← Reading syllabus

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Format and Strategy

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What does it mean to read a passage actively on the ACT, and how does evidence-first reading turn into correct answers?

Active reading on the ACT: previewing structure, reading for the main point and the function of each paragraph, marking the passage lightly, and returning to the text for evidence before choosing an answer, so that every choice is grounded in a line or phrase.
What active reading means on the ACT: previewing structure, reading for the main point and each paragraph's function, light marking, and returning to the text for evidence before choosing, so every answer is grounded in a specific line or phrase.
11 min answer →

How do you choose between four ACT Reading answer choices when more than one looks tempting?

Answer-choice strategy on ACT Reading: predicting an answer before reading the options, eliminating choices that are too extreme, half-right, out of scope, or true-but-unsupported, and selecting the choice the passage actually supports rather than the one that merely sounds good.
How to choose between four ACT Reading options when several tempt you: predict an answer first, then eliminate choices that are too extreme, half-right, out of scope, or true-but-unsupported, and pick the one the passage actually supports.
11 min answer →

How is the ACT Reading section scored, and what do the raw score, the 1 to 36 scale, and the reporting categories mean for how you take it?

How ACT Reading is scored: a raw score (number correct, no penalty for wrong answers) converted to a 1 to 36 scale; three reporting categories (Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas); and on the enhanced ACT a Composite that averages English, Reading, and Math with Science optional.
How the ACT Reading section is scored: a raw score (number correct, no guessing penalty) converted to the 1 to 36 scale, the three reporting categories, and the enhanced-ACT Composite that averages English, Reading, and Math with Science optional.
10 min answer →

How does the enhanced ACT Reading section differ from the legacy version, and what stays the same?

Legacy versus enhanced ACT Reading: the legacy section had 40 questions in 35 minutes as four passages of about 10 questions each; the enhanced section has about 36 questions in 40 minutes in several parts with slightly shorter passages, rolled out online in spring 2025 and on paper in spring 2026, with the same skills and 1 to 36 scale.
How the enhanced ACT Reading section differs from the legacy version: 36 questions in 40 minutes versus 40 in 35, several parts versus a fixed four-passage block, slightly shorter passages, the spring 2025 and spring 2026 rollout, and what stays the same.
10 min answer →

What does the enhanced ACT Reading section actually look like, and how do its parts, timing, and question style shape how you take it?

The enhanced ACT Reading format: about 36 questions in 40 minutes, built from several parts (a longer prose passage, shorter passages, and a paired set), drawn from four subject areas, all multiple choice with four options, and answered entirely from the passage.
What the enhanced ACT Reading section looks like: about 36 questions in 40 minutes, built from several parts including a longer passage, shorter passages, and a paired set, drawn from four subject areas, all four-option multiple choice answered from the passage.
11 min answer →