Hi, I'm definitely a slow test taker which has caused me problems on the reading portion of the ACT. I haven't done that bad...been getting about 27 on my practice tests but I would like to get a 30 composite so the reading section is holding me back. So I was wondering if anyone out there used an affective reading strategy on the ACT? I did see the method that the Princeton book suggested where you underline key words in the questions, underline the same key phrases in the reading which allows you to save time by not reading the entire thing. However, I feel like there's no way I could actually go through with that on the actual test day in fear that I'll have wasted 5 minutes doing that and then not know any answers so I just end up reading the article as fast as I can, skipping lines where I can, and go from there. Any suggestions?
ACT Reading
- Thread starter jballer91
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The reading section of the ACT caught me off guard the first time I took it. I expected to have more time, so I was patient and deliberate. I didn't even get to the last passage. I scored a 24.
The next time I took it, I improved my Reading score by 7 points. I read through it faster, but I'd warn against trying to read through it too quickly. You can't just glance over it and get everything down. If you have to, pretend you're interested in what you're reading. Get through it at a steady pace and understand the material.
Everyone's different though. Keep doing the practice tests and find out the pace of reading that will maximize your score.
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Try reading the questions first before you start the passage, so you know what you are looking for. Also, just read as much as you can, no matter what it is.
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Isn't the good doctor cut-off a 33 or something? You're screwed, man.
I'll second the realistic practice test strategy. That sounds much more reasonable and useful than doing practice questions in an unstructured manner.
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I skim it over and get the general idea; then I look back when the questions are presented. This usually works really well for the ACT, now when you get to those really wordy complicated passages on the AP English Lang exam you have to slow down a bit more to get the gist of it... errrg
