how to write a good essay for the act

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ACT Essay Template and Sample

Act essay template.

¶1: Introductory Paragraph

• Introductory statement

¶2: First Body Paragraph

• Describe your thesis
• Provide 1st example/reasoning: include specific, relevant information

¶3: Second Body Paragraph

• Continue supporting your thesis
• Provide 2nd example/reasoning: include specific, relevant information

If you are running out of time, don’t write a 2nd body paragraph. Instead, take the time to write a thorough 3rd body paragraph and a clear conclusion  paragraph.

¶4: Third Body Paragraph

• Explain how your thesis compares and contrasts with Perspectives One, Two, and/or Three
• Strengths/Weaknesses of the perspective(s)
• Insights offered / Insights not considered
• Persuasive / Not persuasive
• Example or reasoning: provide specific, relevant information

¶5: Conclusion Paragraph

• Recap your thesis
• Recap how your thesis compares and contrasts with Perspectives One, Two, and/or Three

Sample Prompt

Bilingual Accreditation

While the most common language in the United States is English, it’s certainly not the only language in which Americans communicate. In fact, bilingual fluency is highly desirable in many professions, including business, education, and medicine. In an effort to ready students for success in their future careers, some high schools may consider instituting programs that would offer bilingual accreditation to students who successfully complete a significant portion of their schooling in a language other than English. Because bilingual certification is not a necessary component of traditional education, should schools be  expected to explore this option for interested students? As American high schools aim to remain competitive as measured by increasingly rigorous international education standards, innovative programs such as bilingual certification may prove to be essential.

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each discusses relevant aspects of offering bilingual accreditation.

  Perspective One: Schools should encourage bilingual fluency but should not be expected to offer special classes  or programs. School administrators need to work on strengthening the existing curriculum rather than overcomplicating instruction by attempting to incorporate additional programs that do not reinforce traditional education.

Perspective Two:  Offering bilingual accreditation weakens the core of high school curriculum. A large enough portion of the student population already struggles to maintain passing grades when taught in English, and adding other languages would likely add to that number.

Perspective Three:  Bilingual accreditation should be offered, but it needs to be thoughtfully implemented. Courses taught in languages other than English need to be carefully selected to ensure that this program does not affect the integrity of the high school diploma.

Sample Essay Using the Prompt

Essay outline.

• Thesis:  Schools should offer bilingual accreditation as long as courses offered in languages other than English are carefully selected.

¶2: First body paragraph

• Describe your thesis:   All classes need to be carefully selected so scheduling bilingual offerings is not an additional burden for school administrators.
• Provide first example/reasoning: include specific, relevant information— Even if core classes are given in two languages, all students still study the core curriculum and preserve the integrity of the diploma.

¶3: Second Body Paragraph

• Continue supporting your thesis:   Offering bilingual accreditation provides an opportunity for schools to offer non-traditional classes for all students .
• Provide second example/reasoning: include specific, relevant information— Every dollar spent to accommodate bilingual education should be matched with equal funding for other types of educational enrichment such as STEM training and career-oriented electives.

¶4: Third Body Paragraph

• Explain how your thesis compares and contrasts with Perspectives One, Two, and/or Three:   The first perspective argues that schools should encourage bilingual fluency but not add any bilingual classes, which is in direct contrast to Perspective Three.
• Strengths/Weaknesses of the perspective(s):   Perspective One doesn’t take into account that making the existing curriculum better often means adding additional classes, which bilingual accreditation would accomplish.
• Persuasive / Not persuasive:   The argument simply says that these classes would only be for interested students, so it doesn’t affect everyone.
• Example or Reasoning: provide specific, relevant information— Most of the world uses English as a second language, and many people speak at least two languages, so to stay competitive, U.S. students should also be fluent in two languages.
• Recap your thesis:   I fully support perspective three because it opens up possibilities for all students without denying anyone a full high school curriculum leading to a meaningful diploma.
• Recap how your thesis compares and contrasts with Perspectives One, Two, and/or Three:   Recognizing the benefits of being bilingual, and making bilingual courses available but optional, is the best of both worlds.

Final Essay

               In today’s world where international education standards are very high and the U.S.  needs to remain competitive, educators are looking for ways to enhance high school curriculum.  One way is offering classes in languages other than English. Some people think that  schools should provide enough education in a different language for students to be certified  as bilingual. Others think this will weaken the curriculum. Still others think the accreditation  should be offered but carefully administered so that graduation from that school would  indicate the completed high school curriculum, and this is the option I agree with. I would  further argue that schools should not only carefully implement bilingual programs to suit  students who want to become fluent in two languages, but also provide supplemental non- traditional courses for students pursuing their entire education in English.

              The third perspective posits that while students should be given the opportunity to  learn in other languages and be accredited as bilingual, the courses given need to be carefully  selected. In reality, all classes need to be carefully selected so this is not a problem  for bilingual classes. And if the classes selected were all optional, not required, it would not  affect students who still want to learn everything in English. Since core classes might be  given in two languages, and students select which one they want, all students still study the core curriculum and preserve the integrity of the diploma. Schools have always taught  languages in high school so a French or Spanish course taught as a bilingual class makes  perfect sense. Bilingual classes are also advantageous for students who do well and want  to challenge themselves. So a French literature class can be taught in French while students  read in French also.

             As schools work to accommodate students who wish to pursue a bilingual education,  administrators must keep in mind that students who do not want an additional bilingual  accreditation should still have every opportunity to excel as they work toward their high  school diplomas. Every dollar spent to accommodate bilingual education should be matched  with equal funding for other types of educational enrichment such as STEM training and  career-oriented electives. That way, every student can benefit from classes that go beyond  traditional education, whether the classes concentrate on language, science, technology,  engineering, mathematics, or future careers. Given the rigorous demands of the current job  climate, students will greatly benefit from any additional marketable skills that they can  acquire during their high school careers.

              The first perspective argues that schools should encourage bilingual fluency but not  add any bilingual classes, which is in direct contrast to my position. Instead, the school  administrators should make the existing curriculum better so that traditional education is  really good. Certainly a high school curriculum should be as good as it can be and we should  always be looking for ways to make it better. That often means adding new courses. For instance, computer courses didn’t exist a few years ago, but they are in schools now because  it’s important for people to be able to use computers. It’s the same thing with bilingual  courses. Most of the world uses English as a second language, and many people speak at  least two languages. So it’s only right that to stay competitive, U.S. students should also  be fluent in two languages; this is particularly important in careers that require international  work. Also, the argument simply says that these classes would only be for interested  students, so it doesn’t affect everyone. And finally, how can the schools encourage bilingual  fluency if they don’t provide a place for students to practice another language?

              Being bilingual in a world with international interaction can’t help but be useful. I fully  support perspective three because it opens up possibilities for all students without denying  anyone a full high school curriculum leading to a meaningful diploma. Recognizing the  benefits of being bilingual, and making bilingual courses available but optional, is the best  of both worlds. Expanding courses offered in a curriculum is always better than restricting  them, especially when they serve such an important need as the ability to communicate  with others in their own language.

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How to Write an Effective ACT Essay

By Eric Eng

The ACT essay, also known as the writing portion of the ACT, may seem daunting at first. However, with the correct understanding, planning, and writing techniques, it’s possible to assemble a strong essay. In this guide, we’ll go through each step of the process to help you master the art of ACT Essay writing.

Understanding the ACT Essay Prompt

Understanding the prompt is the first step toward crafting a successful ACT essay. The ACT writing test propels you to analyze and create an argument around a complex issue. To do this effectively, you need to decipher what the essay question is asking of you.

When you receive the ACT essay prompt, it is essential to take the time to carefully read and comprehend it. Pay close attention to the language used and the specific instructions given. This will help you grasp the central theme or topic that the prompt is addressing.

Once you clearly understand the prompt, you can begin to analyze its components. Look for keywords or phrases that indicate the nature of the issue being discussed. These keywords can provide valuable insights into the perspectives you will encounter later in the prompt.

Decoding the ACT Essay Question

You’ll state a contemporary issue and then three perspectives related to it. Your task is to analyze and evaluate the perspectives, express your viewpoint, and explain the relationship between your philosophy and those given. Getting the hang of this process requires you to break down the prompt and analyze the views critically.

When decoding the ACT essay question, paying attention to the statement regarding the contemporary issue is crucial. This statement sets the stage for the perspectives that follow. Take the time to reflect on the significance of the issue and its relevance in today’s society.

The three perspectives in the prompt offer different viewpoints on the given issue. Each view presents a unique argument or stance; your job is to critically evaluate them. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of each perspective, and identify any underlying assumptions or biases that may influence the arguments presented.

Critical Elements of the ACT Essay Prompt

The ACT essay prompt has three critical elements – the statement of a contemporary issue, the three perspectives, and your task. All these elements provide a blueprint for your essay. Understanding how to extrapolate the details and nuances of each perspective will enable you to construct a compelling argument.

The statement of a contemporary issue serves as the foundation for your essay. It is essential to comprehend the context and significance of the issue to effectively address it in your writing. Consider the implications and potential consequences of the problem and how it may impact various stakeholders or society as a whole.

The three perspectives presented in the prompt offer different viewpoints on the issue. Each view may highlight other aspects or consequences of the issue, providing you with various arguments to consider. Analyze each perspective critically, identifying the evidence and reasoning to support the arguments.

Your task in the ACT essay is to evaluate the perspectives and state your viewpoint. This requires you to form a well-reasoned argument that takes into account the strengths and weaknesses of the perspectives provided. Additionally, you must explain the relationship between your viewpoint and those given, highlighting any similarities or differences in reasoning or evidence.

By understanding the critical elements of the ACT essay prompt and decoding its nuances, you will be better equipped to craft a thoughtful and persuasive essay. Take the time to analyze the prompt thoroughly, consider multiple perspectives, and construct a well-structured argument. Remember, practice makes perfect, so hone your skills by tackling various essay prompts to improve your performance on the ACT writing test.

Planning Your ACT Essay

Planning your ACT essay is a crucial step in the writing process. It not only helps you organize your thoughts but also allows you to create a logical progression in your argument, resulting in a high-scoring essay.

When approaching the planning stage, there are several key factors to consider. Understanding the prompt thoroughly ensures that your essay addresses the specific requirements and stays focused on the given topic. Take the time to carefully analyze the prompt, identifying keywords or phrases to guide your writing.

