from the context in which the word is
being used.
28. Sequence of Events
— In some passages, the order, or sequence, in which
events happen is important to note.
— Sequence of events questions may ask you to determine
when, for example, a character in a prose fiction
passage did something or to figure out the order in
which the researcher, described in a natural science
passage, performed certain steps in a biology
experiment.
29. Author’s Voice and
Method
— There may be questions that deal with the author’s
voice and/or method.
— Voice relates to such things as the author’s style,
attitude, and point of view, while method focuses on
the craft of writing the author uses, such as the main
purpose of a piece of writing, what role parts of a piece
(such as a paragraph) play in the whole work, and so
on.
30. Context Clues Example
You can determine the meaning of a word from its context – that is,
from the way the word is being used in a sentence. Sometimes
you have to look at sentences, before or after , an unfamiliar
word to get the gist of its meaning. You do not have to figure out
its precise meaning, just enough to get an idea of how it is being
used in the context of the passage.
— Example : (taken from Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT p. 193).
-Christian hoped his boss would assent to his request for a day
off so that he could attend his grandmother’s birthday party.
-The word assent in this sentence most nearly means: ____.
-Look at the part of the sentence that mentions that Christian
requested a day off. This is the context clue we need. If the boss
gives him the day off, or agrees, to his request, then Christian can
go to the party. The word assent must mean to “agree.”
31. Determine Meaning from
Synonyms
Synonyms (a word that has or almost has the same meaning) can help you
determine the meanings of words. Sometimes authors use synonyms to
help the reader determine the meanings of other words in a sentence.
— Example: (taken from Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT p. 194).
— It took years before a complicated piscatory treaty was signed by
representatives of the two countries. As for me, I just like fishing.
— What does piscatory mean in the first sentence above? _____
o The context tells us that it describes a treaty. We can tell from the
context that piscatory and fishing may have very similar meanings.
o Replace piscatory with the synonym fishing and reread the
sentence……
o It took years before a complicated fishing treaty was signed by
representatives of the two countries. As for me, I just like fishing.
32. Determine Meaning from
Antonyms
Antonyms (words that mean the opposite of each other) may
also help you to determine the meanings of words by
identifying the contrast between words and/or ideas.
— Example: (taken from Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT p. 195).
— I wish I could get someone to tell me the truth. All the stories I hear about
Scott’s nomination are apocryphal.
— What does apocryphal mean in the sentence above? _____
— The context tells us that it describes the stories about Scott’s nomination.
— We can tell from the context that truth and apocryphal have opposite
meanings.
— Replace apocryphal with the opposite of truthful and reread the sentence
as….
— I wish I could get someone to tell me the truth. All the stories I hear
about Scott’s nomination are untruthful.
(Practice pages 195-199 Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT)
r
33. Reading Effectively and
Efficiently
— Note: If you are running out of time, do not read
everything in a passage, but you need to read
efficiently. You are not responsible to know
everything about the topic, but enough to get the
gist of the topic to answer the questions effectively.
— Efficient reading means reading passages
effectively and picking out the most important
point in the passage.
34. Find the Main Idea of Each Paragraph
— The main idea of a paragraph points out the most important thing the author has to say
about the idea.
— The first step is to read the passage once and as you read think about the general main
idea of each paragraph.
— The main idea of a paragraph, generally can be found in the first or last sentence , so look
there if you are having a hard time determining the paragraph’s main idea.
— Once you have determined the main idea, you may want to circle, underline or write the
main idea next to the paragraph in the text booklet to allow for quick reference once you
begin to answer your questions.
— Example: (Taken from p. 200-201 of Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT)
— Plant leaves in various shapes. Among the most distinctive leaf shapes are the fanlike,
tooth-edged foliage of the Fastsia japonica and the deeply lobed leaves of the
ubiquitous Philodendron selloum. But among the most popular of contemporary
plants are the Dracaena marginata, whose long sword-shaped leaves are edged with a
reddish tinge.
— What is the paragraph about? _____
— The first sentence mentions plant leaf shapes. The next two sentences give examples of plants
and shapes of their leaves.
— Main Idea: Shapes of leaves.
