The 4 Types of ACT Reading Passages You Need to Know (2023)

FAQs

What are the four types of passages? ›

There are four different passage types that are always in the same order: Prose Fiction, Social Studies, Humanities, and Natural Sciences. You can do the passages in any order, so start with your strongest passage type and work from there.

The three main types of passage are narrative passages, descriptive passages, and expository passages.

The reading section measures your ability to read closely, reason logically about texts using evidence, and integrate information from multiple sources. The section questions focus on the mutually supportive skills that readers must bring to bear in studying written materials across a range of subject areas.

The exam is split up into five passages and each passage has fifteen questions, so if you are moving on to new essays every nine minutes, you are in good shape.

1. Read Each Passage Before its Questions. Be sure to pace yourself – don't read too slowly since you want to manage your time; however, don't read so quickly that you forget the information. Underline words that stand out to you, and make notes in the margins with the main ideas.

The ACT test consists of four multiple-choice sections— English, mathematics, reading, and science—with an optional writing section. Some colleges and universities require or accept ACT writing scores, so you may consider taking the writing section.

If you're trying to boost your ACT score, the English section is the easiest to tackle. Here's why: there is only a handful of technical grammar content covered and there are really only a handful of rhetorical skills covered.

The SAT® Reading section consists of five passages from three different genres: literary narrative, science, and history and social science. These five passages include a combination of modern and classic published works.

There are 5 passages total: 4 single passages and 1 set of paired passages, with 500–750 words per passage or passage set.

What is a passage in reading? ›

Technically, a passage is simply a portion or section of a written work, either fiction or non-fiction. Some hold that a passage can be as short as a sentence, but most consist of at least one paragraph and usually several.

Strategy 1: Save Time on Reading Passages by Switching Your Reading Strategy. Strategy 2: Learn to Eliminate the 3 Wrong Answers. Strategy 3: Find Your Reading Skill Weaknesses and Drill Them. Strategy 4: Only Use High-Quality ACT Reading Sources.

Timing is a bigger challenge on the ACT, as the ACT asks more questions per minute. SAT Reading has 52 questions in 65 minutes, giving you 75 seconds per question. On the other hand, ACT Reading has 40 questions in 35 minutes, which gives you just 52 seconds per question.

So what makes it (seem) so hard? Timing: The ACT Reading section has 40 questions and a 35 minute time limit. That give students less than one minute per question and does not even factor in time to read the passage. In other words, the ACT Reading moves at a blistering pace, and it can be hard to keep up.

To get a 30, you must score highly on all four sections of the exam (excluding Writing). Specifically, you'll need to get at least a 30 on two sections and a composite score of 29.5 (which rounds to 30) or higher. This means you can only miss a handful of questions on each section.

Based on the ACT practice tests, most sections require you to miss 0 questions to receive a score of 36. However, in the Math section, you might be able to miss 1 question and still receive a 36. Receiving a score of 35 most often entails missing 1–3 questions in each section.

Obviously, it's not a good idea to take the ACT® unless you have a good grasp on the content that will be tested. The ACT® Reading and ACT® Science sections are both the hardest and easiest to prepare for.

Colleges see much of the same information as you see on your ACT score report: they see your composite score, along with your scaled score for each section of the test (Reading, English, Math, and Science) and your subscores for each section.

It's 35 minutes long with 40 questions. The test contains four reading passages (although one of those will be a pair of two shorter passages) each with a set of 10 questions. Students have about 8 ½ minutes to read the passage and answer the 10 questions. Neither the passages nor questions are in order of difficulty.

What is a passage in ELA? ›

A literary passage is an excerpt from a written text. It can be as long as a chapter, or as short as a sentence. Usually, the length of a literary passage is several paragraphs long. This excerpt can be any genre of literature, from poetry to fiction.

Common types of acts are legislative, judicial, and notarial acts.

You can take the ACT up to 12 times, and many students end up taking the test between 2-3 times before applying to college. Most colleges are neutral about multiple scores. Many students, in fact, make score improvements by retaking the ACT. Give yourself time to improve before you begin filling out applications.

The English section is 45 minutes, the Math section is 60 minutes, and the Reading and Science sections are each 35 minutes. If students take the Writing section at the end, that takes an additional 40 minutes, with a five-minute break given after the Science section.

March is the worst! Avoid it like the plague! Don't you dare take October; that's when the smart seniors are sitting. All the jocks take December, that's the surest bet for a high score!

13 ACT Score Standings

Out of the 1.91 million test-takers, 1780773 scored the same or higher than you. You can apply to 4 colleges and have a good shot at getting admitted. You have a very low chance of getting into 1495 schools with this score.

Origin of the Myth

But here's the thing: While there were studies done that showed higher scores in one month than another, those months changed year to year. First experts would cry “December is easiest! Take it in December!” and a few years later they'd swear “May is by far easier!”

