ACT Reading: Decode Scientific Terms in Context

When you encounter a scientific term you don't know, find context clues in this order: (1) Is the term defined in an appositive or after "is" or "means"? Use that definition. (2) Is the term's effect or result described nearby? Infer meaning from outcome. (3) Does the surrounding sentence show what the term does or doesn't do? Infer from contrast. (4) Can you break the term into familiar roots? (Example: "photosynthesis" = photo (light) + synthesis (making). Most ACT Science terms surrender their meaning if you apply these steps in order.

Example: "The organism exhibits diapause, a dormant state that allows survival through harsh conditions." Appositive definition: diapause = dormant state. You didn't need to know the term beforehand; the passage told you. This is the easiest clue to catch.

Occasionally, a scientific term appears with no clues, and you must guess based on neighboring words or the question. Strategy: (1) Identify what type of term it is (noun? verb? adjective?), (2) note what it is associated with in the passage (is it positive, negative, or neutral?), (3) use the question's answer choices to reverse-engineer the meaning. You don't need to know the term precisely; you just need to know whether it's good/bad, fast/slow, or big/small in context.

Example: A passage mentions "the nocturnal migration of birds" and later asks what time this occurs. You might not know "nocturnal" means "happening at night," but the context of "migration" and the question's answer choices (day/night/seasonal) make it obvious. The term means "night."

Read three ACT Reading science passages and circle every term you don't know. For each term, (1) search for a definition or appositive in the passage, (2) if none, infer meaning from how the term is used, (3) guess the meaning based on surrounding words and question context. Then answer the questions. You should get 70%+ of the answers correct even without knowing the terms beforehand, because the passage provides all the info.

After checking answers, write down the actual definition of each term you didn't know. Compare it to your inference. Were you close? This feedback trains your context-clue instinct.

Scientific passages intimidate students who don't have science backgrounds. But ACT Reading is not a science test; it's a reading comprehension test. The passage teaches you the vocabulary you need. Learn to extract meaning from context instead of relying on prior knowledge, and scientific passages become as easy as any other passage type.

Master this skill and you'll approach scientific passages with confidence, gaining 2-3 points on your Reading score.