The Score, Issue #9: How to Self-Prep for ACT Reading (and paper-based SAT Reading)
Learn exactly how to analyze your mistakes, identify your weak spots, and set a clear roadmap for score improvement!
Greetings fellow exam preppers!
Over my many years as a ACT and SAT test prep tutor, it has been very gratifying to help so many students "break through the barrier" and achieve their highest potential scores. It’s very rewarding to see students’ sense of relief and excitement as they realize their dream scores are finally coming within reach.
What's the secret behind my ability to help students achieve exceptional score gains on the SAT and ACT verbal sections? It's not magic. It's a simple approach that anyone can learn, and today, I am going to share it with you.
Before we dig in to the details, it’s important to note that I have designed this publication to be a guide for those self-prepping for the ACT, paper-based SAT, and digital SAT (dSAT). Quiz Hacker Test Prep is a comprehensive resource offering strategies, tactics, answer explanations, practice drills, and more.
The first step in setting yourself up for success with DIY test prep is to become a subscriber. Treat yourself, your student, or your child to a premium subscription, and you will be well-equipped to take full advantage of the Quiz Hacker self-prep system and ace the exams. You can also gain full access to my complete archive of strategies and drills with a free 7-day trial.
Right now, for the cost of a cup of gourmet coffee each month, you can access the same expertise I share in my private tutoring sessions. This discounted subscription rate is a limited-time offer, exclusively for those who get in on the ground-floor of Quiz Hacker’s Substack launch. The subscription price will be increasing soon. Don’t miss out! Lock in your low rate, and embark on your journey to ACT and SAT success now!
Your DIY Guide to Conquering SAT / ACT Reading
(Note - what follows applies primarily to ACT Reading and paper-based SAT Reading. Not all components of the below system are applicable to the Reading and Writing section of the computer-based SAT, which will launch in the US in March of 2024.)
My ACT / SAT Reading strategy is built on a three-part foundation:
General Strategies
Question-Type Tactics
Understanding and Leveraging Your Misses
Here's how they work:
1. General Strategies
Many students fall into the trap of knocking out practice test after practice test while losing sight of the purpose of practice: mastering the execution of strategies and tactics. This “churn and burn” approach does more harm than good, as it not only hampers the internalization of proper technique, but also reinforces the test taker’s existing bad habits.
At the heart of ACT Reading and paper-based SAT Reading success lies a set of general strategies that can be applied universally across all reading passages and questions. These three pillars are:
These comprise your large-scale map to the treasure chest of correct answers and high scores!
2. Question-Type Tactics
Different kinds of questions demand different tactics. I have developed effective procedures and knowledge sets for the diverse question types you will encounter. Understanding these tactics is like getting a blueprint to the puzzling labyrinth that is ACT / SAT Reading.
You can find in-depth articles on various question-type tactics in Quiz Hacker Test Prep’s archive, where everything you need to know is spelled out in detail:
Citation Pair Question Tactics
Main Point Paragraph Question Tactics
Deliberate Practice Makes Perfect
Memorizing these strategies and tactics is crucial. However, knowledge alone isn't enough. The real game-changer is deliberate practice, focused on the consistent application of strategies and tactics.
Question Type Inventories: A Powerful New Tool
Quiz Hacker's Question Type Inventories (QTI) will supercharge your quest to learn question type tactics and master them using the power of deliberate practice. These are comprehensive tools designed to help you analyze and improve your performance on ACT Reading, ACT English, and SAT Reading and Writing.
Each inventory contains an exhaustive list of every question type in the Reading, Writing, or English section of an official practice test from the current edition of the Official ACT Prep Guide or the “Bluebook” (the College Board’s platform for the computer-based SAT).
Each question type in a QTI is linked to relevant tactics articles and drill sets, providing a direct path from identifying your weak spots to resources for effective learning, practice, and improvement.
To access the QTI’s, click here. I update existing QTIs weekly, and I regularly add new QTIs.
3. Understanding and Leveraging Your Misses
Important as they are, tactical expertise and deliberate practice are not enough. To reach your full potential on ACT or SAT Reading, you must dedicate time to analyzing your misses through the lens of Hyper-Literal Textual Analysis (HLTA).
Your incorrect answers are not just marks of failure, but also powerful tools for score improvement. Analyzing your mistakes allows you to discover patterns in your errors and, in turn, helps you avoid repeating them.
Consider both incorrect and correct answers from two perspectives:
Analyzing the Incorrect Answer:
Why, according to HLTA, is the answer wrong?
