Summarize Information Questions on the ACT® Reading Test

Example Question Phrasing

This question type is prevalent throughout the ACT® Reading. The most common ways you'll be told to find specific information and summarize it are as follows:

• Which answer choice paraphrases…?
• According to the passage…
• Based on the passage…
• The passage indicates…
• Line reference:
• For example: Based on the information in lines (11-12), which of the following describes the author's feelings towards moving to a new school?

* Not all line reference questions ask you to summarize details. These questions can come up in a number of different ways. The essential point with this type of question is that the test is looking for you to summarize information in the passage.

Optimal Technique to Solve

The question is asking you to summarize information. The best way to do this is to avoid looking at the answer choices, go back to the passage, and come up with your own answer choice. Then, and only then, should you return to the question.

The ACT® can make virtually any answer choice seem reasonable until you know the correct solution. Some students might think that looking at answer choices could save them time. In most cases, that's not true. Since most of the answer choices could seem correct, by looking at the answer choices, you'll have to keep in mind 4 answers when you look back at the passage.

While solving non-optimally, you would be trying to find specific information in the passage to answer the question while also somehow simultaneously trying to remember 4 different answer choices. Sounds confusing, right? Instead, you should use the optimal technique to solve. Read the question, find the answer in the text, come up with an answer in your mind, then look at the answer choices.

There is a little bit of art you can employ in looking for information and eliminating incorrect answer choices. First, if the question gives you line references, then it's a piece of cake: go to the line references. Otherwise, you can employ two strategies: skimming and scanning.

If there's an obvious specific word like "microplastics" or "tyrannosaurus rex," then you can scan the text for those words or related words. If the specific place you should look for the answer choice is less obvious, then you can try skimming through the text to find a relevant context before committing yourself to a close reading of a certain part of the passage.

Once you have your answer, you can come back to the answer choices. There should be an obvious correct answer and a few obvious incorrect answers. Make sure you use POE to eliminate the wrong answer choices, ensuring you read the full answer choices. If you're having trouble deciding between two answer choices, feel free to go back to find a detail to let you decide between two answer choices.

In rare cases, the answer choices can direct you where to look. If there are no line references, no specific key words or phrases, and you don't know where the context is found in the text, then consider looking at the answer choices, if only to find specific data you can reference in the text. You should only look at the answer choices first as the exception, not the rule.