The Basics: The Structure of the ACT

The ACT has four mandatory multiple-choice sections which are always presented in the same order: (1)
English, (2) Math, (3) Reading, and (4) Science. There’s also an optional (5) Writing section for a total of five
test sections.

The total test time without the Writing section is 2 hours and 55 minutes.

The total test time with the Writing section is 3 hours and 35 minutes.

Here’s what you can expect in terms of number of questions, time limit, time per question, and question type for
each of the ACT sections:

English

Number of questions 75
Time limit 45 minutes
Approximate time per question 36 seconds
Question type Multiple choice with four answer choices

Math

Number of questions 60
Time limit 60 minutes
Approximate time per question 1 minute
Question type Multiple choice with five answer choices

Reading

Number of questions 40
Time limit 35 minutes
Approximate time per question 52 seconds
Question type Multiple choice with four answer choices

Science

Number of questions 40
Time limit 35 minutes
Approximate time per question 52 seconds
Question type Multiple choice with four answer choices
Writing

Number of questions 1
Time limit 40 minutes
Approximate time per question 40 minutes
Question type Essay prompt

Content and Skills: What Does the ACT Test?

The next step in familiarizing yourself with the ACT is knowing exactly what concepts, skills, and content
will be tested on the exam. If you know what content will appear, and you know exactly how it will be tested,
all of your bases will be covered (remember, the fewer the surprises on test day, the more you can focus on
what’s important).

The ACT is pretty transparent about test content. Here, I’ll go over what you’ll need to prepare for each
section and what these sections will actually look like.

Reading

The ACT Reading test is made up of four different subsections. Each of these subsections has either one
long passage or two shorter, paired passages. In this section, every question will ask you to respond to or
interpret the passages.

The Reading section will present you with one reading passage for each subsection, and the types of passages
you’ll see will always be in the same order:

1. Prose Fiction/Literary Narrative

2. Social Science
3. Humanities
4. Natural Science

The ACT tests this content with a variety of question types. Fortunately, we have a general idea of how often
each question type shows up on the average Reading section - with this information, you can think more
critically about question types that you may need to spend more time preparing.

Here’s a typical section breakdown by question type:

Question Type Average Number of Questions Percentage of Questions

Big Picture 4 10%
Little Detail 18 45%
Vocabulary in Context 3 8%
Development and Function 9 22%
Inference 6 15%
All Questions 40 100%
The info above isn’t helpful if you can’t identify the sorts of questions you’ll see on the Reading section, right?
Here are the main question types you’ll see on the English section, followed by examples:

Big Picture - Deal with the main point of the passage or the narrator’s overall point of view. These types of
questions require you to look at the passage holistically rather than focusing on one specific section.

Little Picture/Detail - Ask about a small piece of factual information in a passage. They are the most
straightforward questions because they’re so literal - you just have to find the correct information.

Vocabulary in Context - Ask about the meaning of a word in the context of the passage. They may also
reference something in the passage and ask you to choose a vocabulary word that best describes it.

Development and Function - Ask about how a certain paragraph, sentence, or phrase functions in the context
of the passage, how the argument in the passage was developed, or how the author structured the passage.
Inference - Ask you to make inferences based on a logical extension of information found in a passage.

SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

The 4 Types Of ACT Reading Passages You Should Know

One of the nice things about the ACT is that it doesn't change all that much from test to test. This is especially
true for the Reading section: Reading is always the third section of the ACT, there will always be passages on
four subject areas, and each subject area will have 10 questions.

So what are the 4 types of ACT Reading passages? Read on to find out!

4 Passages To Rule Them All

The 4 types of passages on the ACT are always the same, and always presented in same order: 1. Prose
Fiction/Literary Narrative, 2. Social Science, 3. Humanities, and 4. Natural Science.

ACT, Inc. has an exhaustive list of all the topics that might be covered in each of these areas, but it's kind of
overwhelming. To make it a little easier to understand what exactly is covered in each subject area, I've
summarized each passage type, along with the questions that you’re likely to see on them, below.