Importance of Brainstorming

One effective technique to kickstart your planning process is brainstorming. This free-thinking exercise allows you to generate ideas and arguments about the prompt. Grab a pen and paper, or open a blank document, and jot down every relevant thought that comes to mind.

Don’t worry about organizing your ideas or evaluating their validity during brainstorming. The goal is to create a pool of potential content that can be refined and collected later. By allowing yourself to explore different angles and perspectives, you increase the chances of finding unique and compelling arguments for your essay.

Consider different viewpoints, examples, and evidence that support your main argument. Consider personal experiences, historical events, literary references, or scientific studies that can strengthen your position. The more ideas you generate during this stage, the more options you will have when crafting your essay.

Creating an Effective Essay Outline

Once you have completed the brainstorming process, it’s time to create an outline for your essay. An outline serves as the skeleton of your essay, providing a clear structure and ensuring a logical flow of ideas.

Start by organizing your thoughts into different sections: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. The introduction should grab the reader’s attention, provide background information, and present your thesis statement. The body paragraphs should each focus on a specific argument or supporting evidence, giving detailed explanations and examples to support your claims. Finally, the conclusion should summarize your main points and restate your thesis concisely and impactful.

Consider using a topic sentence within each body paragraph to introduce the main idea, followed by supporting evidence and analysis. This approach helps create a coherent and cohesive essay, allowing readers to follow your thought process easily.

Remember, the outline is a flexible tool that can be adjusted as you refine your essay. It helps you stay organized and ensures that you cover all the necessary points in a logical order. By creating a well-structured outline, you set yourself up for a smoother writing process and a more polished final essay.

In conclusion, planning your ACT essay is an essential step that should not be overlooked. By thoroughly understanding the prompt, brainstorming ideas, and creating an effective outline, you lay the foundation for a well-structured and persuasive essay. So take the time to plan your essay carefully, and watch as your ideas come to life on the page.

Writing the ACT Essay

Writing the ACT essay is a crucial part of the exam, allowing you to showcase your analytical and writing skills. With your understanding of the prompt and your essay outlined, you are now ready to start writing. However, it’s important to remember that the ACT essay is not just about putting words on paper but crafting a well-structured and persuasive argument that effectively addresses the given topic.

The ACT essay includes an introduction, two to three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each section is vital in presenting your ideas and supporting your thesis statement.

Crafting a Strong Introduction

The introduction is your first impression on the reader, so it’s crucial to make it engaging and compelling. Your introduction should briefly overview the topic and provide context for the reader to understand the issue’s importance. Additionally, it should include a thesis statement that clearly expresses your viewpoint and sets the direction for the rest of your essay.

Consider using a hook to grab the reader’s attention when crafting your introduction. This could be a thought-provoking question, a surprising statistic, or a compelling anecdote. By starting your essay with an intense and captivating introduction, you can immediately capture the reader’s interest and encourage them to continue reading.

Building Your Argument in Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs of your ACT essay are where you develop and support your thesis statement. Each body paragraph should contain one argument in support of your thesis, backed up by evidence. It’s essential to choose your arguments carefully and present them in a logical and coherent manner.

Using relevant examples is an effective way to support your argument. These examples can be drawn from various sources, such as literature, history, current events, or personal experiences. By incorporating specific details and providing concrete evidence, you can strengthen your argument and make it more persuasive.

In addition to examples, logical reasoning is another powerful tool to support your argument. By presenting a clear and logical chain of thought, you can demonstrate the validity of your thesis statement. This can be achieved through deductive or inductive reasoning, as well as by addressing potential counterarguments and refuting them.

Concluding Your Essay Effectively

Your conclusion is the final opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the reader. It should not be a mere repetition of your thesis statement and arguments but a synthesis of your main points and a reflection on their broader implications.

In your conclusion, restate your thesis in light of the arguments you presented in the body paragraphs. However, it goes beyond a simple restatement and offers a fresh perspective or insight. Consider discussing the significance of your argument in a larger context or suggesting potential avenues for further exploration and thought.

Remember, a firm conclusion should give a sense of closure to your essay while leaving the reader with something to ponder. By ending your essay on a thought-provoking note, you can leave a lasting impression and demonstrate your ability to think critically and analytically.

In conclusion, writing the ACT essay requires careful planning and execution. By crafting a solid introduction, building a persuasive argument in the body paragraphs, and concluding effectively, you can create a compelling essay that showcases your skills and impresses the reader.

Essential ACT Essay Writing Skills

Effective ACT essay writing employs specific skills. These skills can be developed with practice, including using persuasive language, incorporating evidence, maintaining logical flow, and much more.

When using persuasive language, it is essential to understand that robust and influential language is crucial in making your arguments compelling. This means using vocabulary that conveys certainty and conviction. By carefully selecting your words and phrases, you can effectively persuade your readers to agree with your viewpoint.

In addition to persuasive language, incorporating evidence is another critical skill that can significantly enhance the strength of your argument. Proof refers to specific examples, facts, or data that support your arguments. You can substantiate your claims and make your essay more convincing by providing concrete evidence. Remember, the more reliable and relevant your proof is, the stronger your argument becomes.

Furthermore, maintaining a logical flow in your essay is essential for clarity and readability. A well-structured essay ensures that your ideas are presented logically, allowing readers to follow your thought process efficiently. This involves providing each argument logically leads to the next, and all arguments collectively support your thesis. By organizing your essay in a coherent manner, you can effectively convey your message and make it easier for your readers to understand your perspective.

Moreover, it is essential to note that effective ACT essay writing also requires strong analytical skills. Analyzing the given prompt and understanding its nuances is crucial for developing a well-rounded argument. You can identify the key points and formulate a clear thesis statement by carefully examining the prompt. Additionally, analyzing and addressing the counterarguments in your essay demonstrates your ability to critically evaluate different perspectives.

In conclusion, mastering the essential ACT essay writing skills is a continuous process that requires practice and dedication. You can significantly improve your essay writing abilities by using persuasive language, incorporating evidence, maintaining logical flow, and honing your analytical skills. Remember, practice makes perfect, so keep writing and refining your skills to achieve success on the ACT essay.

Reviewing and Revising Your ACT Essay

Reviewing and revising your work is the last step in crafting a great ACT essay. This is an opportunity to enhance your essay’s clarity, coherence, and cogency.

Importance of Proofreading

Proofreading ensures that your essay is free from grammatical and typographical errors. It also allows you to check the structure, flow, and clarity of your writing.

Tips for Effective Essay Revision

Look at the overall argument, check each paragraph for clarity and purpose, and ensure each sentence is concise and precise. You can polish your ACT essay to its maximum potential with these revision tips.

In conclusion, an effective ACT essay involves understanding the prompt, planning your essay, using essential writing skills, and reviewing your work. By mastering these areas, you can confidently write an impressive ACT essay.

If you want to discuss the matter to a greater extent or inquire about college admissions, look no further! Our experts here at AdmissionSight can help you! Here at AdmissionSight, we have over a decade’s worth of experience guiding students through the competitive admissions process to get accepted to the top universities in the world. Feel free to set up an appointment today to book your initial consultation .

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5 Tips to Score a 12 On Your ACT Essay

There is no question that the ACT is important for high school students who are thinking about applying to college. While the multiple choice sections are designed to assess students’ knowledge in math, English, science and reading, there is also a writing section that assesses students’ abilities to write an essay. Doing well on this section of the ACT can help distinguish you as an accomplished writer to colleges.

Though you can easily understand your score a multiple choice test, you might be left wondering what will earn you a good score on the ACT essay. If you’re aiming for a 12 on the ACT essay, read on for some tips and tricks!

What is the ACT Essay?

While the multiple choice sections of the ACT might be more unforgiving, the ACT essay is a great opportunity to show off your writing skills. According the ACT website, you should aim to write a “unified, coherent essay” in which you:

• clearly state your own perspective on the issue and analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective
• develop and support your ideas with reasoning and examples
• organize your ideas clearly and logically
• communicate your ideas effectively in Standard written English.

To see these ideas in motion, you can take a look at a sample ACT prompt and essay here .

How is the ACT Essay scored?

The ACT essay is scored on a scale of 1 to 12. Your essay will be read and scored by two different grades on a scale of 1 to 6 in four different domains, for a total score out of 12 in each of these four domains. These four scores will then be averaged for a total score out of 12.

For more information about how this section of the test is scored, you can look at the official ACT Writing Test Scoring Rubric .

Tip 1: Know what a 12 looks like

In general, if you are aiming to do well in something, you should know what  exemplary work looks like and try to emulate it. This is certainly the case for the ACT Essay, so before you walk into the testing center to write your essay, make sure you know know what essays that scored a 12 in this section look like!

Be sure to read as many sample essays as you can find—these should be available online through a quick Google search. Keep in mind, though, that the structure of the writing section changed in Fall 2015, so make sure that the examples you are looking at are current and align with the structure of the current essay prompt.

As you’re looking at essays that scored a 12, be sure to also look at essays that scored in the middle and essays that received a poor score. Try to understand what went wrong in the poorly scored essays as well as what could be improved in the middle-scoring ones. Take note of what was successful in the high-scoring sample essays that you read—what makes these essays stand out from the middle-scoring ones?

If there are notes from graders that justify the scores of the essays, be sure to pay attention to these as well. Aiming for a high score on the ACT essay section means that you need to try to understand exactly what the graders are looking for. Study the rubric once more and remember what you’ll need to accomplish in each category.

Tip 2: Pick a perspective and stick to it

When it comes to the writing prompt, the ACT website says “ The test describes an issue and provides three different perspectives on the issue. You are asked to read and consider the issue and perspectives, state your own perspective on the issue, and analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective on the issue. Your score will not be affected by the perspective you take on the issue.”

In order to write a strong essay, you can choose whatever perspective you like—just make sure it’s one that you can support and defend effectively throughout your essay. Scorers are looking for a strong, well-organized point of view, and like it says above, it doesn’t matter whether you agree, disagree, or are somewhere in the middle; what matters is the writing.

It is important to remember that even if you don’t agree with the perspective that you’re writing from on a personal level, your essay needs to show that you can effectively argue a point. In addition, make sure to remember to relate your perspective to one of the perspectives provided in the prompt. Be sure to address the counter arguments as well in one of your body paragraphs, using the perspective opposite to your personal perspective to demonstrate your understanding of opposing views.

