ACT Reading Strategies & Practice
1. Read the passage for the main idea.
 Use the focus question.
 Don’t get caught up in the details.
2. Read the question stem and go to the right part of the passage.
 Don’t rely on your memory. Remember, the answer is in the
passage.
 If possible, make a prediction before you look at the answer
choices.
3. Examine the answer choices and eliminate choices that are too
broad, narrow, or extreme.
 If you made a prediction, look for a match.
 Look for the best answer of all five choices.
 The right answer will be directly supported by something you
can point to in the passage.
The Reading Passage
HOW IS PERFECT PITCH RELATED TO TONAL LANGUAGES?
If someone plays a random note on the piano or on a violin, could you name the note
without seeing it played? If you can, you likely have perfect pitch. Perfect pitch is the ability to
independently produce or identify a musical note without reference to any other note. It
requires distinguishing between sounds that vary by just six percent in frequency. In Englishspeaking populations, this ability is extremely rare. In fact, fewer than one in 10,000 Americans
has perfect pitch. That’s just 0.0001%. The statistics are strikingly different among speakers of
tonal languages, such as Vietnamese and Mandarin Chinese. Indeed, research has found that
many, if not most, native speakers of tonal languages exhibit perfect pitch in their everyday
speech.
Tonal languages differ from nontonal languages in that different rising and falling tones
convey different meanings when applied to the same phonemes, which are distinct groups of
consonants and vowels. These distinct tones that convey meaning are referred to as tonemes.
For example, three distinct tonemes are used with the Mandarin word “mi.” Depending on the
pitch, “mi” can mean to squint, to bewilder, or rice. Four distinct tonemes are used with the
Mandarin word “ma”; the pitch determines whether this phoneme means mother, hemp, horse,
or a reproach.
Nontonal languages such as English do use pitch, but not to confer entirely different
meanings on the same phoneme. Instead, speakers of nontonal languages vary their pitch to
express emotion or emphasis. For example, English speakers use a rising pitch at the end of a
sentence to indicate a question.
The connection between tonal languages and perfect pitch suggests that speakers of
tonal languages are more easily able to learn musical pitch. A recent study conducted by Diana
Deutsch of the University of California at San Diego compared the rates of perfect pitch of
music students who are native Mandarin speakers and that of music students who are native
English speakers. Deutsch found that 60% of the Mandarin-speaking students who had begun
studying music by the age of four had perfect pitch. The same could only be said for 14% of the
English-speaking students who had begun their musical studies by the age of four. Interestingly,
students in both groups who began studying music after the age of eight were much less likely
to have perfect pitch. According to Deutsch, this suggests that there is a critical period of
development before the age of eight for acquiring perfect pitch. For tonal-language speakers,
this acquisition is like learning a second language. However, for nontonal-language speakers,
this acquisition is akin to the more difficult cognitive task of learning a first language.
Ask yourself: What’s the main idea? Write it below.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Main Idea Questions
Main idea questions usually look like this:
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
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“Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?”
“Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?”
“Which of the following is the principal topic of the passage?”
“The primary purpose of this passage is to . . .”
Strategy:
The main idea is often the answer to the Focus Question. The correct answer will repeat the main idea
from the text, but in different words.
In a nonfiction passage, look for the main idea in the first or last sentence of the first paragraph or in the
first sentence of the last paragraph.
In a fiction passage, the main idea is often about how the characters relate to each other.
Warning: Wrong answers to Main Idea questions are often
details from the passage or topics of single paragraphs.
1. Which of the following is the principal idea of the passage?
Ask yourself: What’s my prediction?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Speakers of tonal languages are better musicians than speakers of nontonal languages are.
Tonal languages allow for more meaning and expression than nontonal languages do.
Few native English speakers have perfect pitch.
Many native Chinese speakers have perfect pitch.
People whose first language is tonal are more likely to have perfect pitch than are people whose
first language is nontonal.