Prose Fiction/Literary Narrative

These passages usually consist of excerpts from fiction or literary memoirs. You're likely to be asked...

 questions about the main theme

 questions about the narrator's tone and intent (e.g. what did the narrator mean when she used this
particular phrase or word?)
 which questions are and are not answered by the passage
Social Science

These passages usually consist of straightforward discussions of topics in the social sciences, including areas
like psychology (study of the mind), sociology (study of societies), and education. You're likely to be asked...

 to paraphrase how information from the passage describes subject of the passage
 which statements the author would agree with (that is, what's the main point of the passage)

If the passage is about a particular person (like Harriet Tubman), there will often be questions about the passage
subject’s point of view, rather than author’s point of view (in contrast with Prose Fiction/Literary Narrative or
Humanities passages, which often deal with the author or narrator's points of view).

Humanities

These passages from can be from personal essays or memoirs, as well as on humanities subject areas like the
arts, literature, media, or philosophy.

Questions on Humanities passages are similar to Prose Fiction in that you're more likely to be asked about
the tone or point of view of the passage or the narrator as compared to the Social Science or Natural Science
passages.

Natural Science

These passages are nonfiction writing about SCIENCE. The topics can range from subjects that you've probably
covered in school, like bio, chemistry, or physics, to more esoteric areas like astronomy, technology, or
medicine (no paleontology yet, but I can always dream).

You do not need a science background to understand the passages; all you need are solid reading
comprehension skills. (The same is true of the ACT Science section). Becoming familiar with science writing,
however, might make you feel less intimidated by these passages when you have to deal with them on the ACT.

Similar to Social Science questions, Natural Science questions tend to be more focused on specific detail or
statements that can be backed up with evidence from passage. A typical question you might see is "Which
of the following statements is supported by the information in the fourth paragraph?"

How Do I Know Where My Problems Are?

So how do you know if you struggle with some passage types more than others? Follow these steps to find out
your weaknesses.

Step 1: Take a timed practice ACT test, in order, and score it.

Because Reading appears third on the ACT, it's important to take it as part of an entire timed and in-order ACT.
How your brain copes with the Reading section when you're just practicing reading passages and
answering questions on them is very likely different than how it will do after it's been tired out by English
and Math.
Step 2: Compare your Social Studies/Sciences and Arts/Literature subscores.

Your Social Studies/Sciences subscore is simply the combination of your scores on questions on Social
Science and Natural Science passages, while your Arts/Literature subscore is the combination of your scores on
questions on Prose Fiction/Literary Narrative/Humanities passages. Most official scoring charts will provide
you with the information you'll need to calculate these subscores, which will be out of 20. You can even
calculate them for yourself: your Arts/Litereature subscore = questions 1-10 + questions 21-30, while Social
Studies/Sciences subscore = questions 11-20 + questions 31-40.

Is there a significant difference between your Social Studies/Sciences and Arts/Literature subscores? More
than a 1-2 point difference between subscores indicates a difference worth checking into. For instance, if
you got a 12/20 Social Studies/Sciences subscore and a 17/20 Arts/Literature subscore, you definitely would
want to focus your studying on Social Science and Natural Science passages.

Step 3: For each of the four passage types, compare how many questions you answered incorrectly.

Since there are 10 questions in each section, it's pretty easy to do percentages - 1 question wrong is 90%, 4
questions wrong is 60%, and so on. Comparing your scores on each of the passage types can be really
illuminating, because it can shed light on areas you may not have realized you had issues with.

Remember, it’s not just important that you’re comfortable with reading the passages: it’s important that
you can successfully extract info from them to answer questions correctly.

Example from my life: Prose Fiction passages are the least straightforward to read for me, but I find the
questions on these types of passages the easiest because there are fewer concrete things to ask about (especially
when compared to Social Science or Natural Science passages). When I did a timed practice Reading ACT, I
got 1 wrong on Social Science and 2 wrong on Natural Sciences passages; if I were taking the test for real, I
would start my studying by first focusing on Natural Science passages and then Social Science passages.

Step 4: To be absolutely certain, take multiple timed ACT practice tests

Sometimes, even if you normally do well on a passage type, a particularly difficult passage can throw you and
cause you to get more questions wrong than you normally would in that area. If you think that might have been
the case on the timed ACT practice test you took, and you have the time, do not hesitate to take another timed
practice test. The more accurate data you have, the better you can structure your studying.

