What should you do in the last minute or two of the ACT Reading section to lock in every available point?
Final-minute strategy: using the closing minute or two to bubble every unanswered question with a best guess, prioritizing quick detail questions over slow ones, double-checking the answer grid, and never leaving a blank, since there is no penalty for a wrong answer.
What to do in the last minute or two of ACT Reading: bubble every unanswered question with a best guess, prioritize quick detail questions, double-check the answer grid, and never leave a blank since there is no penalty.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this skill is asking
The last minute or two of the section is its own small skill, because how you spend it can be worth several raw-score points. The governing fact is that the ACT has no penalty for a wrong answer, so the number-one priority in the closing minute is to bubble every unanswered question with a best guess: a blank scores zero, a guess might score one. Beyond that, you prioritize: answer any remaining quick detail questions first (a fast return to the text can still get them right), then put a best guess on the slow inference and comparison ones, and finally double-check the answer grid so no row is skipped or misaligned. The final-minute routine turns time you might waste, or panic through, into locked-in points.
The non-negotiable: no blanks
The one thing you must do before time is called is leave no question unanswered.
Prioritize, then guess
The art of the final minute is triage. Not all leftover questions are equal: a detail question that points to a specific line can sometimes be answered correctly in seconds by jumping to that line, so it is worth the quick attempt; an inference or comparison question rarely can, so it is better to guess it and spend the seconds elsewhere. Work the fast, gettable questions first, then sweep the rest with a best guess. Keeping a single backup letter for blind guesses saves the agonizing that wastes seconds. The aim is to extract the maximum points the remaining time allows, and then ensure the floor, everything bubbled, is secured before the clock stops.
A worked final-minute routine
Why the final minute is its own skill
The closing minute is where pacing and order of attack pay off or fall apart: good pacing leaves you a buffer to use here, and good ordering means the leftovers are the hardest questions, which you simply guess. It rests on the scoring fact that there is no guessing penalty, the same fact that defines the enhanced format, and it completes the picture begun in managing hard passages. A disciplined final minute is free points, claimed by a routine rather than left to panic.
Try this
Q1. What is the single most important action in the final minute of ACT Reading? [Recall]
- Cue. Bubble every unanswered question with a best guess, because there is no penalty for a wrong answer, so a blank is a guaranteed zero while a guess has a chance of scoring.
Q2. With one minute left you have a mix of quick detail and slow inference questions unanswered. How do you spend it? [Short explanation]
- Cue. First make sure every question has at least a guess. Then, with any remaining seconds, answer the quick detail questions by jumping to the cited lines, since those can still be gotten right, and leave the slow inference questions on your best guess. Spend the minute where it earns the most, then secure all blanks.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of ACT exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
ACT Reading (style)1 marksWith one minute left and four questions unanswered, the single most important action is to: (A) carefully solve one of the four; (B) bubble a best guess for all four so none is left blank; (C) recheck answers you were already sure of; (D) read a new passage.Show worked answer →
The correct answer is (B). With no penalty for wrong answers, the priority in the final minute is to ensure every question has a bubble. Four best guesses can only help; four blanks guarantee zero on those questions.
Why not the others: (A) solving one leaves three blank; (C) rechecking sure answers wastes the minute; (D) starting a new passage is impossible in the time. Fill every blank first.
ACT Reading (style)1 marksIn the final minute, if some unanswered questions are quick detail questions and others are slow inference questions, you should: (A) do the slow ones first; (B) answer the quick detail questions first, then guess the rest; (C) ignore both; (D) only do questions you find interesting.Show worked answer →
The correct answer is (B). Quick detail questions can sometimes be answered correctly even in seconds by a fast return to the text, so do those first, then put a best guess on the slow ones. This squeezes the most points from the final minute.
Why not the others: (A) slow questions eat the minute with little to show; (C) ignoring both forfeits points; (D) interest is irrelevant to scoring. Spend the last minute where it earns the most, then guess the rest.
Related dot points
- Pacing the section: budgeting about 40 minutes across the parts of the enhanced Reading section, spending roughly nine minutes per part including reading, banking checkpoints, and protecting time so no part is left unread or unbubbled.
How to pace the ACT Reading section: budget about 40 minutes across the parts, spend roughly nine minutes per part including reading, use time checkpoints, and protect time so no part is left unread or unbubbled.
- Order of attack: choosing which parts and questions to do first, starting with the passage types you read fastest, banking easy detail questions before slow inference ones, and skipping and returning rather than stalling, since the section is not adaptive and every question is worth one point.
How to order the parts and questions on ACT Reading: start with the passage types you read fastest, bank easy detail questions before slow inference ones, and skip and return rather than stalling, since the section is not adaptive.
- Managing hard passages: keeping a confusing or dense passage from derailing the section by reading for the gist rather than every detail, answering the questions you can, marking the rest with a best guess, and not letting one tough part overrun its time.
What to do when an ACT passage is confusing or dense: read for the gist rather than every detail, answer the questions you can, mark the rest with a best guess, and keep one tough part from overrunning its time.
- 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.
- 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.
Sources & how we know this
- ACT Reading Test Tips — ACT (2025)
- Understanding Your ACT Scores — ACT (2025)