On Test Day, the ACT Science Test will always be the fourth test you'll take. It will have 6-7 passages with 5-8 questions each; you'll have 35 minutes to complete them.

In Part 7 you will read passages in the form of letters, ads, memos, faxes, schedules, etc. The reading section has a number of single passages and 4 double passages. You will be asked 2-4 questions about each single passage, and 5 questions for each double passage. Sometimes you will be asked for specific details.

How many types of reading passages are on the SAT? ›

The five passages on the Reading Test include four standalone passages and one pair of passages that you read together. The standalone passages and the paired set are each 500–750 words. The passages are drawn from the following types of documents: 1 literary passage from a work of fiction.

The Writing and Language test is a multiple-choice test in which you read passages and find and fix mistakes and weaknesses. This part of the SAT is 35 minutes long, includes 4 passages, and contains 44 multiple-choice questions.

Starting early, following your personal study plan on Official SAT Practice, taking a full-length practice SAT, paying attention in class, and knowing what to expect on test day are five of the best ways to prepare for the SAT.

The SAT Reading Test is 65 minutes long and contains 5 passages with associated questions. This means you need to spend 13 minutes per passage on average.

Example Sentences

They controlled the passage of goods through their territory. the passage of food through the digestive system the passage of air into and out of the lungs the passage from life to death the passage of the seasons He left after the passage of a few hours.

For most of the ACT, there is no “best” letter to guess. Except… at the end of the Math section. Most people (and tutors) tell students that, if they have no idea on a question, to just guess answer choice “C” — the middle answer on most multiple choice tests.

14 ACT Score Standings

You can apply to 5 colleges and have a good shot at getting admitted. You have a very low chance of getting into 1494 schools with this score.

Difficulty Depends on the Student

While there are similar mathematical concepts on both tests, students might find one or the other more difficult based on their own math skills. This is true of the tests themselves as well. The ACT isn't harder than the SAT or vice versa, despite what the myths say.

Many students wonder if ACT reading questions are in chronological order. If they were, you could answer questions while you read to speed up your work. Only about six of every 10 questions on the ACT are in chronological order.

How do you skim an ACT reading passage? ›

Skimming: Skimming a passage requires you to read the passage very quickly, only looking for the most important information. The easiest way to do this is to read the first sentence of each paragraph and just look at the rest of the words without carefully reading them.

The average Composite score declined by 0.5 points, from 20.3 in 2021 to 19.8 in 2022. It is the first time that the average Composite score has been below 20.0 since at least as far back as 1991.

Both ACT and SAT scores are used for college admissions decisions and awarding merit-based scholarships. Most colleges do not prefer one test over the other. Neither the SAT or ACT is harder than the other. Different students tend to do better on one test over the other.

Both tests focus heavily on algebra, but unlike the SAT, the ACT also has a larger section on geometry and trigonometry, and the ACT allows calculators for all aspects of the test (whereas the SAT has one math section that does not allow a calculator).

All colleges view the SAT and ACT equally. Neither test is seen as more prestigious or important by admissions officers. You should take the ACT if you score higher on the ACT and the SAT if you score higher on the SAT. Again, you can compare your scores SAT and ACT scores here.

There are two types of ACT English questions: Usage/Mechanics questions and Rhetorical Skills questions.

The Three Big Questions strategy challenges readers to annotate in the margins by marking passages that answer the questions: "What surprised me?", "What did the author think I already knew?", and "What challenged, changed, or confirmed what I already knew?".

Detail questions are the most common questions on the ACT Reading section. On the tests we analyzed, detail questions made up from 12 to 21 questions out of 40, so as much as half of the entire Reading section. On average, they're about 45% of each test.

An actual ACT Reading Test contains 40 questions to be answered in 35 minutes. Read the passage(s) carefully. Read and consider all of the answer choices before you choose the one that best responds to the question.

For most of the ACT, there is no “best” letter to guess. Except… at the end of the Math section. Most people (and tutors) tell students that, if they have no idea on a question, to just guess answer choice “C” — the middle answer on most multiple choice tests.

What is the fastest way to answer a question ACT? ›

The National Reading Panel identified five key concepts at the core of every effective reading instruction program: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension.

Research has shown that there are six key components that contribute to successful beginning reading. Because of the importance of these components, they have become known as the 'Big Six': oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.

These three phases are pre-reading, while-reading and after-reading phases. Each of them has its own important role. They are all necessary parts of a reading activity. In language classrooms, these phases have to be put in consideration in order to achieve to develop students' reading skills.

Do You Feel Confident in the Content? Obviously, it's not a good idea to take the ACT® unless you have a good grasp on the content that will be tested. The ACT® Reading and ACT® Science sections are both the hardest and easiest to prepare for.