Tip 3: Use concrete examples

Grounding your writing in concrete examples is one extremely important element of writing effective ACT essay. You could use this as an opportunity to show off your historical knowledge by relating your argument to a relevant fact or event in history or current events, or you could come up with a rhetorical scenario or example. Including examples might even mean including a personal anecdote (although if you do end up doing this, you should make sure that your story is short and relates directly to your argument).

Take a look at the ways in which the writers of sample essays that scored a 12 managed to seamlessly incorporate examples into their writing. While you don’t have to be an expert on the essay topic, nor are you expected to be able to list off obscure facts and trivia about it, you need to make sure that your essay draws from real concrete examples rather that just vague abstract arguments.

Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to show off your language skills

One of the markers of a successful ACT essay is its use of language. This is a great opportunity to show off some of your ACT/SAT vocabulary words that you might have been studying for the English section of the test. Opt for higher-level vocabulary words when given the chance—as a general rule of thumb, you should aim to use about 1-2 higher level vocab words per paragraph.

Scorers want to see that you can navigate the English language skillfully, and so you should also take the chance to vary your sentence structure when you get the chance. Consider, also, utilizing devices such as rhetorical questions and complex sentences.

If you are going to use more complicated vocabulary and grammar structures, however, make sure you fully understand how to use them. It will reflect poorly upon your writing skills if you include a complicated word that doesn’t make sense in the context of a sentence, or if a grammatical structure that you try to use isn’t quite right. If you’re going to use a semicolon to combine two sentences, for example, make sure you understand that a semicolon is not the same thing as a comma. When in doubt, stick to what you know! It is better to have a less complicated structure that is used correctly versus an attempt at a more advanced grammatical concept that is actually wrong.

Lastly, be sure to keep it real in your writing. While scorers want to see students who are skilled in their use of the english language, it is easy to tell when someone is simply trying to electrify their vocabulary in order to titillate the reader for the written examination. Your writing and tone should reflect who you are as a writer, so remember to keep it down to earth.

Tip 5: Pay attention to timing & your energy level

For the essay section, you will get 40 minutes. This includes time for planning, writing, and editing, so make sure you dole out the appropriate amount of time for each part of the process. You can practice this by timing yourself to write an essay from a sample prompt at home. Start by giving yourself an hour, and gradually work it down to 40 minutes so that you are prepared by the time the testing date rolls around. If you find that you need more time for planning than you do writing, or if you come to learn that you need a particularly large chunk of time to edit, keep these things in mind when it comes time to write your essay for the exam.

The essay will be the last section on the test, so keep this in mind while you complete the multiple choice sections of the ACT. While you should be devoting your full attention and energy to each multiple choice section of the test, keep in mind that once you are finished with all of the multiple choice sections, you will still have to write the essay.

When you get breaks between sections, be sure to eat a snack, drink some water, and use the restroom so that you are not uncomfortable or distracted by the end of the test. While you might be tempted to just breeze through the essay section so that you can finish the ACT, know that you will not be allowed to leave the testing center until everyone has finished the test—so be sure to use up all of the allotted time!

For more information about the ACT and essay writing, check out these blog posts:

What to Bring (And Not Bring) to the ACT

10 Tips to Improve Your ACT Score

Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Essay

A Guide to the Optional ACT Writing Section

Want to know how your SAT score/ACT score impacts your chances of acceptance to your dream schools? Our free Chancing Engine will not only help you predict your odds, but also let you know how you stack up against other applicants, and which aspects of your profile to improve. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to gain access to our Chancing Engine and get a jumpstart on your college strategy!

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Your Magical Guide to Scoring a Perfect 12 on the ACT Essay

Look, I know that you might not be super excited to write the ACT Essay . In fact, your dread of the ACT Writing section may mean that you’re not even that excited about taking the ACT test .

But how would you feel if I told you that I’ve totally figured out how to change that?

Yup. Today, instead of talking about how to get a perfect 12 on the ACT Essay, we’re actually going to talk about how you can succeed at the universe’s all-time greatest school: Hogwarts .

Little-known fact: the 12 things you need to do to succeed at Hogwarts are exactly the 12 things you need to do to get a perfect 12 on the ACT Writing section .

Spooky, right?

Let’s take a quick look at them before diving in deeper:

• Know what you’re getting into.
• Take a look around the Hogwarts Express.
• Be assured that you CAN be 1 in 10,000.
• Get yourself a time-turner (but only if necessary!).
• Make sure you give the Sorting Hat options.
• Be a Gryffindor and take a risk!
• Be a Ravenclaw and be clever.
• Be a Hufflepuff and keep going.
• Be a Slytherin and be crafty.
• Know that the way you say something is just as important as what you say.
• Go into your O.W.L.s with a plan.
• Take a page from J.K. Rowling’s book and refuse to give up!

  Read on, future Griffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs! (Slytherins, I think we all know your deal. Go talk to a snake or something.)

How to Use This Post

So what can you expect from this post? We’ll look at an overview of the ACT Writing section, then go into how it’s scored and the skills it tests. We’ll compare the ACT Essay to the SAT Essay and help you decide whether you should take the ACT with Writing or without. If you do decide to take it, we have prompts and grading advice for you to use, as well as point-by-point guides to raising your score 2, 3, or 4 points. Finally, we’ll finish off by looking at a template for a 12-scoring essay.

If you’re new to the essay, you’ll want to start at the beginning with the overview of ACT Writing and possibly even try your first practice essay today with one of the prompts here.

On the other hand, if you already have some experience with the ACT Essay, you may want to start with the guide to improving your score, or even with the template for a high-scoring essay.

Just to make it easier on you, here are links to some of the exciting places in this post where you can start your journey to the perfect ACT Essay!

• Quiz: Should You Take the ACT with Writing?
• Template for a Perfect 12 on the ACT Essay
• The Step-by-Step Guide to Getting a Perfect Score

Table of Contents

The least you should know about act writing, how is the act essay scored, skills tested in the act writing section, act vs sat essays, giving the sorting hat options: should i take act writing, act writing prompts, for studious ravenclaws: how can you grade your practice act essay, act writing test struggles: be a hufflepuff and keep going, be as crafty as a slytherin: the ultimate guide to improving your act writing score by 2, 3, or 4 points, how to get a perfect 12 on the act essay, act essay template: guide to the perfect essay (aka go into your o.w.l.s with a plan).

Before you sit down with your quill and parchment, there are a few things that you definitely need to know about ACT Writing, even if you’re taking the exam tomorrow.

First of all, it’s the last section on the ACT (okay, that phrasing might be a little confusing). This means that after you show off your skills reading and interpreting passages, calculating the square root of x, correcting dangling modifiers, and proving your aptitude for Potions in the Science section , you’re going to sit down and write an essay, just to cap it all off.

The ACT Essay is not required; however, it’s a good idea to take it, for reasons we’ll look at a little later on. It’s important to realize this in any case, because you’ll need to register for the ACT with Writing to make sure you have the chance to take it on the official exam.

Once you’re facing the ACT Essay, what will you see? One prompt in your test booklet, which you’ll respond to on a provided answer sheet, in No. 2 pencil (no mechanical pencils here).

The essay is an exercise in both persuasion and analysis. Students are given three perspectives on an issue and asked to “evaluate and analyze” the three perspectives, “state and develop” their own perspective, and “explain the relationship” between their perspective and the given perspectives. They can choose to agree with one of the provided viewpoints or may come up with their own.

Timing for the ACT Essay

From the time you turn the page in your test booklet to the ACT Essay prompt, you’ll have exactly 40 minutes to write your essay. In this time, you’ll have a variety of tasks to accomplish: read the instructions, the prompt, the sample opinions (we’ll get to this a little later), brainstorm, outline and write your essay, and proofread it.

Unlike other sections on the ACT, the Essay is scored between 2 and 12, rather than between 1 and 36. Two graders will individually score students from 1-6 on the four domains: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. These scores will be added together between the two graders, and the final ACT essay score from 2-12 is an AVERAGE of all the domain scores . Students will still receive an ELA score, which combines the essay score with their score on the ACT English multiple-choice section.

ACT Writing Subscores

Your ACT Writing score is made up of 4 subscores, in Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. Each of two graders will give you a score from 1-6 in each domain (giving you the opportunity to obtain a total score from 2-12 in each domain). Your four scores are then averaged to give you an overall score from 2-12. Your score report will reveal each of your domain scores, so you will get to see how much of an impact your grammar had on your composite score versus your ideas. You’re going to get a fair amount of feedback on why your essay received the score it did.

Who Does the ACT Writing Scoring?

Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, of course! No, sorry. In all seriousness: teachers trying to make the big bucks during their copious free time; retired teachers who want another income stream/to help humanity; experts in test prep who don’t have conflicting interests…you get the idea.

What if One of the Graders Doesn’t Like Me?

Well, first of all, I think you mean, “What if one of them doesn’t like your essay?”, but I get it. We take critiques of our writing rather personally. However, the ACT has a safety net in place for such a situation. If the graders disagree on your essay by more than one point on any domain score, a third grader (don’t worry, not a third-grader) will be brought in to settle the dispute.

How Is My Essay Graded?

Since, as we’ve seen, the ACT Essay is not graded on how much your graders like you, how is it graded? Using this very specific ACT Essay rubric . Again, you’ll be scored from 1-6 in each of the four categories (Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions) by two graders, whose scores are then averaged.

Looking Around the Hogwarts Express: What Does my Score Mean Compared to Other Students’?

What is a good ACT Writing score ?

Well. It’s hard to quantify exactly what a “good” score on the ACT Writing section is, just as it’s hard to quantify exactly what a good ACT score is, as many factors can influence what you consider “good.”

With that said.

One of the best ways to see how you well you’ve scored objectively is to look at your ACT Writing percentiles. Your percentile score describes the percentage of students who scored lower than you on the essay. For example, if you’re in the 99th percentile, congrats! You scored better than 99 out of every 100 students taking the exam.

A quick note on decimals in percentiles: obviously, there is no such thing as .37 of a person (or if there was, I don’t think he/she/they would be taking the ACT). What this means is that you have to look at your score in a broader pool. For example, if you scored an 11 on ACT Writing, you scored better than 9,937 out of every 1,000 students taking the test.

Can You Be “The Chosen One”?

I know that a score of 12 = 100th percentile is confusing. You can’t score better than 100 out of every 100 students, right? You are one of those 100 students, after all.

