HESI A2 Reading

It measures reading comprehension: finding main ideas, locating supporting details, drawing inferences, interpreting tone and purpose, and determining word meaning from context. Passages are short and questions are multiple choice. Practice reading for structure and logic rather than memorizing facts, since passages are unfamiliar by design.

The publisher and individual schools control these details, and figures vary by version and institution. This page does not state a count or time limit because the available source does not provide them. Confirm the item count and time allowance with your program's testing office before you build a pacing plan.

Difficulty is moderate for most candidates: the passages are not technical, but answer choices are designed to reward careful reading. Distractors often restate true details that do not answer the question asked. Most failures come from rushing and choosing a familiar-sounding option instead of verifying it against the passage.

Retake rules are set by the school, not by this page. Many programs limit attempts, require a waiting period, or average scores. Ask your admissions office in writing about the number of allowed attempts, any waiting period, and whether the highest or most recent score is used, then plan your study timeline around that answer.

Start with main idea and supporting detail, because most other question types depend on them. Then move to inference, author's purpose and tone, and finally vocabulary in context. Finish with full-length timed practice. Keep an error log that names the reasoning mistake for each miss, and review it weekly.

Answering from memory or general knowledge instead of the passage, skimming the question stem, ignoring words like EXCEPT and NOT, and spending too long on one hard item. Another frequent error is choosing an answer that is true but too broad or too narrow. Read the stem first, then locate the exact lines that support your choice.

Because the official time limit is not published here, build a personal budget on test day: note the total time and item count, divide to get seconds per item, and flag rather than stall on difficult questions. Return to flagged items after clearing the easy ones. Practice with a timer so the pace feels routine.

No. This is independent study material written for candidates preparing for the reading portion of the HESI A2. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the publisher or any testing company. For registration, fees, scoring, accommodations, and score reporting, use your program's official materials and the publisher's own channels.