The optional ACT Writing section is your last stop on exam day—meaning you should be warmed up and ready to go. Unlike the SAT, which forces you to write your essay at the beginning of the exam, the ACT makes sure that you’re in full test mode before tackling this part of the exam.
ACT Writing tests your ability to write an organized, coherent, and convincing essay on a prescribed topic. Like every other part of the ACT, the writing section is predictable, and it rewards students for using the cookie-cutter, five-paragraph essay format. Fortunately, it’s not like writing a creative story or an inspiring speech. To churn out a top-scoring ACT essay, all you must do is learn and follow a set formula.
The essay may be the easiest ACT section to prepare for. While you won’t know the topic of the essay before exam time, you will be able to produce a polished essay no matter what the topic is. You will choose examples suited to the topic, of course, but everything else—the structure, the format, the style—will remain the same, regardless of what you are writing about. You’ll see what I mean when you learn what kinds of essays score well on the ACT.
Breaking down ACT Writing
“The ACT Writing Test complements the English Test. The combined information from both tests tells postsecondary institutions about students’ understanding of the conventions of standard written English and their ability to produce a direct sample of writing.”
—ACT.org
After you’ve written your essay in your answer booklet, it will be photocopied and placed in front of two ACT essay readers. Working independently, each reader will read your essay and assign it a score of 0 to 6, based on its organization, clarity, and effectiveness. The two readers’ scores will be added together for a composite ACT Writing score.
To comprehend the mental state of essay readers, imagine that you are being paid a meager fee to sit in a stuffy room filled with other people, reading essay after essay from dawn to dusk. Sounds torturous, doesn’t it? Although the very first essays of the day may be read with energy and enthusiasm, by the time your essay hits the readers’ desks, they will probably be exhausted and sick of looking at mediocre essay after mediocre essay. They’re not going to want to spend any longer than necessary to decide what score you deserve before moving on to the next essay in their seemingly endless stack.
ACT Writing score sheet
Essay score of 1
Is 0–1 pages long
Lacks a coherent argument
Hardly supports claims
Has no organization of ideas
Displays a poor use of vocabulary
Contains many grammatical errors
Essay score of 2
Is 0–1 pages long
Lacks a sufficient argument
Offers general or personal evidence to support claims
Has poorly organized ideas
Displays a mediocre use of vocabulary
Contains many grammatical errors
Essay score of 3
Is 1–2 pages long
Presents an argument
Offers general or personal evidence to support claims
Has fairly organized ideas
Displays a fair use of vocabulary
Contains some grammatical errors
Essay score of 4
Is 2–3 pages long
Presents a logical argument
Offers academic evidence to support claims
Has well-organized ideas
Displays a good use of vocabulary
Contains some grammatical errors
Essay score of 5
Is 2–3 pages long
Presents a logical and persuasive argument
Offers strong academic evidence to support claims
Has well-organized ideas
Displays a proficient use of vocabulary
Contains few grammatical errors
Essay score of 6
Is 3–4 pages long
Presents a logical and compelling argument
Offers substantial, strong academic evidence to support claims
Has superbly organized ideas
Displays a masterful use of vocabulary
Contains few or no grammatical errors
Each reader will spend no more than three or four minutes with your essay; there’s no time for you to start slowly and build. Not only must you write convincingly and well, you must demonstrate from the start that your essay is deserving of a 6. First impressions are extremely important, and a strong introduction will convince the reader that you’re a serious contender.
The readers don’t know or care who you are. They have no idea how smart you are, how nice you are, or how well you could communicate if you were allowed just a few more minutes. You have 30 minutes to earn their respect, and only three or four pages in which to do it. Make your move, and make it quickly!
Familiarize yourself with the requirements of a “6” essay in the boxed material on the previous two pages—these are the characteristics your essay must have to score a 12 on the Writing section.