All this means is that the decimal is so close to 1 that the ACT has rounded up. It’s likely that the actual situation is that those students scoring a 12 on the ACT Essay scored better than 9,999 out of every 10,000 students.

That alone should show you how tough it is to get a 12 on ACT Writing.

But can it be done? Well, someone has to be that 1 person in 10,000, right?

Why can’t it be you?

Let’s take a look at how you can get there, after we finish covering ACT Writing 101.

Ordering a Time-Turner: ACT Essay Rescores

Sometimes you’ll take a test, look at your score, and think “this can’t be right.” If this happens to you on the ACT Essay, you can request a rescore.

ACT scores for essays are graded by two professional scorers. Both of them use the ACT’s official Writing Test Rubric . The rescore follows the exact same procedure, but with two new scorers. If the two new people who score your ACT Essay get a different score than the original examiners, your ACT score will be updated. If your score changes, the new scorers can choose to raise your score from the original score you received, or lower it. There’s also a chance that the new scoring session could get the same result a second time. In that case, your ACT Essay score won’t change.

How Do You Request an ACT Essay Rescore, and How Much Does It Cost?

To get your ACT Essay rescored, submit a request for a rescore in writing. Your request will need to include the following: your name, as it appeared on your ACT exam registration forms, the ID on your ACT registration account, and the month, day, year, and location of your exam. You’ll also need to include a check for $50 made out to ACT Student Services. All rescore requests must be sent no later than three months after you received your initial ACT scores.

Written requests should be mailed to:

The ACT’s scoring team will notify you of any score changes within 3-5 weeks of the request.

Things to Consider Before Requesting a Rescore

Rescores are expensive and time-consuming. If you’re thinking of getting your ACT Essay rescored (or getting a rescore on the rest of the test), you want to be sure that it’s worth it. There’s a chance your score could go down. And if it does, the new, lower score will become your official score. Your score could also stay the same, which would mean you wasted $50 per rescore request.

As we’ve seen, your essay will be scored in four different categories: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. But what does that mean for you in terms of preparation? After all, few (if any) of us have taken classes on “Ideas and Analysis.”

What Are the Goals of the ACT Essay?

We can infer the “goals” of the ACT Essay (or rather, the skills it’s asking you to demonstrate) from the four ACT Essay rubric categories we’ve already gone over. Ideas and Analysis means that the scorers are looking for you to demonstrate critical thinking at a reasonably high level; rather than just being able to understand a series of opinions, the ACT Writing section wants you to interpret them and come up with your own thesis.

The Development and Support aspect tells us that the ACT Essay is evaluating your ability to craft a whole argument, rather than just a thesis statement. Again, it’s testing your critical reasoning skills: can you determine, in a limited timeframe, what makes for convincing evidence for your argument? The Organization category indicates that the ACT is also testing how clearly you can present this information in a short essay, in a way that makes sense not just to you, but also to the reader.

Finally, you can look on Language Use and Conventions as ACT English in practice. How’s your vocabulary and grammar? Can you write in an efficient and readable way? How eloquent (to an extent) can you be?

Or, in other words, your ACT essay has four major goals:

• Make judgments : the graders evaluate how well you understand the perspectives, and their implications, values and assumptions. Did you understand the question they presented to you? Did you pick a side? Did you understand the strengths and weaknesses of different perspectives on an issue?
• Develop a position : the graders evaluate how well you supported the argument you made in your essay. Did you give clear facts and relevant details that really helped your argument be more persuasive? Did you vary the types of evidence you used? Did you show the graders that you know the difference between assertion (just saying something) and evidence (showing why that assertion is true)? The more specific you can be, the more you show the graders how well you understood the topic and its controversy, which helps out your ‘make judgments’ criterion as well.
• Organization and focus : the graders evaluate how logically you present your ideas. Did you have a clear introduction, body, and conclusion? Are your body paragraphs ordered in a way that makes sense? Can the graders follow your train of thought clearly from beginning to end? Did you use transitions between and among your paragraphs to show the readers how they all link together? Did you stay on topic?
• Communicate clearly : the graders also look at how well you express yourself, in accordance with the rules of Standard Written English, a.k.a. “School, Work, and Business English,” as far as you’re concerned. Did you vary your sentence structure so that some sentences are short and others are long? Is your word choice effective? How is your grammar? If there are errors, are they particularly distracting? Can the readers still get your point or can they not understand what you’re saying?

Why Do Colleges Care About the ACT Essay?

Admissions officers are interested in your ACT Essay scores precisely because they demonstrate, to a certain extent, your skills in the above areas. No matter what you end up majoring in, critical reasoning skills, as well as writing skills, will end up being important. While it can be difficult to judge these skills based on one 40-minute essay, the four categories of the rubric and corresponding scores give admissions officers at least some sense of your experience and skill in these areas.

Where’s That Ideas and Analysis Class Again?

I know it seems like your education might not have prepared you for the ACT Essay. However, you’d be surprised at how much you already know. Your English classes will have taught you a lot about all four categories, while essays you’ve written for History, Social Studies, and even Science classes will have helped you develop skills in the areas of Development and Support and Organization. All the better if you’ve taken a class on persuasive writing or speeches.

How to Study for the ACT Essay Without Studying

I mean…you should do some specific studying for the ACT Essay! But know that you’re already preparing for the essay in your everyday life, even if you don’t know it. Every time you listen to someone’s opinion and evaluate it, every time you respond with your own opinion, you’re using the exact critical reasoning skills that the ACT Writing section tests.

If you’re still on the fence about whether or not to take the ACT at all, and take the SAT instead , comparing the two essays might help. While there are a lot of factors to take into consideration when making this decision, knowing the differences in the essays may just prove to be the tipping factor that helps you decide in favor of one test .

Both the ACT and the SAT each have one essay. The ACT gives you 40 minutes to write it, while the SAT gives you 50 minutes to write it. The essay is optional on both tests. Furthermore, the essay is always the last section on each exam (this hasn’t always been the case with the SAT, but it is now!).

So what is the difference between the two essays? Well, it’s the type of assignment you’ll get.

On the ACT, as we’ve seen, you’ll see three different opinions on a debatable topic; the essay prompt will ask you to evaluate them and come up with your own opinion.

On the other hand, the SAT gives you a rather long (650-700 word) passage to read, then asks you to evaluate how the author develops his or her argument. Unlike the ACT, you do not include your own opinion or arguments on the SAT Essay.

So how to choose?

If you’re good at coming up with an opinion and developing strong examples quickly, the ACT Essay’s the one for on you. But

if you’re better at analyzing other people’s writing (the kind of work you do for most literature essays, for example), the SAT’s the better way to go.

If you’ve decided to take the ACT: awesome! I get it, though—you have enough decisions to make without throwing one more on top of the pile!

Still, you will have to decide whether or not to take the ACT with Writing.

While we don’t have Madame Trelawney’s crystal ball (which, let’s face it, was pretty useless for the most part), we DO have a way to help you decide whether or not to take the ACT Essay section or not: our very own, expertly written quiz!  

“Should I Take the ACT Writing Test?” Test

Question 1 of 5

Question 2 of 5

Question 3 of 5

Question 4 of 5

Question 5 of 5

The Final Word: Be a Gryffindor and Take a Risk

The final answer is, you should probably take the test.   The vast majority of colleges don’t require writing, but the majority of highly competitive colleges do, which means if you aren’t 100% sure where you want to apply yet (and most juniors taking the ACT are not), you might be limiting your options if you don’t take the optional essay.

If you can spare the fee and feel you can get a good score, a decent ACT Writing score opens a lot of doors to you. It certainly doesn’t hurt your odds of being accepted into any school, but of course, every test-taker has different needs and realistically there are some situations where taking the ACT Writing Test may not be practical.

But if you are very uncomfortable with writing or don’t plan to apply to schools that require the essay, well, there’s no need to put yourself through another 40 minutes of agony.

Let’s get into a little more detail. By now, you already know that you’re going to be evaluating three different perspectives on a debatable issue.

But what does that look like in practice?

Glad you asked! Here’s a Magoosh example of an ACT Essay prompt and stimulus.

ACT Essay Prompt: Censorship

Almost since human beings began sharing ideas, the issue of censorship (officially suppressing ideas or writing) has been debated. Proponents of censorship argue, for example, that offensive material might morally corrupt children or that governments have the right to protect their national secrets. Opponents argue that censorship infringes on individual freedom and hinders progress. Censorship has long been an issue regarding books and papers; now, it has become a critical issue concerning the great amount of information on the Internet. Given the continued impact of censorship on various aspects of our lives, it is an issue worth examining.

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the impact of censorship.

Perspective One

Selective censorship prevents children from being exposed to offensive material. It allows parents and caretakers to determine what material children are ready for and when they are ready based on their maturity level.

Perspective Two

Censorship intrudes upon freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Individuals have the right to learn about their world, both its positive and negative aspects, and express their ideas on it.

Perspective Three

Censorship should not be condoned because it places too much power in the hands of a few: no government or leadership system should be allowed to decide what information should reach the public.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the impact of censorship on society. 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.

…And that’s what an ACT Essay prompt looks like!

Want More ACT Essay Prompts?

If you went the extra mile and used one of the above prompts for practice, fantastic! What now, though? What do you do with this beautiful practice ACT essay you’ve just written?

The first thing to do is to edit it, particularly if you wrote it under timed conditions (remember: ACT Essay time = 40 minutes). Without the constraints of time, you may see points you wish you’d developed, examples that could have been better, or even ways in which you could have improved your thesis statement.

However, if you’re going to improve significantly, it’s best to get a helping hand for editing. English teachers are a great resource; guidance counselors may also have enough familiarity with the ACT to help edit your essays. In most high schools, one teacher or staff member is usually the point person for standardized tests, and they’re a good place to start.

They can also be useful when it comes to grading your essay. Of course, you can and should use the rubric to grade your essay yourself; however, on the official ACT exam, you’ll have two graders—neither of whom will be as hard (or as easy) on you as, well, you are!

After you’ve written a few practice essays (you can find even more prompts on full-length practice tests , which are a good idea to take regularly anyway!) and worked through scoring and edits with your designated ACT Writing expert, you may notice that you’re struggling in an area or two (or three, or four). That’s only natural—this is a new task for you, after all! And you may be relieved to find that several problems in particular crop up for students facing the ACT Writing test.

