ACT Essay
The ACT test includes 5 sections: The Math section, the English section, the Science section, the Reading section, and the Writing Section, which involves the ACT Essay.
ACT Essay
Like most standardized tests nowadays, the ACT contains a writing section. This is fairly simple idea- you need to write just one essay about a given topic in 30 minutes. That’s all.
The ACT Essay is entirely optional. You’ll have to register for it separately, and if you have you will be writing it at the end of the test. The test measures your writing skills and ability to communicate in written English. Your grammar, sentence structure, development, reasoning skills, and communication skills are all tested.
Should You Write the Essay?
Since the section is optional, you might ask yourself, ‘why should I do extra work?’ Well, it’s important to find out before-hand if the schools you’re thinking of applying to require an ACT writing score. Some schools ask for one, some schools don’t. Since you don’t want to end up in a situation where you decide not to write the essay but then your dream school can’t accept you because you didn’t, it’s always a better idea to take the writing section just in case. A 30-minute essay won’t make too much of a difference after a long test, but it might make the difference between an admission and a rejection.
Essay Scores
A quick note about the scoring in this section- unlike the other 4 compulsary sections, the written score is not factored into your Composite ACT score. It’s given as a separate score on a different scale of 1-6. The essay is marked by 2 markers, and then you get a final score (the sum of your 2 marks) on a scale of 2-12. Out of 12, the average score on the Writing section is approximately 7.7.
What’s the essay about?
Finally, let me explain the structure of the Writing Section. You’ll be given a ‘prompt’, which is a paragraph containing a topic and 2 opposing points of view on that topic. For example, the topic might be ice-cream, and the opposing views will be that ice cream is good for you (it’s yummy), or that it’s bad for you (it’s unhealthy).
The actual topic won’t be ice-cream, though. The topics are usually chosen as to be relevant to high-school students. You likely already have an opinion on the subject, so you won’t have to think hard to develop one.
For your essay you must choose just 1 of the two viewpoints, and then use examples from your own knowledge and experience to support your view. There is no right or wrong view, you can choose either one and your score won’t be affected- it’s your reasoning and explanation that’s important here.
Example
Here’s a sample prompt for an essay you may encounter:
“The US government is considering lowering the Legal Drinking age to 19. Currently, the minimum drinking age is 21, which is largely opposed by Alcohol companies who site drinking ages in countries all across the globe as lower than the US one, as well as the fact that young people drink even if it’s illegal. On the other hand, concerned parents are saying that the legal drinking age should be as high as possible to prevent things like alcohol dependency and drunk driving. In your opinion, is a minimum legal drinking age of 19 better or worse than the current age of 21? In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write about either one of the two points of view given. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position”.
Tips for the ACT Essay
- Make sure you choose just one opinion! Never say something like, ‘both arguments have merits’, choose just one view and stick with it, or you’ll get a really low score.
- Make your view clear early on. Start with an introductory paragraph that contains the words “I believe that…”. Without a clear point of view, it’ll be hard to grade your essay.
- Use specific examples and ideas to support your point of view in the body paragraphs. Make sure you use just one example per paragraph, and that you develop it clearly and fully. The more examples you have the better, but not at the cost of a lack of clarity.
- Use logical flow-words correctly- words like ‘therefore’ and ‘however’ are great when they support what you’re saying in the proper way.
- End with a short conclusion that summarizes the reasons you’ve given and restates your point of view.
- Make sure you stay focused and on topic, and that you keep referring to the issue provided in the prompt.
Finally, in order to improve your timing and score, you’ll need to practice writing ACT essays. Look for sample prompts online and write as much as you can. Try to look for teachers or friends who can grade your essays and point out your mistakes or flaws. The more you practice, the better your essays will become!
Don’t forget about the rest of the ACT!
Wrote enough sample essays? Time to check out the other sections of the ACT: Math Section, English section, Science section, and Reading section.
Make sure to practice online! We have FREE ACT Practice Tests right here!
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