The ACT wants you to write a well-organized five-paragraph essay that takes a stand on a certain issue. An introductory statement presents an issue relevant to a high school student’s life, and you are asked to take a position on the issue. Take a look at a sample prompt:
Online school has been growing in popularity over the last few years. As computers and access to the Internet become increasingly common across the country, online school is becoming more and more a viable option for many students. Some educators are in favor of online school, because they feel it allows increased flexibility to students who otherwise may have dropped out of school to pursue work or extracurricular activities. However, many educators have reservations about online learning, asserting that school is more than the academic content covered—it’s about making connections with teachers and peers, developing social skills, and gaining hands-on experience. In your opinion, should online schools become the new method for K–12 instruction?
In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write about either one of the two points of view given, or you may present a different point of view on this question. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.
The second paragraph is worded exactly like the instructions on the actual ACT.
Unlike the SAT, whose essay prompts pose philosophical questions like “Is innovation always positive?” or “Is cheating always wrong?”, the ACT focuses on topics that relate to a high school student’s life. Here are some prompts that the ACT has used in the past:
Should high school be extended to five years?
Should more schools adopt a dress code?
Should a core curriculum be required for high school students?
Should there be a curfew for high school students?
Should Internet use in schools be regulated?
To conquer the ACT essay, you’ll need to adopt the following eight Writing 36 strategies:
1 · Master the five-paragraph essay format
2 · Pace yourself
3 · Use vocabulary to your advantage
4 · Fill the space
5 · Stay active
6 · Transition smoothly
7 · Don’t get personal
8 · Plan, plan, plan
Master the five-paragraph essay formatMany high school English courses teach the basics of writing a five-paragraph essay. If you haven’t been exposed to this type of essay writing, don’t worry! I’ll teach you everything you need to know about your essay structure.
Although some writers feel that the five-paragraph format limits their creative expression, it is what your ACT readers will be looking for. I’m not exaggerating: Correct format is the most important part of your essay. It is more important than which side of the argument you take and what examples you use to support your claims.
The good news is that the five-paragraph essay format is easy to learn, and once you grasp it, you’ll find that writing ACT-style essays is relatively straightforward.
Here’s how your essay should be structured:
Your first sentence should provide a “hook” that pulls the readers into your essay and makes them want to continue reading just to find out what interesting things you have to say. Your essay can begin with a real-world example, a personal anecdote, a quote, or a rhetorical question—we call this the lead. The lead should never be more than two sentences long.
Next is a sentence that explicitly relates your lead to your thesis. This sentence is known as the link and will be immediately followed by your thesis. Here are examples of very good lead/link duos (with the lead in roman type and the link in italics):
I’ve always felt that societal restrictions are becoming tighter and tighter as civilization advances. As individuals become more and more powerful due to technology, they are increasingly fettered by regulations and rules, limiting their ability to explore and develop. In our schools, strict Internet restrictions are having this effect on students. [THESIS]
My Mexican grandmother used to smile and shake her head when I told her what we were learning about in school: “When are you going to use that in real life?” she would ask, leaving me scrambling for a way to relate my geometry class to the cluttered kitchen around us. While her question was meant mostly in jest, it is important to ask ourselves whether or not we should continue to require all students to pursue a core curriculum when they have already decided on a career path in which those skills will be useless. [THESIS]
Notice how the lead creates interest in your essay, while the link connects the lead to the thesis? For practice, write lead/link combinations for the following essay prompts:
Should more schools have school pets?
Should more high schools create “teaching assistant” programs in which some students are paid to help instruct other students?
Should schools remove unhealthy food choices from their menus or allow students to choose what they eat?
Now, review the leads and links you’ve written. Does the first sentence pull the readers in or demand their attention? Does the link effectively tie the lead to the thesis you are about to present? If so, great job! If not, keep practicing. Think of a possible essay topic, then write a lead/link combination for it. Being able to generate a lead/link combination quickly (within one or two minutes) will be extremely valuable on exam day.
