Chapter 19

The ACT Writing Test

As we mentioned earlier, the ACT is changing in late 2015 and the section that will be affected by the changes is the Writing Test.

OVERVIEW

The ACT Writing test is a section with one essay prompt. In the past, the Writing Test has been a 30 minute section, but ACT, Inc. has not said if that will be the case in this new Writing Test. For late breaking information, check out Princeton​Review.​com/​ACTchanges. In the meantime, let’s focus on what we do know. You must pay an additional fee to take this portion of the ACT, and test takers who do write the essay are usually put in a separate room from those who don’t. When you take the Writing test, you will receive two additional scores on your score report. First, you’ll see the Writing test score, as well as four sub-scores (ideas and analysis, development and support, organization and language use). Much like the overall score, these subscores will be scored and reported on a 2-12 scale. Second, you’ll get a combined English/Writing/Reading score called the English Language Arts Score. The most important thing for you to know, however, is that Writing test score and sub-scores, and the English Language Arts Score do not factor into your composite. English, Math, Reading, and Science are still the only scores reflected in the composite number.

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Essay Scoring

According to ACT, each essay is evaluated on how well it exhibits your ability to do the following:

• analyze different points of view on a complex issue.

• develop your position and support your ideas using logical reasoning, prior knowledge, and experience

• organize ideas in a logical way

• use language clearly and effectively according to the rules of standard written English

ACT’s scoring guidelines are built around a “holistic” grading system; two graders will read your essay and rate it from 1 (low) to 6 (high) based on their overall impressions of the above criteria. These ratings are then added together to create your Writing subscore, which ranges from 2–12. If the grades assigned by each reader differ by more than a point, a third reader will evaluate the essay to reconcile the difference.

Writing Test Practice

Let’s look at a practice Writing Test to get familiar with this new format.

Many societal changes come about as a result of conflict. A single act of persecution or violence towards an individual can spark widespread protests demanding change in an oppressive government. On a smaller scale, students at a school or employees in a workplace may feel dissatisfied with the way things are run and lobby for a change in policies. Many times such conflicts result in positive changes, but is disagreement necessary to evoke change? Given the number of social issues that cause strong emotional reactions from multiple sides, it is worth examining the implications of such conflict.

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the role of conflict in social change.

Perspective One

If people are not in some way dissatisfied with their situations in life, change will never happen. Motivation to act for change can come only from righteous indignation.

Perspective Two

Heated conflicts rarely result in lasting change. On the contrary, those in charge are more likely to respond to civil and constructive conversation than to attacks.

Perspective Three

Much positive change comes about without conflict at all. When people are content, they are better able to work together to further improve society.

Essay Task

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the role of conflict. In your essay, be sure to:

• analyze and evaluate the perspectives given

• state and develop your own perspective on the issue

• explain the relationship between your perspective and those given

Your perspective may be in full agreement with any of the others, in partial agreement, or wholly different. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed, persuasive examples.

 

For starters, let’s look at the instructions in the prompt. These directions never change, so you’ll always need to do the following things:

• analyze and evaluate the perspectives given

• state and develop your own perspective on the issue

• explain the relationship between your perspective and those given

Although there are certainly more facets to a well-written essay than the three points above, we can use these as a springboard for constructing a constructing an essay that garners a higher score. Below, you can see a sample essay response that received a score of 4. Let’s see how this student addresses the issue of whether or not conflict should be used as an agent of change.

Part I: The Intro

I believe that conflict is necessary for change. When a person is satisfied with their position in life, they have no reason to make changes. The most important social changes happen when there is direct conflict with authority; civil conversation often isn’t enough. Direct conflict can result in widespread support for an overhaul of the way things are, such as in the Civil Rights movement and the American Revolution.

Although it may not be the most complete introduction you’ve ever read, this paragraph accomplishes a few important goals. First, the writer clearly takes a position on the issue and is in agreement with the first perspective given in the prompt. Second, the other two perspectives in the prompt are briefly addressed. Third, the writer tells the reader why direct conflict is necessary. The reasons presented clearly foreshadow what will be discussed in the body paragraphs.

Part II: The Body

The idea that conflict is necessary for change can be seen through the example of the Civil Rights movement. Because African Americans were unhappy with the idea of ‘separate but equal’, they are able to successfully lobby for a change. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, her simple act of disobedience sparked a bus boycott that eventually became a landmark case in the struggle for civil rights. If African Americans had never protested against the unfair segregation laws, the Civil Rights Act would never have passed.

