Reading

Introduction Always 4 passages—10 questions each

1. Prose fiction-fiction, excerpts from short stories and novels, packed with hints and suggestions about characters and their motivations.

2. Social science-history, economics, psychology, political sciences, and anthropology; drawing inferences (conclusions), about author’s views.

3. Humanities- art, music, architecture, and dance; 4. Natural science-biology, chemistry, physics, and physical sciences;

filled with details and technical descriptions.

First five minutes determine which passage will be harder for you—save it for later.

o Easier passages have questions that: Direct you to particular lines in the passage Refer to dates Refer to proper nouns Refer to italicized words

ACT test writers barely use a direct quote from the passage in the correct answer.

Make EDUCATED GUESS after process of Elimination

Process1. Attach the passages in the order that best suits you2. See through the camouflage that hides correct choices3. Identify incorrect answer choices and eliminate them4. Answer questions without really reading the passage

Distractors

Four Kinds of Distractors1. Deceptive answers (pg. 250-257)

Words stolen directly from the passage and are used to create a statement that does NOT reflect the content of the passages.

Ex. “Tom loves going to the movies with Mary” is different than Tom fell in love with Mary at the movies which is different than Tom and Mary love movies

2. Switches (pg. 258-263) Distractor which takes the truth and switches it around

Ex. Professor Thorne generally explains a technological discovery first in terms of its history and then in terms of the science upon which it was founded.

ThenProfessor Thorne generally explains a technological discovery first in terms of the science on which it was founded and the in terms of its history.

3. Extremes (pg. 263-265) Answer choices that include--completely, perfectly, absolutely,

always so, invariably so, or never so—usually wrongEx. Patients who are chronically depressed never enjoy their livesEx. A political leader should seek to make peace at all costs.Ex. In order to lead a productive life, one must devote all his energy to his work

4. Choices that sound too “nice” (pg.265-267) Some answer choices sound nice. They may seem reasonable

and correct, when in fact they have little to do with the question or passage.

Ex. Structure is important, but it should not be imposed in such a way as to stifle creativityEx. Ultimately, the voting public knows its own best interestEx. All people have a right to live and die with dignity

The Four-Step System1. Find the lead words and phrases (pg.271)

Before you read the passage, look at the questions (but not answer choices) and underline any lead word they contain

Ex. Jeremy Bentham probably would have said that lawyers:Ex. The author said that the common law differs from the civil law in that:

2. Scan the passage for lead words (pg. 274-281) Scan—not read-- the passage really quickly looking for lead

words.o 1st step: underline lead words in questionso 2nd step: underline lead words in passage

3. Skim and Scribble (pg. 282- 289) Concentrate on the first two sentence of each paragraph to get

main idea Ask yourself: what, basically, is this paragraph about?

4. Practice the Loop (pg. 289-295)1. Go to the first question that points to an answer. Read it

carefully and reword it so that you know what you are looking for

2. Return to the appropriate portion of the passage (either you underlined it or the question send you there)

3. Read it carefully. Whenever possible, try to formulate your own answer to the question and jot it down.

4. Go back to the question and pick the answer that most resembles your answer.

Special question type (pg.296-301)1. State of mind: questions that ask you to describe attitudes or states of

mind. Answers are often one word Ex. Skeptical, approving, concerned, hopeful, worry,

amusement, gratification, disappointment2. Vocab-in-context: questions that ask you to define words in the context

of specific parts3. Except/not/least: skip these questions until you are before the last one

which are roman numeral questions4. Roman Numeral: leave for last—look for lead words—try each answer

choice

EDUCATED GUESS on the questions you are not sure about.