Warning: The right answer is surrounded by tempting wrong
answer choices. Don’t fall for them!
Detail Questions
Detail questions usually look like this:
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
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“According to the first paragraph, . . .”
“Which of the following does the author use…”
“In the fourth paragraph, the author indicates that…”
Strategy:
Go back to the referenced part of the passage and reread it. You may need to read several lines above
and below it.
Then find the answer choice with the same meaning as the detail in the passage.
Warning: The correct answer is usually a paraphrase of the
language that appears in the text. “Same language” answer choices
are often traps.
2. According to the first paragraph, a person has perfect pitch if he or she:
Ask yourself: Where is the information I need?
Ask yourself: What prediction can I make?
__________________________________________________________________
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
is a native speaker of a tonal language such as Vietnamese or Mandarin.
is able to convey meaning through the use of rising and falling tones.
can identify sounds that vary by a small frequency without using any references.
studied music between the critical ages of four and eight.
learned a tonal language such as Vietnamese or Mandarin during the critical period of
development.
Warning: Don't trust your memory! The correct answer will be
surrounded by wrong choices which refer directly to the passage
but don't address the question.
Inference Questions
Inference questions usually look like this:
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“The author makes which of the following assumptions in the first paragraph?”
“Based on the last paragraph, it is most reasonable to conclude that…”
“The author’s description in the first paragraph suggests that…”
“With which of the following statements would the author most likely agree?”
Strategy:
Look for a target in the question, find it in the passage, and then look above and below it. Don’t infer too
much; the answer is based on the passage.
Warning: The correct answer to an inference question is more
likely to paraphrase or extend a statement in the passage than
to directly quote it.
3. Based on the research about perfect pitch described in the last paragraph, it is most reasonable to
conclude that:
Ask yourself: Where is the information I need?
Ask yourself: What prediction can I make?
__________________________________________________________________
A. nontonal-language speakers are unable to develop perfect pitch after the age of eight.
B. for nontonal-language speakers under the age of eight, learning perfect pitch is like learning a
second language.
C. nontonal-language speakers are less likely to study music before the age of eight than tonallanguage speakers are.
D. nontonal-language speakers who study music before the age of eight are able to more easily
learn a second language.
E. nontonal-language speakers have more difficulty learning perfect pitch than tonal-language
speakers do.
Warning: Only take one small step away from what the
passage says. If you have to come up with a long, drawn-out
explanation for why your choice is correct, it’s not.

Vocabulary-in Context Questions
Vocabulary-in-context questions usually look like this:
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“As it is used in the passage, the highlighted word suspect most nearly means”
“As it is used in the passage, the highlighted word condition most nearly means”
Strategy:
Find the tested word in the passage. Then read a few lines above and a few lines below the line
containing the tested word.
Make a prediction for what the word means, and then pick the choice that is the closest match.
Reread the sentence containing the word or phrase, replacing your answer choice with the tested word.
Make sure it makes sense!
Warning: Don’t trust your first instinct for vocab-in-context
questions. The best answer will usually NOT be the most
common definition of the word. You are looking for the definition
that fits the context of the passage.
4. The word acquiring, as it is used in the passage, most closely means:
Ask yourself: Where is the information I need?
Ask yourself: What prediction can I make?
__________________________________________________________________
A. owning
B. learning
C. asking
D. understanding
E. taking
Further Reading Practice
5. As it is used in the passage, the phrase critical period most nearly means:
First go back to the passage and reread the sentence with the word. Once you have a sense of
what the word means in that sentence, then go to the questions.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
negative phase.
unhappy end.
dissatisfied time period.
important span of time.
unproductive end.
6. Based on the second paragraph, which of the following most accurately identifies a difference
between tonal and nontonal languages?
The right answer usually paraphrases something from the passage rather than repeating
something directly from the passage.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Nontonal languages do not use pitch.
Nontonal languages do not use pitch for emphasis.