Some people believe that violent conflict is counterproductive. This situation was clearly demonstrated in the events leading up the American Revolution. When Great Britain imposed a variety of taxes on the American colonies, many colonists wanted to sever all ties with Britain and a series of riots and massacres broke out. However, many colonists did not want to be in direct conflict with Great Britain; instead, they wanted to mend their relationship with King George through compromise and discussion. One view on the role of conflict in change would say that such violence doesn’t help any cause and the colonists were worsening their own situation by doing it. But the violence of the riots and the American Revolution eventually led to the creation of the United States, it is now the most powerful nation in the world. The United States would have never become the country it is today if not for that initial conflict.

While it is true that some change, such as increased enforcement of Civil Rights law, happens over time without major conflict, change happens more quickly and more effectively when there is conflict to draw people’s attention to the matter at hand. If African Americans in the 50s had not been dissatisfied with segregation, they would not have worked to change it. Similarly, if the American colonists hadn’t thought there was a problem with ‘taxation without representation’, they wouldn’t have started the American Revolution.

The first paragraph supports the writer’s position that that conflict is necessary for change by using a specific example. What do you notice about the details given to support this example? The inclusion of a specific act of civil disobedience enhances the general claim by providing some concrete information.

In the second body paragraph, the writer addresses the second perspective included in the prompt, which argues heated conflict rarely causes real change. The author is able to refute this perspective using another concrete example, the American Revolution. Similarly, the third body paragraph discusses the third perspective, which argues change can occur without conflict at all. The writer argues against this perspective by drawing from and expanding upon both of the previous examples.

Overall, however, the body paragraphs are well-structured and use clear transitions to move from one point to the next. You’ll notice that this student’s grammar is not perfect, but a few errors are considered normal, given the time allotted for drafting the essay. You do want to try to keep your grammar and spelling as clean as possible, but it’s not a huge factor in your score. Most of all, it’s important for the essay to maintain focus by sticking to the reasons put forth in the introduction, and this essay does a good job of staying on track.

Now let’s look at the conclusion:

Part III: The Conclusion

In conclusion, as can be seen through the examples of some landmark moments in the Civil Rights movement, change comes about more effectively as the result of conflict.

Although the conclusion is quite short, it meets the standard the writer needs to earn a to earn a high score. The writer restates his or her position on the issue and mentions the reasons cited in the body paragraphs. If you find yourself with this short of a conclusion, it’s likely that you ran out of time. Be sure to outline your essay and stick to the plan before you start writing.

We’ve done some pretty focused analysis of this essay in order to get an idea of what should be accomplished in each portion of your response. You may not have been awed by the level of detail or rhetorical flourish, but our goal here isn’t to win the Pulitzer Prize. Below, we’ve reproduced the entire essay; pretend you’re a holistic grader and read through the essay. Give yourself about two minutes, and think about your overall impression of the writer’s response.

I believe that conflict is necessary for change. When a person is satisfied with their position in life, they have no reason to make changes. The most important social changes happen when people rebel against authority, which can result in widespread support for an overhaul of the way things are.

The idea that conflict is necessary for change can be seen through the example of the Civil Rights movement. Because African Americans were unhappy with the idea of ‘separate but equal’, they were able to successfully lobby for a change. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, her simple act of disobedience sparked a bus boycott that eventually became a landmark case in the struggle for civil rights. If African Americans had never protested against the unfair segregation laws, the Civil Rights Act would never have passed.

Some people believe that violent conflict is counterproductive. This situation was clearly demonstrated in the events leading up the American Revolution. When Great Britain imposed a variety of taxes on the American colonies, many colonists wanted to sever all ties with Britain and a series of riots and massacres broke out. However, many colonists did not want to be in direct conflict with Great Britain; instead, they wanted to mend their relationship with King George through compromise and discussion. One view on the role of conflict in change would say that such violence doesn’t help any cause and the colonists were worsening their own situation by doing it. But the violence of the riots and the American Revolution eventually led to the creation of the United States, the most powerful nation in the world. The United States would have never become the country it is today if not for that initial conflict.