Where Most Students Struggle on the ACT Essay

In my experience, students struggle the most to:

• Pick an opinion to side with…
• …and to come up with creative examples to support it.

Notice that these are the first two categories of that good ol’ rubric, “Ideas and Analysis” and “Development and Support.” There are strategies you can use to work on your organization and language usage (and we’ll look at those in a little bit), but a lot of students just don’t trust their own ideas.

Choosing a Side

To help you with #1, Magoosh’s ACT expert David Recine did a little digging. Okay, a lot of digging. He called the ACT. Here’s what he found out:

There is a weird apparent contradiction between the ACT Essay requirements in the official ACT Essay score guide, and the requirements that appear in the ACT Essay examples on the official ACT website.

Remember how the ACT Essay prompt presents an issue and three opinions on the issue? Well, in the instructions for the sample ACT Essay prompt on the ACT website , it says you need to “analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective .” Therein lies the contradiction. The official ACT Essay score guide emphasizes the importance of analyzing “multiple perspectives.”

So which is it? To find out, I contacted ACT customer service. The representative I spoke with said that the online essay prompt mentions “at least one perspective” because you need to analyze at least one of the three perspectives to have a chance at a score of more than 2. She then informed me that you need to analyze two or three of the given perspectives to have any chance at a score of 10 or higher. From there, ACT Customer service emphasized that including all three perspectives gives you the best possible chance at the full 12 points.

The customer service rep’s argument in favor of analyzing all three perspectives is supported in The Official ACT Prep Guide . Interestingly, the ACT Prep Guide’s prompts do not indicate that one perspective may be enough. Unlike the essay prompt on the ACT website, the writing instructions in the ACT OG tell you “evaluate multiple perspectives” and “evaluate perspectives given.”

So, if you want the best possible score (and who doesn’t?), you should include all three given perspectives — along with your own — in the new ACT Essay.

So that’s definitely something to keep in mind when you’re shaping your thesis statement.

Here’s some more food for thought, particularly if you’re aiming for that perfect 12 . Choose the option to provide your own perspective on the ACT essay, but only switch it up slightly.   Now, this is tricky. You can get a perfect score simply by completely agreeing with one of the three presented perspectives, and for the vast majority of students, this is the best course of action to make sure you don’t go completely off track and end up hurting your score. However, if you consider yourself to be a very strong writer, you might be able to truly impress by adding your own twist on the prompt. In most cases, the easiest way to do this is to narrow the scope of one of the perspectives. For example, if you look at ACT’s official sample essay #5 , you’ll see that the graders applauded the student for evaluating the perspectives through the “lens of a particular ideology”: capitalism.

The prompt is about a larger issue–the positive or negative impact of “intelligent machines” in our society–but this student has narrowed the scope, and in doing so, was able to provide a specific compelling argument that didn’t try to address all of life in a five-paragraph essay.

So for you ACT Writing superstars out there who are looking for a score in the 11 to 12 range, take these key tips to heart and get practicing with ACT Writing prompts. The new ACT essay prompt is tough, but practicing with sample prompts and coming up with arguments on the fly will help!

Examples on the ACT Essay

In terms of examples, thinking outside the box is always better. So if something kooky (but relevant) occurs to you, go ahead and use it!   On the first new essay on one ACT, a whole lot of students wrote about the Civil Rights movement. It really just was an obvious example that a lot of students had studied, and it was certainly the first thing that jumped to my mind as well. Now, technically, graders are not supposed to be punishing you for an unoriginal example as long as you do it well. But remember the golden rule: they are only human! If a grader reads 50 essays about the Civil Rights movement in a row, and then they get to yours, and you are writing about something totally different, they are going to sit up and pay attention. Not only that, but it will be more difficult to compare your essay to others. If you write about the same topic as everyone else, it is likely that some people won’t do it as well as you, but that others will do it better. So try not to open yourself to these comparisons. Be original.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t write about a common topic, but if you are going to do it, make sure you pick very specific examples within that topic to demonstrate your knowledge. But if you can think of something that would be less obvious—well, I would go that route.

Where Most Students Lose Points on the ACT Essay—and What to Do About It

Those are some common struggles students face when approaching the essay. But what causes them to lose the most points? Well…

• Unclear structure. To avoid this pitfall, know your essay structure in advance . We’ll get into the best organizational strategies a little later on.
• Vague examples . Give VERY specific examples.For each of the three perspectives, make sure you give specific examples. And the more specific they are, the better. You don’t need a lot–two or three good ones do the trick. Examples from historical and contemporary events and circumstances tend to go over best. Personal examples can also work, but graders seem to be biased towards outside examples they seem to carry more weight.

As with everything on the ACT, practice makes perfect ! That’s one reason why…

Now you know how not to lose points—let’s talk about how you can gain them. More specifically, let’s take a look at how you can bring your ACT Writing score up 2, 3, or 4 points.

What Does it Mean to Go up 2, 3, 4 Points on the ACT Essay?

To do this, let’s start by returning to that all-important official ACT Writing Test Rubric . Remember, because the ACT combines two graders’ evaluations for your final score, going up 2 points really means going up one category on the rubric (i.e. from a 5 to a 6); going up 3 points means going up between 1 and 2 categories (i.e. from a 4 to a 6); and going up 4 points means going up 2 categories (i.e. from a 3 to a 6).

So with that in mind, let’s quickly review what the ACT graders are looking for from a perfect 6 ACT essay:

ACT Writing: What You Need for a 12 Essay

Now, a few things to keep in mind. No essay is perfect, nor do the ACT graders expect it to be. The graders know you only have 40 minutes to respond to the prompt. They’re just looking for a good first draft.

Your essay does not have to DO ALL THE THINGS in each category in order to be given that score. If an essay meets most or almost all of the criteria for a 6, then it’s given a 6.

But remember, the ACT readers don’t expect perfection. If your grammar isn’t perfect, or if your essay doesn’t have paragraphs, it isn’t a deal-breaker. Your essay has to meet most or almost all of the criteria for each category to be given that score, not every single one .

Bringing Your ACT Essay Score Up 2 Points

You can gain 2 points on the ACT Essay with some adjustments to the way you think about the prompt and craft your argument. Generally, these adjustments are pretty minor. How minor, you may wonder? Let’s take a look at how a test-taker could move from a 5 to a 6 (and thus move from a 10 to a perfect 12) on the ACT Essay.

ACT Writing: What You Need to Go From a 10 to a 12

I’ll be the first one to admit that the differences between many of these criteria are subtle (if not, as in the case of the last, nonexistent!) However, if you examine them carefully, you’ll see that the main difference between an ACT essay that receives a 5 and an ACT essay that receives a 6 is that the 5 essay is competent and works well with the material that’s provided, while the 6 essay expands the ideas in thoughtful and nuanced ways. This principle goes for everything from the thesis itself to the word choice.

Bringing Your ACT Essay Score Up 3 Points

Bringing your ACT Essay score up by 3 points is a tricky goal. Why? Because raising your score by 3 points means that you’ll be attempting to move up by 2 points from one grader and 1 from the other.

Because you’ll need to bring your score up 2 points (for example, from a 4 to a 6) with one of your graders, it’s actually a good idea to aim for this 2-point raise in your score from both for an increase of 4 points. You may only end up getting a 3-point bump, but it’s better to aim too high than too low!

With that in mind, read on to learn more about…

Bringing Your ACT Essay Score Up 4 Points

While the 2-point jump may seem relatively easy (though it does definitely require both a perspective shift and practice!) a 4-point increase on the ACT Essay may seem more intimidating. Going from a 10 to a 12 on the essay sounds a lot easier than going from an 8 to a 12, after all.

But the biggest difference between an 8 essay and a 12 essay is the same difference that we can see between a 10 essay and a 12 essay, just of a different order of magnitude. While a 12 essay, as we just saw, is nuanced and the 10 essay is competent, the 8 essay is basically pretty good. An 8 essay does what the prompt asks, but that’s pretty much all it does.

To get those extra four points on the ACT Essay, you’ll need to consider exactly how you’re addressing each criterion. So let’s take a look at the precise differences between an 8 and a 12 essay:

ACT Writing: What You Need to Go From an 8 to a 12

Bringing Your ACT Essay Score Up Generally

That’s all well and good, I can hear you saying, but what if I’m not aiming for a perfect score on the ACT Essay? What if I’m currently writing 4 essays and I want to bring my score up to 8? Is that possible?

Oh, it’s possible. It’ll take practice and commitment, but you can get there in the end.

Here’s what you’ll need to do: look at the above shifts between a 10 and 12 essay, then between an 8 and a 12 essay. Notice that the lower the ACT essay scores get, the less precise and clear aspects of the writing are.

This is all the more true for an essay scoring 6 or below. If you’re scoring in this range, you need to think about specifics in every aspect of your essay. Make your thesis statement much more specific. Make your examples much more specific. Make your language choices much more specific (“violet” instead of “purple” or “colorful” or even “interesting,” depending on the context).  

We’ve seen how to boost your score to the perfect 12—but what if you’re just starting out? Or what if you’re current essay is a 6 or below, and you know that you’ll need to overhaul your approach to the essay to end up with that elite, perfect score?

In this section, we’ll take a look at exactly how you can start from scratch and build the perfect ACT essay (that gets that perfect ACT score)!  

ACT Writing: Breaking Down the Steps

First of all, perfect scorers on the ACT Essay are systematic in their approach to the Writing section. By that, I mean that they don’t rely on their existing writing skills and hope they can just wing it on test day. Instead, they plan ahead as much as possible, focusing not only on what they should be doing during each minute (yup!) of the writing section, but also on how they should be doing it.

In case you were wondering what you can do to become part of this elite group, I’ve got you covered. Here are the steps to writing the perfect ACT Essay!

Step 1: Break Down the Prompt (5 Minutes)

As you read the prompt and three opinions, two questions should be at the front of your mind:

• What is the prompt’s main idea?
• How can I summarize each of the three opinions?

Take a minute to write (or scribble) your answers to these two questions on the prompt itself. For the prompt’s main idea, you shouldn’t need to write more than three sentences . For the three opinions, one sentence each should do .

The reason it’s a good idea to take notes at this stage is so that you won’t forget these main ideas later. After all, these ideas will most likely show up (just with better handwriting and in your own words) in your actual essay.