— If a test question asked about plant leaf shapes, you would turn first to this paragraph for an
answer.
35. Stated Main Idea
— A stated main idea can be found among the words in the passage.
— The sentence containing the main idea is called the topic sentence.
— Details may help you to determine a main idea and topic sentence in a passage.
— Example: (taken from Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT, p. 201)
— The most important concept in all nature is energy. It represents a
fundamental entity common to all forms of matter in all parts of the
physical world. Closely associated with energy is work. To a lay
person, work describes the expenditure of one’s physical or mental
energy. In science, work is a quantity that is the product of force
times the distance through which the force acts. In other words,
work is done when force moves an object. Work and energy are
related because energy is the ability to do work.
— A good main idea for this passage would be -work and energy are related- which is
found in the last sentence. The details about how and why work and energy are
related are too specific to be the main idea, however, these details can lead you to
the topic sentence and main idea.
36. Unstated Main Idea
The main idea of a paragraph may not always be stated, meaning that there will be
no topic sentence.
— Unstated main ideas most often are found in prose-fiction passages.
— The unstated main idea of a prose-fiction passage may be a description of a character
or a scene, or it may convey some other aspect of the story.
— Example: (taken from Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT, p. 202)
— Fertile level land and a favorable climate encouraged family-size farms, which
produced surplus grain (wheat, corn, and oats) for export to the other colonies. Long.
Navigable rivers, such as the Hudson, Susquehanna, and Delaware promoted trade
with the Indians for furs, first-class harbors, such as New York and Philadelphia,
stimulated trade with other colonies. England, and the European continent.
— The main idea is that favorable growing condition, navigable rivers, good relations
with Native Americans, and first-class harbors helped develop trade in the eastern
colonies.
— The main idea was not stated; the reader needed to piece together the details and
think about what all of the details have in common to determine the main idea
(which is the general thought of the paragraph).
(Practice pages 202-207 in Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT)
37. Items Statements and Questions
Sentence -Completion
— The sentence-completion questions begin with a statement ending with the word because:
The colon signals that this is a completion item. The word because signals that the
correct completion choice will explain why some cities in the United States have
established teen curfew laws.
Example:: (taken from Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT, p. 206)
— Some cities in the United States have established teen curfew laws because:
A. they believe parents need help caring for their children responsibly.
B. statistics show that most juvenile crimes are committed late at night.
C. city governments want to keep streets quiet for older residents.
D. teenagers are less capable than other adults of driving at night.
Special Note: Do not include your own personal thoughts on the topic, stick
to the information presented in the paragraph(s) ALWAYS!
— The correct answer choice is B. The statement, together with the correct answer, forma
sentence that is valid and can be verified.
38. Items Statements and Questions
The Weasel
The weasel is a distracter that misrepresents the
passage.
— Some weasels are slick and change the meaning and
words of the author, others are sneaky and turn the
words and/or ideas completely around. Yet, others are
tricky and take the words out of context, all together.
For an Example: Refer page 209 -210 (in Amsco)
39. Items Statements and Questions
The Shift
The Shift is an incorrect choice that could be the
correct answer to another item.
For an Example: Refer to p. 210-211 (in Amsco)
40. Items Statements and Questions
The Enticer and the Extreme
The enticer is an incorrect answer choice that entices (or
tempts) with incorrect but very appealing wording.
— The extreme is an incorrect choice that might be true if it
did not include extreme words such as always, completely,
perfectly, etc.
Note: If an answer choice sounds TOO idealistic or TOO
extreme or TOO absolute, it is probably incorrect.
For an Example: Refer to p. 211-213 (in Amsco)
41. Practice
Practice eliminating the different types of incorrect
answer choices.
— Prose Fiction (Amsco , p. 213)
— Social Science (Amsco , p. 213-214)
— Humanities (Amsco , p. 214)
— Natural Science (Amsco , p. 214)
42. Four Steps for Choosing the Correct Answer
Choice
— Step One: Read the item statement or question.
— Step Two: Go to the part of the passage most likely to contain the answer. The
item may identify a particular paragraph by number, or the item may refer to
particular lines in the passage. In these cases, you know exactly where to look
for the answer.
