ACT: ACT Reading: Passage Strategy and Question Types

ACT Reading has four passages-prose fiction, social science, humanities, and natural science-each followed by questions. You have about 8-9 minutes per passage. The central skill is locating evidence quickly and distinguishing main ideas from supporting details.

Question types include main idea, detail, inference, vocabulary in context, and author's purpose. For main idea questions, the correct answer captures the whole passage, not one paragraph. Detail questions require returning to the text; do not rely on memory. Inference answers must be supported by the passage-avoid choices that are true in real life but not stated. Vocabulary questions test the word's meaning in context, not its most common dictionary definition.

Worked example

If a question asks what the author suggests about a character's motivation, find the sentence describing the character's actions, then choose the answer closest to that evidence. Eliminate choices that go beyond the text.

A reliable approach: read the passage for structure, note where each paragraph shifts topic, then answer questions by returning to the relevant lines. Mark line references when given. For paired questions asking which lines support a previous answer, verify both together-if the lines do not support your first answer, revise it. Manage time by not over-investing in one hard question; flag and move on.