Step 2: Develop Your Opinion (5 Minutes)

Okay, so you’ve broken down all the information. Now it’s time to come up with some opinion(s) of your own.

Take a moment to reread your summary of the prompt. It’s time to decide what you believe (or what’s easiest for you to argue). When you’ve come up with your opinion, write it on the prompt. Using arrows, point to the parts of the prompt that support your idea. The arrows will help you find this information (and save time) as you write your essay.

Step 3: Make Connections (5 Minutes)

You have your opinion and supporting information from the prompt. Now it’s time to make connections between your ideas and those in the three opinions. That’s right, we’re going to be drawing more arrows! Review the opinions for ideas/beliefs that are either close to your own opinion are dramatically opposite. These are the ideas you’re either going to be agreeing with or disproving in your essay, so you should know where they are.

Step 4: Put it all Together (20 Minutes)

Fortunately, the exam doesn’t have a set ACT Essay format for your essay. You get some freedom, but trust me, I’ve seen how freedom can become a double-edged sword. It’s easy to think “I’ve got this” and then go all over the place. Scores suffer, and I don’t want that to happen to you.

Step 5: Proofread—Don’t Edit! (5 Minutes)

Since “Language Use” is its own separate grading category, it is worth your time to catch any errors you may have inadvertently made while writing quickly. However, don’t be tempted to use this time to rewrite your essay! Accept the fact that you’re going to have to stick with the thesis and examples you chose, and focus on correcting spelling and grammar, and making your language choices more precise.

What Should the Introduction Do?

You want to make sure your introductory paragraph introduces the perspectives provided in the prompt and ends with a thesis statement that states your own perspective and why you believe it.

For example, based on the released ACT example prompt on Intelligent Machines here , this could potentially be your introduction:

Although intelligent machines might cause us to question what makes us human, it is too extreme to say that they cause us to either to lose our humanity or push us to become super-human. Humans and machines can work in concert: machines can be employed to take on tasks that are menial, tedious, and time-consuming, leaving humans free to work on tasks that require a human mind and spirit.

Notice that the first sentence summarizes the first and third perspectives in the prompt and the thesis statement agrees with the second. This sets up a structure for your essay in which you will evaluate the three perspectives and explain why you agree with one of them.

Okay…What About My Examples?

You have a certain level of “creative liberty” when it comes to your evidence. You can make up evidence and details if you need to, as long as they’re plausible. As far as the ACT is concerned, you can make up a book, survey, study, etc. that supports your argument. Just don’t give the author of your fictional study the name “Dr. J. Jacob Jingleheimer-Schmidt.”

Why is this okay on the ACT? Well, you’ve only got 40 minutes to come up with a clear, reasoned, well-supported, cogent, persuasive essay on the topic given to you. You don’t have the time or resources for research, but you have to make the argument somehow. If you had the ability to do even a quick Google search, you would. Since you can’t, make up something that sounds plausible if you have to. Just support your argument. That’s what the graders care about.

Writing Rules You Must Know to Get That Perfect Score

How can you do this? Get organized early and check out Magoosh’s guides to the finer points of English grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary that the ACT graders will be looking for. Here are the ACT writing tips you need before test day:

ACT English Writing Skills: Everything You Need to Know

• 19 ACT Grammar Rules You Need to Know to Get a Great Score
• ACT English Punctuation
• Writing Style

ACT English Vocabulary: Everything You Need to Know

• ACT Vocabulary
• Top Tips for ACT Vocabulary
• Boost Your Vocabulary, Boost Your ACT Score

ACT Test Day: Essay Timing

You know how you’re going to come up with your thesis. You know how you’re going to organize your essay. You even know how you’re going to use your vocab and grammar to your advantage…

…but can you do it in 40 minutes?

Timed practice is the key to mastering this, but even masters of the ACT essay will occasionally find that they’re running out of time.

It happens. You look at the clock, and you realize that time’s almost up. Don’t panic—there are ways to save your essay… and your score!

Here are some steps you can take to adjust your pace and writing when the clock is running down.

If you are running out of ACT writing time, stay focused. Running out of time can be very distracting. You may feel the urge to stop, take a deep breath, and think about what you should do. Any pause you make to just think should be minimal. Focus on continuing to write, while adjusting your pace and approach.

Adjust Your Pace

Write faster . If you’d been writing at a more careful pace to avoid errors and make good word choices, focus less on these minor aspects of writing. Speed up and just aim for getting the essay done. Word choice and errors do affect your score in some ways, but an incomplete essay will get a much lower score than an essay that just has a few mistakes.

When you speed up, you will naturally change your approach a little, because you won’t have time to check your writing for the smaller details, as I mentioned above. But there are other more substantial changes you can make as you approach the rest of your essay.

One thing you can do is develop your ideas less for the remainder of the essay. Suppose you have two paragraphs left to write. Maybe your previous paragraphs has three supporting ideas for each topic sentence. To save time, include just one or two supporting details in your remaining paragraphs.

The same goes for the remaining structure of your essay overall. If you used transitional phrases and sentences earlier in the essay, skip them for the rest of the essay. And even if your introductory paragraph was three, four, or even five sentences long, your concluding paragraph can be just one good sentence– or maybe two.

Quickly select your most important ideas. Look at the original passage in the ACT essay prompt. What are the main ideas in the introduction and the three perspectives given. How simply can you put those ideas? And which ideas can you ignore and leave out of your essay, while still making your essay as complete as possible?

Worry about completion, not perfection. If you try maintain top quality while rushing to beat the clock, you will fail. And as you feel yourself failing to write a perfect essay, you’ll start to feel upset and distracted, and you’ll slow down.

Instead focus on completing the essay, ensuring it contains every important key idea, some support for each of the key ideas, and a clear conclusion. With your eyes on that prize, distractions will melt away, and you’ll speed up instead of slowing down. In the best of scenarios, you may speed up enough that you still have at least a little time to go back and make a few last minute (or last second) improvements before your time is cut off.

A Note on the 5-Paragraph Essay

Should the ACT Essay be five paragraphs?   The short answer? Not necessarily. In theory, if you can make a coherent, persuasive argument within the time limit, it doesn’t matter how many or how few paragraphs you have (as long as you have some paragraphs–writing all in one big blob is no good).

The more practical answer, though, is ALL HAIL THE FIVE-PARAGRAPH ESSAY . And if you’re aiming for that perfect score, just make slight adjustments to the standard format; we’ll take a look at how to do this in the next section.

What is the Five Paragraph Essay Format?

In case you’re unfamiliar with it, the five-paragraph essay is a standard essay format that is taught in many, many schools. It’s essentially a framework that you can drape almost any topic over and still have a solid structure at the end. It also makes sense on an essay question that presents you with three different perspectives to analyze. You can devote one paragraph to each perspective and end on the one that most agrees with your own perspective, so you can develop it a little further.

Your basic five-paragraph essay starts with the introduction . Here, you introduce the debatable topic and state your thesis .

Your next three paragraphs are the body of your essay. On the old essay (and on many essays you write in school) this is where you put your examples, reasons, and evidence for your thesis. Since you’re provided with three perspectives to analyze, this actually makes your life quite a bit easier. You don’t even have to decide what each paragraph should be about! Each paragraph can be devoted to analyzing one of the three perspectives using solid, specific evidence and reasoning .

I suggest that you order the perspectives in the way that will best support your overall argument. This typically means putting the perspective you agree with most in the third body paragraph. Then you can further develop your own perspective within that paragraph or include it as a separate fourth body paragraph if appropriate. It also helps a lot to have a clear transition between each paragraph.

The final paragraph is the conclusion. You do not have to restate every argument you’ve made in the body, but you should summarize your argument and restate your thesis in different words. If you can, try to end with something that sounds like it ties everything together. For example, if you use a quote in the introduction, reference it in the conclusion. Little things like that make the essay feel more cohesive.

How to Use the 5-Paragraph Essay Format to Your Advantage

This may sound terribly boring. And, admittedly, it isn’t the most exciting way to write. But can you imagine walking into your ACT with the pre-write for your essay already half written ? All you have to do is get the specific topic and decide what your perspective is. You’re already ahead of the game!

What does this look like in practice? Here’s one organization strategy that should work well if you choose to agree with one of the perspectives.

• Brief intro paragraph (2-3 sentences)
• Evaluation of the first perspective you did not choose with specific examples
• Evaluation of other perspective you did not choose with specific examples
• Evaluation of the perspective you agree with and further development on why you agree with it using specific examples (this should be a longer paragraph than the first two, or it could be split into two paragraphs)
• Brief conclusion (approx 2 sentences): make a final case for your argument

This structure ensures that you answer all three parts of the question: evaluating the three perspectives, developing your own, and explaining the relationship between your perspective and the others.

And if you’re dying to see what this looks like in actual practice, wonder no more! Kristin will show you exactly how she’s going to write a great ACT essay from start to finish. In the video, Kristin is taking on the role of a student seeing an ACT essay question for the first time, evaluating the perspectives, brainstorming, outlining, and finally writing each paragraph of the essay. And she’ll give you all of her most important tips along the way, so stick it out :).

Remember, this is just one essay, and it is not necessarily perfect. But, hey, no one is perfect in 40 minutes! There are thousands of successful ways to approach this essay.

What differentiates a “perfect 12” essay? Primarily specificity and precision. However, those two qualities have to run deep, affecting everything from your thesis statement to your organization, from your choice (and explanation) of your examples to the mechanics and vocabulary you use.

But even if you don’t think of yourself as a great writer, remember that you can still get a perfect score on the ACT Essay: you just need to learn the conventions, practice a ton, and constantly evaluate your work so you can keep improving. Is it easy? No. But is it impossible? Also no.

On test day, let all thoughts of perfection fall away. Just focus on what you’ve learned in your practice, and on writing the best essay you possibly can. And be proud of yourself—you’ve earned it!

After all, some of the best ACT moments come after the test. As mega-scorer Magoosh student Ori C. tells us, “I’d say the best part [of the experience] was when I was sitting on the bus and got a Magoosh notification saying that my ACT scores had probably been posted. I went on the ACT website and screenshotted my scores to text to my parents. Finally seeing the scores verified that all my hard work had paid off.”

So the major takeaway here? If you want to get that perfect 12 on your ACT Essay…be like J.K. Rowling (who had the first Harry Potter book rejected by 12 publishers!) and refuse to give up!

