How to Ace the ACT Reading
Build the habits now: learn more words, read every day, and leave yourself a short trail of notes.
1 · Learn more words
Vocabulary is our first priority. The more words you understand, the more attention you can give to what a passage means. Learn a word’s meaning, its root, and other words in the same family. Then notice how writers use it in a sentence.
That is why we reward serious vocabulary study: it strengthens a skill you use every time you read. We want you to do this work, and we want your effort to count.
- Earn Membean enrichment credit. Go 40 minutes beyond your required weekly practice: 120 minutes total for Advanced, or 90 for College Prep. Train on Membean ↗
- Study your weekly words and build words from their parts. Explain the meanings in your own words.
2 · Read a lot. Read every day.
Reading builds your knowledge of the world and gives you more experience following an author’s ideas. Read history, science, stories, and other subjects. The more you read, the more ideas and words you have to work with.
Practice reading for longer stretches without stopping. Put your phone away, choose a daily reading block, and gradually make it longer. Brief gist notes are part of the reading; switching apps every few minutes breaks your concentration. Build the attention you will need to stay with passages and questions on the ACT.
3 · Annotate, annotate, annotate.
After each paragraph, write 1–3 words that capture its gist—its main point. Practice this habit now and use it on the ACT. Keep the notes short so you can continue reading.
Your notes give your brain somewhere to put the information. Instead of trying to hold every detail in your head, you have a small map of the passage. When a question asks for evidence, use that map to find the right paragraph and reread it.
What does a gist look like?
| Paragraph | 1–3 word gist |
|---|---|
| At first, the town planned to replace the old library with a parking lot. Residents objected because the library was their only free place to borrow books and use computers. | Library at risk |
| Residents collected signatures and spoke at a town meeting. The council agreed to keep the library and repair its roof instead. | Residents save library |
The gists show what changes: first there is a threat to the library; then residents act and save it. You can follow the passage without memorizing every sentence.
Try it in your next reading: finish a paragraph, jot its gist, and keep going. When you answer a question, return to the text to check your evidence.