Tonal languages do not use phonemes.
Tonal languages use pitch to change the meaning of a word.
Tonal languages do not use pitch to express emotion.
Reading Answers and Explanations
Passage 1
1. E
Question Type: Main Idea
Hint: The answer to a Main Idea question needs to be just right—not too big (beyond the passage) or
too small (a detail in the passage).
Explanation: Answer a Main Idea question with your answer to the Focus Question from the beginning
of the passage. From that question, you know that the main idea must be about how perfect pitch and
tonal languages are related. Only (E) shows this relationship.
(A) is beyond the scope of the passage.
(B) is beyond the scope of the passage. It doesn’t offer an opinion about which type of language is more
expressive.
(C) is a detail that is too small to be the main idea of the passage.
(D) is a detail that is too small to be the main idea of the passage.
2. C
Question Type: Detail
Hint: Check back with the passage before you look at the answer choices.
Explanation: How does the first paragraph define perfect pitch? It says, “Perfect pitch is the ability to
independently produce or identify a musical note without reference to any other note.” (C) is a
paraphrase of this definition.
(A) is too narrow. Someone who isn’t a native speaker of a tonal language can have perfect pitch; it’s
just not as common.
(B) contradicts the passage. Both tonal and nontonal languages use rising and falling tones to convey
meaning.
(D) is too narrow. It isn’t necessary to study music to have perfect pitch.
(E) is too narrow. It isn’t necessary to speak a tonal language to have perfect pitch.
3. E
Question Type: Inference
Hint: Don’t reach too far for an inference. The right answer will have support in the passage.
Explanation: The relationship between tonal languages and perfect pitch is stated in the first sentence
of the last paragraph: “The connection between tonal languages and perfect pitch suggests that
speakers of tonal languages are more easily able to learn musical pitch.” The answer can’t go too far
from this relationship. (E) essentially states the same information from the reversed point of view.
(A) is too extreme. It is difficult, but not impossible, for nontonal-language speakers to develop perfect
pitch after the age of eight.
(B) is a same language trap—the statement is true for tonal-language speakers, not nontonal-language
speakers.
(C) is off topic. The paragraph isn’t concerned with who is more likely to study music.
(D) is off topic. The paragraph isn’t concerned with who can more easily learn a second language.
4. B
Question Type: Vocabulary-in-Context
Hint: Replace the tested word with each answer choice in the sentence to see which one makes the
most sense in context.
Explanation: Go back to the passage and reread the sentence: “There is a critical period of development
before the age of eight for acquiring perfect pitch.” Here, acquiring means something like learning, (B).
(A) is a definition of acquiring, but it doesn’t make sense to own perfect pitch.
(C) confuses acquiring with inquiring.
(D) doesn’t make sense. Understanding perfect pitch is different from learning perfect pitch.
(E) is a definition of acquiring, but it doesn’t make sense to take perfect pitch from someone or
something.
5. D
Question Type: Vocabulary-in-Context
Hint: Go back to the passage and reread the sentence with the phrase. Once you have a sense of what
the phrase means, then go to the answer choices.
Explanation: In the context of “there is a critical period of development before the age of eight,” critical
period means something like important time period. This matches up with (D).
All of the other answer choices take critical to mean something negative, which doesn’t make sense in
the passage.
6. D
Question Type: Detail
Hint: The right answer often paraphrases something stated in the passage.
Explanation: The first sentence indicates a difference between tonal languages and nontonal languages:
“Tonal languages differ from nontonal languages in that different rising and falling tones convey
different meanings when applied to the same phonemes.” Different rising and falling tones are different
pitches, which makes (D) the answer.
(A) and (B) contradict the passage. The third paragraph explains that nontonal languages use pitch for
emphasis and emotion.
(C) is incorrect; all languages use phonemes.
(E) goes too far; the passage does not state that tonal languages do not use pitch to express emotion.