On ACT Reading, the first and last sentence of a paragraph usually carry the point. The middle is evidence. Use those edges when a question asks what a paragraph does. Passage types are in ACT Reading passage types.
Where to look
A main-idea or function question rarely hides the answer in a random middle sentence. Read the opener of the paragraph the question names, then the closer. If they agree, that agreement is the point. If the closer turns — “but,” “yet,” “still” — the turn is the point, not the setup. Main-idea items are in main idea questions.
This is not a reason to skip the passage
Detail questions still need the line they cite. Edges help you map the passage before those lookups. Whether you read the passage or the questions first is in passage first or questions first. Prose fiction, where the last line of a paragraph often shifts the mood, is in prose fiction strategy.
The bottom line
For purpose questions, read the first sentence and the last sentence of the paragraph before you reread the middle.
Start practicing
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