What type of error attracted you to the wrong answer?
Analyzing the Correct Answer:
Why, according to HLTA, is the answer correct?
What type of error deterred you from selecting the right answer?
Drilling Down on HLTA of Correct and Incorrect Answer Choices
Often, incorrect answers are largely accurate, making them appealing. Identifying their subtle distortions of the relevant passage text is key to avoiding these traps. Similarly, correct answers must accurately restate the answer from the passage without any alteration or additions.
Here are the steps to follow:
Find the precise answer to the question in the passage. Most of the time, it's found within a concise portion of the text, often just two to five lines. Identify those specific lines, and write them down.
(Infrequently, the answer is synthesized from larger sections or disparate parts of the passage, although this occurs far less often than most test-takers think. If so, do the work — find those lines, and write them down.)
Apply HLTA to the incorrect answer choice by asking:
Does your incorrect answer choice misconstrue a specific word or phrase from the passage's answer?
Does your incorrect answer introduce a new idea? That is, does it contain an idea not explicitly expressed in or allowably inferred from the passage's answer?
Is your incorrect answer a subjective interpretation of the passage’s answer?
Apply HLTA to the correct answer choice:
Meticulously align every idea expressed in the correct answer choice with the specific language from the passage that supports it.
Remember that “every idea” means every idea. For example, if the answer choice mentions a tall building, it’s not enough to find language in the passage answer that talks about a building. You must find the specific language that supports the answer choice’s claim that the building was tall.
If this sounds like a lot of hard work, that’s because it is. Did you truly believe you were going to achieve your max potential score without putting in serious effort? Do the work and win.
Drilling Down on Error Types
Another critical component of effective SAT Reading or ACT Reading prep is to determine the type of mistake you made, both in choosing the incorrect answer and in rejecting the correct answer. Did it involve a misunderstanding of the question? A misinterpretation of an answer choice? Or perhaps a lapse in tactical execution? The answers will guide your focus on future practice tests.
Below are some of the most common lines of inquiry I lead my students through when we are reviewing their ACT Reading or paper-based SAT Reading misses. While it’s easier for me because I’ve been doing this long enough to know the types of mistakes students tend to make on particular questions, anyone who is willing to put in some effort can greatly benefit from asking the following types of questions:
Mistakes Related to Technique:
Did I fail to use the appropriate question-type tactic?
Did I choose an answer based on my (necessarily vague and fragmentary) memory of the passage, instead of fact-checking the answer against the passage?
Did I choose an answer based on my impressions or subjective interpretation of a specific part of the passage, instead of using Hyper-Literal Textual Analysis?
Did I choose an answer for an irrelevant reason? (Eg: “I thought the answer choice contained ‘extreme language,’ so I eliminated it, because that’s what someone on YouTube said to do.”)
Mistakes Related to the Question Stem:
Did I overlook a particular word/phrase/idea in the question?
Did I misunderstand a word/phrase/idea in the question?
Did I inadvertently change the question? (Eg: “The question asked about a particular statement in the third paragraph, but I based my answer on an analysis of the third paragraph’s main idea.”)
Mistakes Related to the Answer Choices:
Did I overlook a particular word/phrase/idea in an answer choice?
Did I misunderstand a word/phrase/idea in an answer choice?
Did I knowingly settle for an answer choice that I knew was only partially correct?
Did I fail to notice that, though the first part of the answer was correct, the last part was unsupported by the passage (or vice-versa)?
Did I fail to read all of the answer choices?
Mistakes Related to the Passage:
Did I rely on a part of the passage that was irrelevant to the question?
Did I get fixated on a certain part of the passage because it was clearly relevant to the question, even though it wasn’t accurately restated by any answer choices?
Did I overlook a particular word/phrase/idea in the relevant part of the passage?
Did I misunderstand a word/phrase/idea in the relevant part of the passage?
Did I include too much context in my analysis, thereby blurring the specific answer provided by the passage?
Did I rely on fragmentary or contextually isolated language in the passage, such as a single word or phrase that matched language in my incorrect answer choice?
By answering these types of specific questions when reviewing your practice tests, you'll uncover the roots of your mistakes and learn how to prevent them in the future.
Conclusion
Remember, the journey to acing SAT / ACT Reading is not just about taking practice tests. More importantly, it’s about learning from them. Using the above system, supported by a subscription to Quiz Hacker Test Prep, will give you the tools and guidance you need every step of the way.
So why wait? Join us now, and start your journey to test success today!