Updated August 21, 2026

3 Essential Strategies for the Conflicting Viewpoints Passage on ACT Science (With Examples)

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Conflicting Viewpoints passages can be some of the hardest on ACT Science. You have to keep multiple theories in mind at the same time, all while answering questions under time pressure.

But with the right strategies, this passage type is highly manageable. Based on 20+ years of experience preparing students for the ACT, we’re sharing the 3-step method we’ve developed especially for Conflicting Viewpoints questions.

Plus, we’ve pulled together the latest data on the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile ACT scores at hundreds of schools in our ACT Score Ranges resource. It’s free and you can grab it below.

Jump to section:
How to Recognize a Conflicting Viewpoints Passage
The 3-Step Method for Conflicting Viewpoints
Question Types on Conflicting Viewpoints passages
Strategy Tip #1: Create a “headline” for each viewpoint
Strategy Tip #2: Answer the questions that are about only one viewpoint (or none)
Strategy Tip #3: Use your headlines to answer questions about comparing viewpoints
Next Steps

How to Recognize a Conflicting Viewpoints Passage

How will you know you’re dealing with a Conflicting Viewpoints passage on ACT Science?

  • The passage will start with an introduction, usually one paragraph.
  • There may be a figure or graph accompanying the introduction (but not always).
  • Then, you’ll see a number of one-paragraph viewpoints – anywhere from 2 to 4. These will be labeled as “Scientist 1/Scientist 2,” “Student 1/Student 2,” or something similar.

Those headings are what tells you at a glance that you’re looking at a Conflicting Viewpoints passage. 

Here’s an example of what that might look like:

sample ACT Science Conflicting Viewpoints passage created by PrepMaven, all rights reserved

Conflicting Viewpoints is one of 3 passage types you’ll see on the ACT Science section. You can read about the other two (Data Representation and Research Summaries) here.

But you’ll see just 1 passage of this type on the entire ACT Science section, which has 7 passages total. The passages can come in any order.

This can be the most time-consuming passage for many students, since you actually have to read all or most of the text to be able to answer the questions. 

Because of that, it’s often a good idea to save the Conflicting Viewpoints passage for last.

Now let’s go through the 3-step method for breaking down this passage type.

The 3-Step Method for Conflicting Viewpoints Passages

When you recognize a Conflicting Viewpoints passage on the ACT, here’s what to do.

Step 1: Create a “headline” for each viewpoint

Step 2: Answer the questions that are about only one viewpoint 

Step 3: Use your headlines to answer questions about comparing viewpoints

We’ll go through these steps in more detail, and then we’ll apply this method.

There’s a lot to keep in mind, which is why we’ve put together a guide to everything you need to know about ACT Science – as well as essential strategies to improve your ACT Science score.

Question Types on Conflicting Viewpoints passages

Each Conflicting Viewpoints passage will come with a set of 7 questions. 

The questions always tell you which viewpoints to focus on. Don’t waste your time looking at Student 3’s headline for a question about Student 4!

Here’s how to tackle Conflicting Viewpoints questions strategically:

  • Some questions don’t require the viewpoints at all – you can answer them just by using the introduction to the passage, and they rely on basic reading comprehension. Start with these! You’ll recognize these questions because they ask about “the description,” not about Student 1, Scientist 3, etc.

Based on the description of nyctinastic plants, are the plants horizontal or vertical at night?

A. Horizontal; they are always in a horizontal position.
B. Horizontal; they are only in a horizontal position at night.
C. Vertical; they are always in a vertical position.
D. Vertical; they are only in a vertical position at night.

  • Then tackle the questions that are about 1 viewpoint – what you can think of as “Understanding Viewpoints” questions. These will tell you which viewpoint to consider. Since you can answer these questions just by looking at one perspective, they’re relatively straightforward and less time-consuming than comparison questions. (We have a full guide to this question type here).

Suppose that the magnitude of C were 2.61 N. Based on Scientist 3’s argument, how much weight would the table be supporting?

A. 2.61 N
B. 3.39 N
C. 6.00 N
D. 8.61 N

  • Finally, the most time-consuming questions will ask you to compare viewpoints. We have a strategy guide to the Comparing Viewpoints question type over here.

In regard to the piglets’ diet and average body mass, which of the following statements summarizes the responses given by Students 1 and 4?

A.  Student 1 claimed that piglets on Diet F would have a higher average body mass, while Student 4 claimed that the piglets’ diet would make no difference.
B.  Student 1 claimed that piglets on Diet F would have a lower average body mass, while Student 4 claimed that the diet would make no difference.
C.  Students 1 and 4 both claimed that piglets on Diet F would have a lower average body mass.
D.  Students 1 and 4 both claimed that the piglets’ diet would not change their average body mass.

Now, let’s take a look at the step-by-step method to answer all these questions. 

Strategy Tip #1: Create a “headline” for each viewpoint

For Conflicting Viewpoints on ACT Science, you need to keep several different opinions or theories in mind.

The problem is that that’s hard to do at the best of times – let alone when time pressure gets into the mix.