Step 5: Once you know which passages you struggle with questions on, focus your reading preparation on those
passages.

While there are some questions that tend to appear more on some passage types than others (more on this in
upcoming articles), most of the different types of questions can and will be asked about each of the four passage
types. By focusing on the particular passage type you have trouble with, you'll both increase your skill at
extracting information from passages you find challenging as well as familiarizing yourself with the
different ways the ACT will question you (a skill which then will carry across all passage types).
Complete Breakdown of Every ACT Reading Question Type
What Are the ACT Reading Question Types?
Before we go through the distribution of question types on the test, I’ll give a brief outline of the different
question categories we’ve established and what each one entails.

Type 1: Big Picture Questions

Big picture questions deal with the main subject of the passage or the narrator’s overall point of
view. These types of questions require you to look at the passage holistically rather than focusing on one
specific section.

Example of a big picture question:

The main theme of this passage concerns the:

A. difficulty of first starting and then maintaining a friendship.

B. process of making a new friend and how the friendship changes the narrator.
C. problems the narrator has dealing with the loss of her former neighbors.
D. differences in the lives led by two pairs of adults who at different times lived in the same house.

Type 2: Little Picture/Detail Questions

Little picture/detail questions will ask about a small piece of factual information in a passage. These are the
most straightforward questions because they are completely literal; it’s just a matter of finding the correct
information.

Example of a little picture/detail question:

According to the passage, the research that led to the development of the small-comet theory began with a
project originally intended to study:

A. the electrical activity accompanying sunspots.

B. water entering Earth’s upper atmosphere.
C. static in satellite transmissions.
D. specks in satellite images.
Type 3: Vocabulary in Context Questions

Vocabulary in context questions ask about the meaning of a word in the context of the passage. They might
also give you something in the passage to reference and then ask you to choose the vocabulary word that best
describes it. These questions provide a line number for the word they're referencing, so that makes them a bit
less time-consuming.

Example of a vocabulary in context question:

As it is used in line 58, the word humor most nearly means:

A. personality.
B. whim.
C. mood.
D. comedy.

Type 4: Development and Function Questions

Development and function questions ask how a certain paragraph or phrase functions in the context of a
passage, how the argument in the passage is developed, or how the author structures the passage. These
questions gauge your understanding of how thoughts should be organized in writing in general or why they
might be arranged a certain way for a specific argument.

Example of a development and function question:

The main function of the second paragraph (lines 20-29) is to:

A. identify some of Armstrong’s mentors, such as King Oliver.

B. list some of the early events in Armstrong’s developing career.
C. contrast Armstrong’s opinions of King Oliver and Fletcher Henderson.
D. describe the musical style Armstrong developed jointly with Fletcher Henderson.

Type 5: Inference Questions

Inference questions ask you to make inferences based on a logical extension of information found in the
passage. These types of questions are often perceived as difficult and subjective, but they can always be solved
by looking at information directly presented in the passage. They just require a couple more steps in your
thought process.

Example of an inference question:

It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that the woman most strongly desires to attain which of the
following qualities from dreaming?

A. Relaxation
B. Self-awareness
C. Entertainment
D. Self-control
Distribution of Question Types
Here is a chart that lists all the different question types on the ACT Reading section along with their average
distributions on the test:

Question Type Average Number of Questions Percentage of Questions

Big Picture 4 10%
Little Detail 18 45%
Vocabulary in Context 3 8%
Development and Function 9 22%
Inference 6 15%
All Questions 40 100%

ACT Reading always presents four types of passages in order on every test: Prose/Literary Fiction, Social
Science, Humanities, and Natural Science. I'll go through the different question types again below, explaining
their distribution on the test and whether they tend to show up more often with passages in certain topic areas.

Big Picture Questions

On each of the four publicly available tests we analyzed, we found four questions that could definitively be
identified as big picture questions. This covers main point and point of view questions. Essentially, because
there are four topic areas on the ACT Reading section, you should expect to see about one big picture question
per topic area. They comprise 4 out of 40 reading questions on average, so they only make up about 10% of
the Reading section.

Little Picture/Detail Questions

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.