Want to ace all sections of the ACT? Check out our posts:

• How to Get a Perfect 36 on ACT Reading: An Intergalactic Guide
• How to Get a Perfect 36 on ACT Math: The Jurassic Guide
• How to Get a Perfect 36 on ACT Science: The Dark Knight’s Guide
• How to Get a Perfect 36 on the ACT Reading Test: A Tropical Guide

With many thanks to Kristin Fracchia, Catrina Coffey, David Recine, and Thomas Broderick for their contributions to this post.

Rachel is a Magoosh Content Creator. She writes and updates content on our High School and GRE Blogs to ensure students are equipped with the best information during their test prep journey. As a test-prep instructor for more than five years in there different countries, Rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT, and she is one of the authors of our Magoosh ACT Prep Book . Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Université de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London. For over a decade, Rachel has honed her craft as a fiction and memoir writer and public speaker. Her novel, THE BALLERINAS , is forthcoming in December 2021 from St. Martin’s Press , while her memoir, GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND , co-written with Jessica Pan, was published in 2014 by Penguin Random House. Her work has appeared in over a dozen online and print publications, including Vanity Fair Hollywood. When she isn’t strategically stringing words together at Magoosh, you can find Rachel riding horses or with her nose in a book. Join her on Twitter , Instagram , or Facebook !

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By submitting my email address. i certify that i am 13 years of age or older, agree to recieve marketing email messages from the princeton review, and agree to terms of use., sample act essay prompt (and how to tackle it).

Are you taking the ACT with Writing? No need to stress! The ACT essay follows a predictable format, which means you can practice and prepare beforehand. Take a look at a sample ACT writing prompt and learn five key steps to penning a high-scoring essay.

Keep in mind: The ACT writing essay is optional. Currently, only 27 colleges and universities require the ACT with Writing. You can see the complete list  here . If there is any chance that you might apply to one of those schools, you should register for the ACT with Writing. Not sure where you will apply? You should strongly consider signing up for the essay and keep your options open.

ACT with Writing: Sample Prompt

This example writing prompt comes straight from our book ACT Prep :

Education and the Workplace

Many colleges and universities have cut their humanities departments, and high schools have started to shift their attention much more definitively toward STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and away from ELA (English, Language Arts). Representatives from both school boards and government organizations suggest that the move toward STEM is necessary in helping students to participate in a meaningful way in the American workplace. Given the urgency of this debate for the future of education and society as a whole, it is worth examining the potential consequences of this shift in how students are educated in the United States.

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the shift in American education.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the issue of how schools should balance STEM and ELA subjects. 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.

How to Write the ACT Essay

Your job is to write an essay in which you take some sort of position on the prompt, all while assessing the three perspectives provided in the boxes. Find a way to anchor your essay with a unique perspective of your own that can be defended and debated, and you are already in the upper echelon of scorers.

Step 1: Work the Prompt

What in the prompt requires you to weigh in? Why is this issue still the subject of debate and not a done deal?

Step 2: Work the Perspectives

Typically, the three perspectives will be split: one for , one against , and one in the middle . Your goal in Step 2 is to figure out where each perspective stands and then identify at least one shortcoming of each perspective. For the example above, ask yourself: 

• What does each perspective consider?
• What does each perspective overlook?

Read More: What's a Good ACT Score?

Step 3: Generate Your Own Perspective

Now it's time to come up with your own perspective! If you merely restate one of the three given perspectives, you won’t be able to get into the highest scoring ranges. You’ll draw from each of the perspectives, and you may side with one of them, but your perspective should have something unique about it.

Step 4: Put It All Together

Now that you have your ideas in order, here's a blueprint for how to organize the ACT essay. This blueprint works no matter what your prompt is.

Step 5: (If There's Time): Proofread

Spend one or two minutes on proofreading your essay if you have time. You’re looking for big, glaring errors. If you find one, erase it completely or cross it out neatly. Though neatness doesn’t necessarily affect your grade, it does make for a happy grader.

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How to write your ACT essay

Published September 27, 2020. Updated August 16, 2021.

As if the ACT test wasn’t difficult enough, lo and behold, there’s a dreaded essay! But fear not; if you’ve written an expository essay – and you’ve likely completed several of these through your English literature and History courses – you already have the experience of investigating an issue, evaluating the evidence, and arguing for your preferred stance. In other words, you’re already on the right path to starting the essay!

Worried about your writing? Submit your paper for a Chegg Writing essay check , or for an Expert Check proofreading . Both can help you find and fix potential writing issues.

Overview of the ACT essay

The ACT essay, also known as the ACT Writing Test, is a 40-minute assessment of your writing skills. Test takers are given a prompt influenced by a current issue or debate, with three different perspectives. Each perspective presents a different view of the debate or subject. On average, the perspectives are brief – only about two or three sentences long – and require you to write an essay describing your own views in relation to the perspectives. In other words, one perspective is considered to be for the issue, one against it, and one is generally neutral but tends to shift towards supporting or criticizing the issue. There is no word minimum or maximum; however, the goal is to write between 400-700 words in order to have a strong essay.

• The ACT writing test is 40 minutes long.
• The writing prompt presents a current issue or debate, then three perspectives on the issue/debate.
• You choose one perspective to include in your argument.

Grading for the ACT Essay

The scoring criteria for the ACT essay are based on four categories:

Ideas and Analysis

Development and support, organization, language use and conventions.

Each category has a maximum score of 12 points, with the maximum grade earned on the essay being a 6. In other words, if you earn 12 points in each category, your total essay score will be 6.

For Ideas and Analysis, you are required to critically analyze the issue and develop a compelling, argumentative stance that avoids abstract ideas and instead utilizes precision and clarity. Your writing should examine the perspectives and connect them to your thesis statement, which develops your stance on the issue.

For Development and Support, you are required to provide excellent insight and reasoning in supporting your claims. This can be provided in numerous methods (statistics, examples, etc.) and doesn’t have to be true, since you aren’t expected to have prior knowledge of the topics. However, any exaggerated arguments will count against your score.

For Organization, you are required to organize your ideas in the proper structure of an argumentative or expository essay. This includes a thesis statement followed by paragraphs of evidence and support for your stance, with a conclusion. Proper transitions are essential for getting a top score.

For Language Use and Conventions, you are required to write without grammatical errors and to follow proper mechanics. An advanced vocabulary also earns points. This category sometimes overlaps with Organization.

Now, let’s put together a strategy for putting yourself in the best position possible to receive a top score, and to utilize the 40 minutes in the most efficient way possible.

Step 1: Spend 5-10 minutes planning and creating an outline

Prior to the exam, it’s helpful to keep yourself updated with current issues. Almost all previous ACT essay prompts were involved with a controversial topic, political debate, social issue, or related topic. This example is based on the current ACT essay practice prompt, Intelligent Machines .

First, note the question at hand . For example:

Automation is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what is lost when we replace humans with machines?

Then, review each perspective . Note that Perspective One is against the evolution of automation; in other words, the perspective is considered a con. Perspective Two supports automation due to the argument of efficiency. Perspective Three is also pro-automation, although it provides a much different idea compared to the other perspectives.

Now, you have to think: what’s your stance ? Do you support the advancement of automation? Why or why not? A good outline will connect your own ideas with at least one perspective, based on your stance. In the example essay, the writer agrees that automation is beneficial for humanity. Make a comment on each perspective to give yourself a head start. An example outline looks like this:

Perspective One

It is somewhat true that automation impacts people’s behavior negatively due to high expectations for speed of service and efficiency. Computers generally minimize the risk of error, and when humans make mistakes, people become impatient. However, this supports the idea that jobs that can be easily automated should not be done manually.

Perspective Two

Efficiency is extremely important in providing numerous services, such as ordering food from digital menus instead of talking to a person. Efficiency also reduces the costs of items, such as automobiles, which benefits the consumer.

Perspective Three

Modern automation is certainly unprecedented. it allows us to develop infrastructure and life-saving products quickly, grow food faster, and more. This frees up time for humans to pursue other interests, allowing culture to evolve in ways we could not fathom.

Once you’ve thought about each perspective and written down some notes, you’ll be ready to write your thesis statement.

Step 2: Write your thesis statement

Having a strong thesis statement sets the precedent for your body paragraphs and conclusion, while also adhering to every scoring criterion. Since you agree with the idea that automation provides a net benefit for humanity, your thesis needs to be clear on why and how, while also acknowledging the other side of the debate. By doing so, you set your paragraphs up for promoting productive arguments and evidence.

A thesis statement is included in the example essay:

While some argue that machines negatively impact humanity, the overall contribution of automation has resulted in additional productivity, a higher quality of life, and a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone.

Note that the beginning of the statement acknowledges the other side of the issue, followed by two reasons why you believe automation is beneficial. Each reason guides the rest of your essay, with the first reason being the topic of your first paragraph, the second reason the topic of your second paragraph, and the concluding thought – that automation will lead to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone – the basis for your concluding paragraph.

As part of your introductory paragraph, you shouldn’t jump immediately to the thesis statement. In terms of Organization and essay structure, you are required to provide a lead-in to the thesis, also known as a bridge. This can be a general statement acknowledging your stance; in our example, we provide examples of automated technology that has improved everyday life for humanity. The lead-in to the thesis is not meant to be long, so keep it at one to three sentences maximum.

Also, ensure your thesis either rejects a perspective, agrees with a perspective, or provides an alternative. The example thesis agrees with two-thirds of the perspectives while acknowledging the negative Perspective One and promoting a counterexample to support automation.

Step 3: Ensure your body paragraphs analyze the perspectives while supporting your thesis statement

Remember, your thesis statement is technically your argument, so if you’re supporting the development of automation, the language in your body paragraphs should not be contradictory. Let’s say you disagree with Perspective One; the language in your paragraph should acknowledge the stance of the perspective with supporting facts, while turning it around to provide a counterargument. Since you’re limited on time, you may not be able to write a paragraph for each perspective, so you can merge two perspectives into one paragraph as long as you provide supporting evidence that will contribute to your argument.

Some methods of supporting your argument include:

• Anecdotal claims – Using the word “I” to use personal experience to support or critique the stance of a perspective
• Statistics – The statistics don’t have to be true, as you won’t have access to source material to confirm anything you say. However, you should be familiar with how the conclusions of statistics or research outcomes are written and put this information into your own words.
• Worldview – The prompt and perspectives are not fully rounded ideas, and you are encouraged to argue a completely different perspective in order to show that the criticisms or support for an idea are not fully developed.

