ACT Reading Test
ACT Reading Test: The ACT Reading test requires the student to read four essays, and then answer 10 questions about each article during a 35 minute period of time. Questions challenge the student's understanding of what they have read. The essays are chosen to represent the type of written material that a student will encounter in a freshman year college course.
The questions in the ACT Reading test rely only on the material presented in the articles, and no other external knowledge is required. Students need to understand the main themes and ideas presented in the essay, understand what has been said and its implications, and understand the basic them from the written material.
The articles come from four major categories of content, each of which represents 25% of the score of the ACT Reading test:
- Fiction - material extracted from previously published short stories or fiction novels.
- Humanities - Essays on architecture, art, dance, ethics, film, language, literary criticism, music, philosophy, radio, television, and theater.
- Social Studies - Essays on anthropology, biography, business, economics, education, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology.
- Natural Sciences - Essays on anatomy, astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, geology, medicine, meteorology, microbiology, natural history, physiology, physics, technology, and zoology.
Advance preparation can help a student significantly increase their score on the ACT Reading test. Advance familiarity with what is expected is a big aid in achieving a good score. In addition, an ACT tutor can help the student improve their reading comprehension skills.