The last sentence of your introduction is the thesis. You may already know what a thesis is and how to write one. If you do, great! Keep reading to make sure that what you’ve learned is consistent with ACT expectations. If you’re not sure what a thesis is or how to use one, have no fear! I’m about to tell you.
The thesis is arguably the most important sentence in your essay. It should tell the reader exactly what you’re going to talk about for the next few pages. It presents your argument for the first time and sets the stage for the rest of your essay.
Your thesis statement must do two very important things:
Make an argument. To make an argument, answer the essay question. The prompt writer is asking you whether or not something should happen. Decide whether you want to answer yes or no, then state your position. For example:
More schools should adopt school pets, because …
High schools should not create “teaching assistant” programs, since …
School menus should offer only healthy eating options, because …
Some students think that arguing the middle ground rather than taking sides will show the ACT readers how sophisticated and complex their arguments are. Wrong! ACT readers expect you to state and support a point of view; arguing both sides makes your essay exponentially weaker. The ACT isn’t testing how complex or interesting your argument is—it’s testing your ability to write an organized five-paragraph essay.
Don’t use “I think,” “I feel,” or “In my opinion” in your thesis. Personal information is allowed only in the lead. The ACT readers want you to argue as if your point is correct, so don’t sound wishy-washy by prefacing your argument with an “I” statement. State your argument like it is the absolute truth, then proceed to convince the readers that you’re right.
Introduce provable parts. These are the reasons you’ll use to convince the readers that your argument is correct. Each provable part will become the topic of one of three body paragraphs. You declare your position on the topic, then provide the three reasons why you’ve taken that position. For example:
More schools should adopt school pets, because interaction with animals increases the empathy and compassion of students, teaches students important lessons about responsibility and chores, and provides a feeling of purpose that unites the classroom community.
Each of the three body paragraphs will discuss one of these points in detail; they are stated in the thesis so that the readers are aware of the key points of your argument and know what to expect in the rest of the essay.
The order of provable parts matters. You should create a “sandwich effect” by placing your two best points at the beginning and end, and your weakest point in the middle. The order of provable parts in your thesis should mirror the order in which they appear in the body paragraphs.
Each body paragraph should be organized as follows:
Topic sentence
Supporting detail 1
Supporting detail 2
Supporting detail 3
Link to the thesis/conclusion
The topic sentence, which restates one of your provable parts, tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about. Continuing the example of pets in schools, here is the first topic sentence:
Having animals in the classroom helps foster empathy and compassion among the students.
One of the key principles of the five-paragraph essay is that you always return to the same ideas. Your topic sentence should clearly restate one of the provable parts of your thesis—that’s all it has to do.
The supporting details back up the topic sentence. Like a good debater, you should use factual evidence to support your claims. While the ACT doesn’t expect you to memorize facts and statistics, it is very helpful to include real-world, concrete evidence in your arguments. Because you won’t know the ACT Writing prompt ahead of time, you can’t research the subject before you write your essay. This means that you must rely on knowledge and examples from your own life for supporting details. Fortunately, the ACT Writing prompt is relevant to high school students, so you should have plenty of relevant life experience to draw from.
Compare the following two supporting details, which are meant to bolster an argument for a four-year physical education requirement in high school:
For example, my friend Diana, who was slightly overweight, would often skip exercise until her doctor recommended that she take gym classes. The mandatory classes helped her lose weight and improve her health, which led to long-term benefits such as lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol.
For example, students whose health is at risk due to their weight often fail to comply with voluntary diet and exercise plans. By participating in mandatory physical education, however, they can achieve long-term health benefits such as lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol.
The second paragraph is better, because it states the argument inspired by Diana in a general, objective way, rather than as an anecdote.
The ability to quickly generate supporting details and examples improves tremendously with practice. Take advantage of a few idle minutes by choosing a random prompt and thinking up details and examples that support an argument for or against it.