This is good news because detail questions are the simplest ones to answer! These questions come down to
reading carefully and finding the correct details in the passage. They’re more about time management than
critical thinking.

Vocabulary in Context Questions

Vocabulary in context questions made up a relatively small percentage of questions on the tests we sampled. On
one of the tests, we didn’t find any! On average, you can expect there to be about 3 vocabulary in context
questions on the Reading section, so less than 10% of questions. This brings home the fact that knowing
vocabulary is not very important on the ACT - it’s such a small portion of the test that it’s not going to be
significant overall.

Vocabulary in context questions tend to show up the most often in the Natural Science topic area, so along
with the final passage or pair of passages in the reading section.
Development and Function Questions

Development and function questions are the second most common question type on the ACT Reading
section. You’ll probably see about 7 to 10 function questions on the Reading section, so about 2 for each
passage. They made up about 20% of questions on each of the tests we analyzed.

Development and function questions tend to show up the most often with the Humanities passage or pair of
passages, so you'll commonly see them in questions 21-30.

Inference Questions

Inference questions are also common, but they're not quite as prevalent as function questions. It seems to
depend on the test. I saw a wide range in how many inference questions were tested; on one test there were only
3, and on another there were 10. Inference questions usually make up about 15% of questions on the ACT
Reading section. Inference questions are relatively even in terms of their distribution across subject areas.

How Does This Information Affect Your Approach to ACT Reading?

Here are a few tips based on what we know about question distribution on the ACT Reading section. You can
save yourself time by tailoring your approach to the types of questions you'll see most frequently.

Adapt Your Passage Reading Strategy

The biggest challenge on the ACT Reading section is not the difficulty of the questions - it’s time. Many
people run out of time on ACT Reading because they haven’t nailed down a good strategy for reading the
passages yet. They move too slowly and miss out on some of the questions.

Because detail questions are the most common questions on the ACT, one strategy is to skip the passage
initially and head straight for the questions. For questions that ask about a specific detail, it’s not critical to
know the overarching structure of the passage. You just need to do a little search and find to locate the relevant
detail.

Once you answer the detail questions, which make up close to half of the questions for each passage, you will
likely have a strong enough sense of the main point of the passage to answer more challenging inference,
development and function, and big picture questions. Vocabulary in context questions can usually be answered
without reading the passage first as well, since the line number is provided.

Of course, if you’re already a fast reader and don’t have trouble with time pressure on the Reading section, feel
free to continue to read the passage first. Some people prefer to skim and then head for the questions, but you
should know that the distribution of question types on the ACT means that you don’t HAVE to read the whole
passage first.

Attention to Detail is Key

As we now know, little picture/detail questions are the most common question type on the ACT. It follows,
then, that attention to detail is critical on the test! I want to stress again that most of these questions are not that
hard. What makes them difficult is time pressure along with a few tricky answer choices that you might fall for
if you’re rushing.
Avoid making assumptions, and don’t rush through the question if you can avoid it. Many of the mistakes
students make on the ACT Reading section could be avoided by reading more carefully and paying attention
to keywords or details in the passage. If you have any time at the end of the section, go back and check over
your answers so that you can be sure you didn’t misread anything.

Keep in mind the fact that all questions on the ACT Reading section, not just little detail questions, can be
solved successfully by looking closely at the passage and finding direct evidence for your answers.

Don’t Worry Too Much About Vocabulary

Vocabulary usually gets a lot of attention in standardized test prep because it gives you the opportunity to focus
on something concrete. It's evident from the question distribution numbers, however, that vocabulary is almost
a non-issue on the ACT.

There will be a few vocabulary in context questions, but the words in these questions are not particularly
advanced. These questions require strong reading comprehension skills so you can understand variations in
the meanings of common terms based on context. Your passage reading skills will be much more critical than
your vocabulary knowledge when answering vocabulary in context questions.

Summary
There are five types of questions that you’ll encounter on the ACT Reading section:

 Big Picture
 Little Detail
 Vocabulary in Context
 Development and Function
 Inference

The most common are little detail questions, then development and function questions, then inference questions,
and finally big picture and vocabulary in context questions with about the same frequency.

Based on this information about question distribution, you should:

 Read passages more strategically

 Pay close attention to detail
 Reduce time spent on studying vocabulary