— Rule of Thumb: Of the 4 passages, try to look for the passage that provides
these types of hints and work on these passages first.
— Step Three: Read the answer choices, immediately eliminating incorrect
choices. It is easier to spot wrong answers than correct answers, at first. Your
chance of selecting the right answer increases with each elimination. Work
your way down to a two answer selection, not four (50-50).
— Step Four: Choose the correct answer from the remaining choices and check the
passage to ensure it is correctly supported in the passage. If you are still not sure
then just guess. Do not leave any blank choices. Do not impose your own
thoughts and/or ideas into the answer choices, just stick to what is written in
the passages.
43. Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT
Diagnostic
— Take the Diagnostic ACT after the Reading review
— Amsco, Pages 229 -237.
— The Diagnostic ACT is like the real ACT and is different than
the practice tests because it is specially designed to help the
teacher decide which parts of the Reading section to review in
more detail.
— Take the Diagnostic Reading ACT under simulated test
conditions.
— Review the answer explanations on pages 239-241. Then
complete the Diagnostic Checklist on page 238 (test scoring chart
on page 7 shows you how to convert the number of correct
answers to an ACT scale score).
44. Amsco’s Preparing for the ACT
Practice Tests
— Practice I
— Test (Amsco, pages 259-268)
— Answers Explained (Amsco, pages 272-280)
— Practice II
— Test (Amsco, pages 296-304)
— Answers Explained (Amsco, pages 308-315)
— Practice III
— Test (Amsco, pages 331-339)
— Answers Explained (Amsoc, pages 343-351)
45. The Real ACT Prep Guide
Practice Tests
— Practice Test 1
— Real ACT, pages 180 – 187
— Real ACT, Explanatory Answers (pages 259 – 273)
— Practice Test 2
— Real ACT, pages 320 - 327
— Real ACT, Explanatory Answers (pages 405 – 418)
— Practice Test 3
— Real ACT, Pages 466-473
— Real ACT, Explanatory Answers (pages 542-557)
— Practice Test 4
— Real ACT, Pages 604-611
— Real ACT, Explanatory Answers (pages 685-700)
— Practice Test 5
— Real ACT, Pages 748-755
— Real ACT, Explanatory Answers (pages 825-838)
46. Descriptions of the ACT Reading Passages
for Literary Narratives
(Taken from The Real ACT Prep Guide)
Uncomplicated Literary Narratives:
Refers to excerpts from essays, short stories, and novels that tend to use simple
language and structure, have a clear purpose and a familiar style, present
straightforward interactions between characters, and employ only a limited
number of literary devices such as metaphor, simile, or hyperbole.
More Challenging Literary Narratives:
Refers to excerpts from essays, short stories, and novels that tend to make
moderate use of figurative language, have a more intricate structure and
messages conveyed with some subtlety, and may feature somewhat complex
interactions between characters.
Complex Literary Narratives:
Refers to excerpts from essays, short stories, and novels that tend to make
generous use of ambiguous language and literary devices, feature complex and
subtle interactions between characters, often contain challenging context-
dependent vocabulary, and typically contain messages and/or meanings that are
not explicit but are embedded in the passage.
47. Descriptions of the ACT Reading Passages
for Informational Passages
(Taken from The Real ACT Prep Guide)
Uncomplicated Informational Passages:
Refers to materials that tend to contain a limited amount of data, address basic
concepts using similar language and conventional organizational patterns, have
a clear purpose, and are written to be accessible.
More Challenging Informational Passages:
Refers to materials that lend to present concepts that are not always stated
explicitly and that are accompanied or illustrated by more -and more detailed-
supporting data, include some difficult context-dependent words, and are
written in a somewhat more demanding and less accessible ways.
Complex Informational Passages:
Refers to materials that tend to include a sizable amount of data, present
difficult concepts that are embedded (not explicit) in the text, use demanding
words and phrases whose meaning must be determined from context, and are
likely to include intricate explanations of processes of events.
48. Registration Dates and Test Dates
Registration Deadline Date A.C.T . Test Dates
November 2, 2012 December 8, 2012
January 11, 2013 February 9, 2013
March 8, 2013 April 13, 2013
May 3, 2013 June 8, 2013