If you have background knowledge in a particular area, don’t be afraid to use it. For example, if you’ve written a paper on the benefits of language immersion for elementary students and that topic appears in the ACT Writing prompt, incorporate your knowledge into your argument.
The ACT readers are more interested in how you organize your arguments and evidence than in whether you can produce highly detailed evidence. Most importantly, use details that clearly support your thesis.
Include three supporting details in each body paragraph, and explain each detail in one or two sentences. Make sure that your ideas are relevant and that they relate directly to your topic sentence.
Template for the five-paragraph essay
Introduction (3–4 sentences)
Lead (1–2 sentences)
Link (1 sentence)
Thesis and provable parts (1 sentence)
Body paragraph 1 (5+ sentences)
Topic sentence (1 sentence)
Supporting detail 1 (1–2 sentences)
Supporting detail 2 (1–2 sentences)
Supporting detail 3 (1–2 sentences)
Concluding sentence (1 sentence)
Body paragraph 2 (5+ sentences)
Topic sentence (1 sentence)
Supporting detail 1 (1–2 sentences)
Supporting detail 2 (1–2 sentences)
Supporting detail 3 (1–2 sentences)
Concluding sentence (1 sentence)
Body paragraph 3 (5+ sentences)
Topic sentence (1 sentence)
Supporting detail 1 (1–2 sentences)
Supporting detail 2 (1–2 sentences)
Supporting detail 3 (1–2 sentences)
Concluding sentence (1 sentence)
Conclusion (3–4 sentences)
Argument summary
Rebuttal (optional)
Restatement of thesis
End each of your body paragraphs with a concluding sentence that sums up the main idea of the paragraph and links directly to your thesis. Here’s an example:
In summary, it’s clear that the positive impact on student compassion and empathy is a compelling argument for why pets should be incorporated into the classroom.
A strong concluding paragraph restates your provable parts, as well as your thesis. If you reach this point in your essay and you still have five minutes left, consider adding a rebuttal to your thesis. A rebuttal anticipates a point that an opponent might make and shows why the point is invalid or incorrect. Introduce your rebuttal with “Opponents of __________ claim that ___________, but …”. A rebuttal adds sophistication to your argument and tells the ACT readers that you have already thought about how to defend yourself against counterarguments. Here’s an example of a rebuttal in the theoretical “pets in school” essay:
While some opponents of school pets argue that allergies can prevent some students and classrooms from being able to enjoy the benefits of these animals, there are plenty of hypoallergenic animals that make excellent class pets, such as lizards, geckos, and snakes.
If you decide to include a rebuttal, put it in the middle of your conclusion. A rebuttal is a bonus, not a necessity, so don’t worry if you don’t have time to include one.
The last sentence of your conclusion should restate your thesis for the final time.
Pace yourselfMake sure that you have enough time to write your essay. If you’re still writing your second body paragraph when time is called, you won’t score well. Half an hour is a surprisingly short period of time, and it can fly by when you’re writing an essay.
To avoid nasty surprises on exam day, practice writing complete essays in the 30-minute time frame. Here’s my recommendation for time allotment by task:
As you can see, you have to write fairly quickly in order to finish in 30 minutes. The most important part of the essay process is the first five to seven minutes, in which you decide your position on the topic and select your key points. If you don’t plan well, your essay will be weak and your score will suffer.
Practice writing strong outlines until you can consistently crank them out in five to seven minutes. When writing a 30-minute practice essay, wear a watch and keep track of how much time you spend on each component. If you exceed the 30-minute limit, you’ll be able to determine where you need to speed up.
On the day of the exam, check your watch as you write. If you’re falling behind, it’s better to recognize it before the proctor calls the five-minute warning. Don’t panic. One way to save time is to reduce the number of details in each body paragraph from three to two. As with other sections of the ACT, practice makes perfect: you can’t expect to write a beautiful, organized, five-paragraph essay without practice.