Your key is creating a headline for each point of view. Next to each viewpoint, jot down a few words that summarize the argument

Try this example:

sample ACT Science Conflicting Viewpoints passage created by PrepMaven, all rights reserved

How can you effectively create a summary for a viewpoint, especially if you don’t have much time?

  • Annotating the passage is your best friend here. Often, the theories will diverge in subtle ways, so underlining or circling key differences can help you spot where they differ.
  • Transition words are also a big help with this step. (Here’s a list of the most common ones on the ACT to look out for.) These words – like “however,” “nevertheless,” “additionally,” and so on – can signal crucial connections that build up an argument.
  • Remember that the first sentence is often the most important. Often, the first sentence states the viewpoint most clearly. Then, the rest of the paragraph serves to explain why the person holds that opinion. That explanation is usually only necessary for 1-2 questions, so in a crunch, you can focus on the first sentence.

In this example, you might come up with the following headlines:

Theory 1: FN serves to protect the plant from predators.

Theory 2: FN serves to drain off excess water from the plant’s leaves.

Notice that we don’t have to be experts on plants, or even remember what FN stands for, to get to these headlines. ACT Science is a reading comprehension test, so don’t worry if the passage covers areas of science you’ve never studied.

Now, you can compare the viewpoints more easily than if you try to contrast entire paragraphs at once.

Some questions will call for more detailed analysis, and that’s where your annotations on the text will come in handy.

If you’re aiming for a highly competitive – or even perfect – ACT score, mastering this skill will be essential. That’s where a specialist ACT tutor can make a big difference, helping you to learn and practice the key strategies you’ll need.

Strategy Tip #2: Answer the questions that are about only one viewpoint (or none)

Like we just saw, there are 3 types of questions on Conflicting Viewpoints passages:

  • Questions about the introduction 
  • Questions about 1 viewpoint (Understanding Viewpoints)
  • Questions about 2 or more viewpoints (Comparing Viewpoints)

Tackle them in that order!

What’s great about these questions is that they always tell you where to look. So don’t waste your time reading sections that aren’t relevant.

When you get a question about just 1 viewpoint, the question is really about understanding the argument.  

That’s where your annotations (remember Step 1?) are essential.

sample ACT Science Conflicting Viewpoints passage created by PrepMaven, all rights reserved

What is not a reason that plants shed water from their leaves at night, according to Student 2?

A. A wet film can allow pathogens to grow
B. Water prevents the plant from absorbing nutrients
C. The weight of water demands more energy for the plant to support itself
D. Shedding water makes the plants less attractive to herbivores

If you annotated your text, you’ve probably underlined “the following reasons,” and you might have circled the numbers introducing the 4 reasons that Student 2 thinks plants benefit from shedding water. That can help you quickly locate the reasons and identify the one that isn’t there (D).

That’s why annotating is one of the most helpful strategies for ACT science. We’ve lined up 7 more key strategies here – save the page to come back to as you work through ACT Science!

Strategy Tip #3: Use your headlines to answer questions about comparing viewpoints

Questions where you have to compare different viewpoints can be some of the toughest on the whole ACT Science section. (That’s why we recommend saving them for last.) 

The good news is that there will only be about 3 of them on the entire test.

And the even better news is that if you made a headline, you can compare headlines to answer many of these questions.

Sometimes, you’ll have to dig into the reasoning behind each point of view. But often, you’ll be able to compare viewpoints just by comparing headlines.

Remember our headlines on this example?

Theory 1: FN serves to protect the plant from predators.

Theory 2: FN serves to drain off excess water from the plant’s leaves.

We can use the headlines to answer this question:

Which of Theory 1 and Theory 2, if either, implied that herbivores are less likely to consume plants that exhibit FN?

A.  Theory 1 only
B.  Theory 2 only
C.  Both Theory 1 and Theory 2
D.  Neither Theory 1 nor Theory 2

A glance at our headline reveals that only Theory 1 is about predators that want to eat the plant. It’s that simple – we can go ahead and select answer A.

For more practice, you might want to use an ACT prep book (we’ve researched the 11 best ones out there) or, for even better results, work with a specialized test prep tutor. Give us a call to talk about what kind of ACT tutoring would work best for you.   

And when you’re ready to practice, here are 9 of the hardest ACT Science questions out there, along with detailed explanations for each one.

Next Steps

There you go – now you’re ready to handle any Conflicting Viewpoints passage that comes your way!

The best way to get comfortable with this passage type is to practice the strategies we’ve gone through above. Working with a PrepMaven ACT expert can help you do just this! With one-on-one ACT tutoring, you’ll be well on your way to strategically approaching ACT Science and improving your score.

Learn more about our options here, and get in touch with our team for a free consultation.

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Ro

Rosamond graduated summa cum laude from Princeton. During college, she worked as a peer tutor for Italian, French, Greek, and academic writing. Since graduation, she’s continued to tutor students of all ages in French, Italian, Latin, English, and math, some of them for several years. She’s currently a graduate student studying the relationship between religion and secular law, and she works as a freelance journalist and translator.

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