Walker Prep ACT Reading Practice Question
This free mock question will help you master Citation Questions on ACT Reading literature passages.
The drill below is designed to help you increase your mastery of ACT Reading Citation Questions on literature / fiction passages. Detailed explanations for the correct and incorrect answers are provided below the drill.
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Drill
[Line 1] Clara glanced up from her book as a group of three, two girls and a guy, walked into the library, immediately drawing everyone’s attention. The girls sported vibrant-colored sneakers, distressed jeans, oversized t-shirts with logos of vintage bands, and chunky jewelry. Both had their hair dyed in contrasting shades: one in a fiery red and the other a bright turquoise. Their backpacks were covered with patches and buttons from various concerts and events. The guy, in contrast, wore a simple black t-shirt and jeans. He laughed to himself as the group took a seat at a nearby table. However, more than his laughter, it was the girls’ incessant discussion of a recent concert they had attended that caused Clara to lose her focus on her gothic novel. After three pages, she realized she'd missed a critical clue and had to retrace her reading. Just as she was immersing herself back into the eerie tale, a familiar notebook, one she recognized as her classmate's, plopped down on the table next to her. She glanced up, surprised, and said, "I didn’t expect to see you here!"
Clara's primary impression of the "group of three" (Line 1) is that they
A) are chatty and disruptive.
B) desire attention more than to study.
C) are trendy and immature.
D) symbolize the rebelliousness of youth.
Answer Explanations
Strategy Note —
On ACT Reading, the foundational strategy is Hyper-Literal Textual Analysis (HLTA). As the below answer explanations make clear, staying focused on HLTA is especially important on literature/fiction passages. The reason is that, on fiction passages, most test takers have a strong tendency to lapse into subjective interpretation.
A) are chatty and disruptive.
The passage explicitly states that the girls were engaged in an "incessant discussion of a recent concert they had attended”. The passage then expressly indicates the impression that this incessant talk made on Clara: it distracted her from her novel to such an extent that she missed a critical clue in her reading and had to backtrack.
This answer sticks to a strictly literal reading of the text (i.e., HLTA) and accurately summarizes what the passage directly states about Clara's impressions of the group. Therefore, this answer is correct.
B) desire attention more than to study.
The passage does state that the group of three drew everyone's attention when they entered the library. However, there's no direct evidence that they desired this attention, nor that they desired attention more than they wanted to study. The passage doesn't compare the group's desire for attention with their desire to study.
This answer presents a subjective interpretation, suggesting that the girls’ attire and behavior were intended for attention-seeking. While this may seem plausible, it is merely one potential interpretation. The passage does not itself draw this conclusion.
On ACT Reading passages, it is critical to avoid subjective interpretation and instead use HLTA. This answer choice is incorrect.
C) are trendy and immature.
The girls’ attire—vibrant-colored sneakers, distressed jeans, t-shirts with vintage band logos, chunky jewelry, and dyed hair—could plausibly be interpreted by readers as trendy.
However, the passage does not indicate that this was Clara’s impression. For example, Clara’s impression may instead have been that their clothes were garish, inappropriate, daring, outdated (the opposite of trendy), etc. We cannot be certain about Clara’s impression of the group’s clothing because the passage provides only concrete details that can be interpreted in various ways.
The same is true of the word "immature.” Though some readers might subjectively interpret this from the girls’ incessant talking, that this was Clara’s impression isn't directly supported by the text.
This answer choice relies on subjective interpretation, not HLTA, and is therefore incorrect.
D) symbolize the rebelliousness of youth.
The girls' fashion choices might be interpreted by some readers as nonconformist or rebellious, especially given the choice of vibrant hair colors, distressed jeans, and vintage band logos.
However, this answer relies on interpretation and subjective impressions. The passage does not explicitly associate the group with the theme or symbol of "rebelliousness of youth." Nowhere does it indicate that this was Clara’s impression. Therefore, this answer is incorrect.
Summary
Answer choice A is the only one that adheres strictly to HLTA, relying solely on direct evidence provided in the passage, without resorting to subjective interpretations or extrapolations. The other options, while plausible to some extent, require readers to make assumptions or interpretations that are not directly supported by a strictly literal reading of the text.
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To explore Citation Questions on official exams, visit the Self Prep section. You'll find a Question Type Inventory (QTI) for the tests in the Official ACT Prep Guide and the Official SAT Study Guide.