Speed Reading and the ACT

First off, you really should read the passages. The only time I got away with completely skipping passages was on the graphical analysis questions in the the science portion of the test, but of course, that a different topic.

When reading the passages, don't try to pick up each and every detail. If possible, try to read at a normal pace. By giving the passages a cursory glance, you'll miss a lot, but by staring down each and every word, you're just taking up more time than you really need to. As you're reading, you may find it helpful to underline important parts, but remember not to overdo it. You may also want to keep an eye out for the style and tone of the passage as well. If you quickly skimmed the questions, you might have a better idea of what you need to pay more attention to.

One of the things that really hurt me in past experiences was the fact that I spent too much time on the questions. It's best to move on and then go back and answer what you couldn't figure out earlier. That way, you can spend more time thinking without missing out on easier questions that you could have answered had you finished the test.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

Why can't you just approach these passages like you would any OTHER reading? If you put yourself under a lot of pressure to SPEED THROUGH, you're probably going to do a lot worse. Of course, this is only MY theory, and its how I try to approach most things.

I learned that pretty early on, as I found out that I was actually wasting more time speeding through the passage. Yeah, I got through the passages, but I ended up having to go back to them and re-reading them over again anyways due to the fact that I barely picked up anything during my quick read.

There's nowhere I can't reach.