Reading Section
The reading section is sampled across the six reading subtopics with a difficulty mix calibrated to mirror the real ACT. Total: 40 questions in 35 minutes (about 52 sec each).
Drills that make up this section
This section is sampled across the Reading subtopics — easy, medium, and hard items in roughly real-test proportions. Walk through the linked drills below in order; each drill has its questions on individual pages with worked solutions.
- 1 Prose Fiction — Medium Medium
- 2 Social Science — Hard Hard
- 3 Humanities — Easy Easy
- 4 Natural Science — Medium Medium
- 5 Paired Passages — Hard Hard
- 6 Reading Strategies — Easy Easy
Pacing for this section
You have 35 minutes for 40 questions — about 52 sec per question. That is fast. The way to hit it is not to "go faster" on every question; it's to get the easy ones in 30 seconds so you bank time for the hard ones.
On the reading section, plan to bank time in the first third of the section so you have it for the harder questions later. If you fall more than 30 seconds behind on a single question, mark and move on.
What to do if you run out of time
Always fill in an answer for every question — there is no penalty for guessing on the ACT. Pick a "letter of the day" (say, C) and bubble it for any unanswered questions in the last 30 seconds. On a 4-choice section, this gives you a free 25% expected score on those items.
Other Sections in Full-Length Practice Test #4
- English Section75 questions · 45 minutes
- Math Section60 questions · 60 minutes
- Science Section40 questions · 35 minutes