While it is true that some change, such as increased enforcement of Civil Rights law, happens over time without major conflict, change happens more quickly and more effectively when there is conflict to draw people’s attention to the matter at hand. If African Americans in the 50s had not been dissatisfied with segregation, they would not have worked to change it. Similarly, if the American colonists hadn’t thought there was a problem with “taxation without representation”, they wouldn’t have started the American Revolution.

In conclusion, as can be seen through the examples of some landmark moments in the Civil Rights movement, change comes about more effectively as the result of conflict.

Do you think this essay “adequately” responds to the prompt? It is lengthy and well structured; it has a clear introduction and conclusion; the supporting examples are present and have some concrete details; the essay acknowledges the other perspectives and explains how they relate to the writer’s position. It uses some transitions; its errors are minimal and do not significantly distract the reader. We could go on, but you get the idea. High scoring essays are considered superior because of what they have, while low scoring essays are considered inferior because of what they lack. As long as you have the basics, your essay should be strong enough to get to get you to your target…target score. After that, it is all a matter of degree. Take a look at the essay below, which received a 6—while all the same components are present, this essay paints a more holistically pleasing picture.

History is replete with examples of the downtrodden rising up against their oppressors to demand change. Rebellions can be bloody, as Nat Turner’s slave rebellion was, or peaceful, like India’s struggle for independence from Great Britain under Gandhi. While the levels of violence associated with rebellions vary widely, even peaceful revolutions do not take place unless there is some level of conflict or disagreement between different social strata. When people are satisfied with the status quo, they will not work for change.

It may seem on the surface like the two examples given above are wildly different from each other. Nat Turner’s slave rebellion lasted only a few days, and while many white slave owners were killed, the rebels failed to improve their situation. Turner himself was gruesomely dismembered after his execution. But while the immediate results of his uprising were to reinforce the power of whites over their slaves, it is harder to quantify what kind of long-term effect it may have had. News of Turner’s rebellion and others like it helped to spread the message to blacks and whites that slaves wanted change. It is true that slavery would likely have been abolished whether or not this one event happened, but if there had been no underlying discontent with the institution of slavery, it might still exist today.

Gandhi’s struggle, in contrast to Turner’s, lasted throughout his life, was characterized by peaceful protest, and resulted change that can be directly attributed to his actions. But it is a mistake to argue that his brand of non-violent revolution happens without conflict. The people of India were unhappy with British rule and were struggling for their freedom in just the same way that slaves in the United States were fighting for theirs.

Even in a situation where it seems that change is taking place because all parties concerned are working together for a better tomorrow, there must be some underlying level of dissatisfaction driving the change. At my school, students in the National Honor Society recently started an after-school peer tutoring program where struggling students can come for extra help. There was no protest or violence of any kind involved in starting this program. But if there were no need for it, which is to say that if all students were getting all the help they needed from the system that was already in place, the program wouldn’t have been established.

Change appears with many different faces, from the seemingly innocuous to the unspeakably bloody. Though it may seem hard to compare the opposite ends of the spectrum, what all change has in common is some level of discontent. Without that sense that things could be different, change would never happen.

In all honesty, some people will have more trouble understanding this essay than they will have understanding the essay that received a 4. That’s one of the oddities of holistic grading; high scoring essays exhibit a stronger command of language and a rhetorical grasp that allows for complete elaboration of the ideas presented. We’re not telling you to be overly florid, but once you’re a strong essay writer, you’re going to have to hone your delivery to earn a 6. Here are some quick pointers that you can use to develop your essay response further:

• In your introduction, “grab” the reader by opening with an intriguing statement or rhetorical question. An interesting lead-in will engage a holistic reader early.

• Always start with your strongest example first when writing your body paragraphs. If you’ve gotten the reader’s attention in the introduction, a strong first example will further convince him or her that your essay is an effective one.

• Vary your sentence length. Don’t overuse long, complex sentences or short, declarative sentences.

• Utilize different transitions—some variety will make your essay flow both logically and stylistically.

• In your conclusion, retain the focus of the essay without restating everything you’ve discussed verbatim. Refer to your examples without repeating them exactly, and be sure to mention the other perspectives one last time.

If you elect to complete the ACT Writing Test, please keep our helpful tips in mind and be sure to check Princeton​Review.​com/​ACT changes for late-breaking news and updates as we receive them.