Use vocabulary to your advantageI’m sure you know that using big words is not the key to good writing. Still, the ACT readers have only a few minutes to judge your writing ability, and one way to impress them is to use complex vocabulary. Long words don’t necessarily signify quality, so don’t use big words just for the sake of using big words. Instead, use advanced vocabulary—one or two words in each paragraph, and at least two in your introduction. Try to incorporate some of the following words in your essay:
An easy way to improve your vocabulary is to read educated books and magazines, including classic novels and readings assigned in English classes.
If you’re unsure whether a word is appropriate in a particular context, don’t use it. It is better to use a less sophisticated word correctly than a more sophisticated word incorrectly.
Fill the spaceYou may think that the ACT readers will only be concerned about what you write and how well you write it, but it matters a lot how much you write. Regardless of the size of your handwriting or the spacing you use between words, aim to fill four pages (both sides of two sheets of paper). If your handwriting is small, try to write larger; not only will you fill a page faster, but your handwriting will be easier to read. You can make the ACT readers happier by making your handwriting neat, large, and easy to read. If you want to score a perfect 6 in ACT Writing, you should fill at least four pages.
Stay activeThe ACT readers will score your essay higher if you use the active voice. The verb is in the active voice when the subject of the sentence is performing the action.
John caught the ball.
Sarah cooked a delicious meal.
The dog ate the biscuits.
In the passive voice, the subject is the receiver of the action.
The ball was caught by John.
A delicious meal was cooked by Sarah.
The biscuits were eaten by the dog.
Because ACT readers strongly prefer the active voice, it’s very important to “stay active.”
Transition smoothlyUse transitions between ideas in your essay. Transitions make your sentences and ideas flow smoothly, and make your writing sound organized and well thought out. Here’s a list of transition words and phrases you can use:
TO INTRODUCE AN IDEA
to start (with),
to begin (with),
initially,
primarily,
first and foremost,
TO TRANSITION BETWEEN SIMILAR IDEAS
furthermore,
moreover,
additionally,
in addition,
similarly,
in the same way,
likewise,
TO TRANSITION BETWEEN CONTRASTING IDEAS
on the other hand,
in contrast,
however,
nevertheless,
yet even so,
despite that,
TO SUMMARIZE
thus,
in essence,
in conclusion,
in summary,
finally,
Don’t get personalWhen you’re stressed or running short on time, it’s easy to resort to personal examples and narratives. Don’t! Avoid at all costs the following words and phrases:
Keep your writing impersonal. The only time it is acceptable to use a personal example in your writing is in the lead.
Plan, plan, planThe most important part of the essay process is the first five to seven minutes, when you plan your approach to the essay.
Take a deep breath. When the proctor calls time, open the exam booklet and read the question slowly, then read it again. Make sure you understand exactly what the ACT exam writers want you to answer. As quickly as possible, decide which position feels right to you. Some experts recommend taking the side that you think the readers will agree with, while others suggest taking the side that you think most students won’t take.
My personal advice is to choose the position that you have the best examples for. The strongest essays are centered around solid evidence, so adopt the position that you know how to support.
In reality, it doesn’t matter which side you choose. It’s much worse to waste valuable time deliberating between the two sides. Pick a side, and start planning!
Jot down a thesis. (You can edit it later if necessary.) Once you have decided on your thesis and three provable parts, write out the topic sentences for your three body paragraphs. Now, you’re ready to begin writing in earnest. Simply follow the five-paragraph template described earlier in the chapter.
Practice problem set ACT Writing
Write a thesis statement and three topic sentences for each of the following prompts:
Should all schools move to using a weighted GPA?
Should schools be separated by gender?
Should high school students have to fulfill a volunteering requirement in order to graduate?
Should high school teachers have to pass yearly examinations to make sure they are keeping their knowledge up-to-date?
Should high school students be required to spend a year abroad before going to college?