The concluding sentence of each body paragraph should provide a transition into the next paragraph or conclusion.

Step 4: Write a conclusion that recapitulates your thesis statement and topic of your body paragraphs

Like any argumentative or expository essay, you need to provide a conclusion. In essence, the conclusion is a restatement of your thesis while including a reference to the main point of your body paragraphs. Similar to your introductory paragraph, the conclusion should begin with a statement that acknowledges the nature of the prompt.

Writing tips:

• Aim for at least 2-3 pages of writing.
• Brush up on your vocabulary – high-level words (when used correctly and appropriately) increase your score and add credibility to your reasoning.
• Don’t stretch out a single idea; doing so often leads to redundancy, which takes away from your argument.
• Planning is important. You might feel that 40 minutes isn’t enough time to write, but spending one-fourth of that time on planning will give you direction on your writing and time to…
• Make sure to spend a few minutes after you’ve finished to review your writing for any errors.

Before you turn in that paper, don’t forget to cite your sources in APA format , MLA format , or a style of your choice.

Example essays:

There are ACT essay two examples linked here :

• ACT Essay Example: Job Changes
• ACT Essay Example: Intelligent Machines  

Published September 1, 2020.

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New Act Essay Writing Section

The new act essay, your full guide to act writing section.

Since September of 2015, the ACT essay / writing section has gone through a radical change. And that’s amazing news for you.

The ACT essay was always easy to master with a bit of practice and the right techniques. However, the new ACT essay is even easier to perfect than the old one ever could have been . This short guide will teach you exactly what’s changing, how to prepare for the new essay, and how to take full advantage of this new format.

Quick side note: If you’re looking for a proven ACT prep system to help you write a flawless essay check out my ACT prep program . It is built on my proven tactics and methodologies and has an average user score improvement of over +4.66 points.

Why did ACT test change?

The new “CORE-friendly” ACT essay / writing portion just makes this test more beatable than it already was. I’ll leave the rest to the ACT’s PR team. For now, let’s get into what you should do about it.

What is Different?

The old ACT writing / essay section gave you a simple prompt, then asked you to take a side on that prompt and argue your point. The basic format looked something like this:

“Watching TV can be bad for your brain. However, sometimes it’s educational, so some people think it’s good for your brain. So in your opinion, do you think that TV is good or bad?

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 old format couldn’t have been any simpler. “Here are two opinions on a topic. Pick one and then write about it for a few paragraphs.”

The new ACT writing / essay format is much more complicated. But here’s the funny thing: while the new ACT writing / essay FORMAT is much more complex, the process of WRITING these essays has become VASTLY SIMPLER .

Here’s what it looks like now: https://www.act.org/actnext/pdf/SampleWritingPrompt.pdf

Take the time to read through all of this and really get a feel for what the new ACT writing / essay section looks like. Once you do, we shall move on:

How Do You Write This Thing (and why is it so much easier)?

In the old ACT essay, you only had to do one thing – pick a side and argue it. Now, you have to do so much! You need to evaluate three different arguments, you need to come up with your own argument, and then you have to relate your argument to the three arguments given. Oh, the humanity!

But here’s the thing: in the old version of the ACT essay, you had to both come up with an argument and come up with the reasons why you support it. In the new ACT essay, all of the arguments and reasoning behind them is provided for you!

It’s the difference between being asked to “make lasagna or pizza for dinner tonight” and “grabbing something off the McDonald’s dollar menu.” Sure, there are more options on the McDonald’s menu – but they’re already cooked for you!

At first, it seems like there’s a ton more to do. In reality, the ACT is doing all of the hard work for you! All you need to do is read carefully, pick what you like, and then follow a simple process to “plug in your opinion.”

A reminder: If you’re eager to succeed with a proven ACT prep system to help you write a flawless essay check out my ACT prep program . It is built on my proven tactics and methodologies and has an average user score improvement of over +4.66 points .

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March 22, 2016

The ACT Essay: A Breakdown

The new ACT essay prompts that premiered last fall have been giving even top-scoring students a run for their money. The reason is because the ACT is now asking students to do a lot more in their essay responses. So let’s break it down.

The ACT essay prompt consists of three main parts:

1. Introductory background information on a debatable issue

2. Three different perspectives on this debatable issue

3. The essay task  

The example essay prompt on the ACT’s website (which I highly suggest you check out) is about the presence of intelligent machines in our world today. The essay begins with some general thoughts and examples (the robots that are now building cars on assembly lines once manned by humans, the automated checkout counters in grocery stores) and ends with some rhetorical questions for you to consider.

This introduction is intended to make sure you both understand what the heck the perspectives are talking about and to get your creative juices flowing for writing, so make sure you do read it. You can feel free to use any information you see here as a jumping off point for an introduction or as supporting points in your essay.

After this introductory piece, you’ll see the three perspectives. Three (as opposed to two) is interesting because you are not going to be dealing with just one side that is clearly “for” the issue and one that is “against.” Instead, you may find two on one side and one on the other. More likely you’ll find that at least one of the perspectives, if not all of them, is more nuanced. Maybe it provides a different reasoning for the validity of the issue being discussed, or maybe it “approves” of the issue only in certain circumstances. The variety provided by three perspectives makes your task a little harder than an essay in which you are asked to simply argue for or against an issue.

As you can probably tell, these first two parts will change on every ACT; the third part, the essay task, will be the same on every test, which is why you should know it by heart. Here it is:

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on [insert controversial topic here]. 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.

See “The Essay” section below for my thoughts on how to effectively address this prompt.

The Time Limit

You have 40 minutes to write the ACT essay. It’s not a ton of time, but honestly you probably don’t want the ACT to give you any more time after several hours of multiple choice questions. You’re probably ready to get out of there before it even begins. The good news is that with such a short time limit, the ACT really isn’t expecting spectacularness. Just a short, concise essay with a few examples. You can pull that off.

Even though that is not a lot of writing time, I suggest you spend a full 10-15 minutes prewriting and outlining before you begin. That time will pay off in an essay that is far more organized and persuasive than a rambling list of your thoughts as they occur to you.

With three tasks to accomplish: analyzing the given perspectives, developing your own, and explaining the relationship between yours and those given, you need a plan. The ACT graders seem to care most that you are making your own argument, so I suggest you start here: end a brief introductory paragraph with a thesis statement that gives your perspective on the issue. Then devote a body paragraph to each of the three perspectives, ending with the one that you agree with. If you choose to argue for a perspective different from the ones given, you may need a fourth body paragraph. Finally, if you have time, write a brief conclusion (two or so sentences is fine) that wraps it all up.

This isn’t the only way to structure a winning ACT essay, but it definitely makes sure you do everything the prompt is asking you.

The Scoring

Your essay will be scored by two graders who will grant between 1-6 points on four different dimensions: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use. This means you will end up with a total of 2-12 points on each of these dimensions. Your raw scores are then converted to a scaled score from 1-36 points, similar to how the multiple choice sections are scored.

Whereas the SAT essay puts more emphasis on analytical writing, the ACT essay puts more emphasis on argumentative writing. It’s a bit of a different skill set and you may be more suited for one over the other. This doesn’t mean you should plan which test to take based on the optional essay, but it might be a consideration in your overall decision. In any case, the best way to practice writing these specific styles of essays is to practice writing these specific styles of essays. So get practicing with the prompts on the College Board and ACT websites.

Related Resources:

•  Tips for Parents of College Applicants •  ACT vs SAT: Pros And Cons •  The SAT Essay: A Breakdown

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How to Write a Top-Scoring ACT Essay

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Editor's Note: The following article is a guest post by Kristin at Magoosh. It originally appeared on the Magoosh high school blog .

Prepping for the ACT and determined to achieve the highest score possible? With a little help from useful tools and resources like an ACT study guide , you can. But are you interested in raising your ACT essay score in particular? Well, you're in luck, because in this post we review the top two tips for an essay that is going to knock the socks off the graders.

To do that, you need to remember that your graders are human beings. They are reading lots and lots of essays. And a lot of them start to sound alike. So if you are shooting for a good score on the essay, all you really need to do is write a clear, argumentative thesis, address all three of the required perspectives, include good examples, and have a coherent structure.

But if you want a GREAT score, you need to stand out from the crowd. Here's how you can do it:

1. Use less obvious examples in your ACT essay.

On the first new essay, a lot of students wrote about the civil rights movement. It was an obvious example that a lot of students had studied, and it was certainly the first thing that jumped to my mind as well. Now, technically, graders are not supposed to be punishing you for an unoriginal example as long as you do it well. But remember the golden rule: write for a human reader! If a grader reads 50 essays about the civil rights movement in a row and then gets to yours and you are writing about something totally different, the grader is going to sit up and pay attention. Not only that, but it will also be more difficult to compare your essay to others. If you write about the same topic as everyone else, it is likely that some people won't do it as well as you, but others will do it better. So try not to open yourself to these comparisons. Be original.

Again, this doesn't mean that you can't write about a common topic, but if you are going to do it, make sure you pick very specific examples within that topic to demonstrate your knowledge. But if you can think of something that would be less obvious, go that route.

2. Choose the option to provide your own perspective on the ACT essay, but only switch it up slightly.

Now, this is tricky. You can get a perfect score simply by completely agreeing with one of the three presented perspectives, and for the vast majority of students, this is the best course of action to make sure you don't go completely off track and end up hurting your score. However, if you consider yourself to be a very strong writer, you might be able to truly impress by adding your own twist on the prompt. In most cases, the easiest way to do this is to narrow the scope of one of the perspectives. For example, if you look at sample essay #5 on act.org, you'll see that the graders applauded the student for evaluating the perspectives through the "lens of a particular ideology": capitalism. Here's an excerpt of the score explanation:

The prompt is about a larger issue—the positive or negative impact of "intelligent machines" in our society—but this student has narrowed the scope and, in doing so, was able to provide a specific compelling argument that didn't try to address all areas of life in a five-paragraph essay.

So for you ACT-writing superstars out there who are looking for a score in the 11–12 range, take these key tips to heart, and get practicing with ACT writing prompts. The new ACT essay prompt is tough, but practicing with sample prompts and coming up with arguments on the fly will help! Practice the essay on its own, and then graduate to an ACT Practice Test to simulate the test-day experience.

About the Author

Kristin makes sure Magoosh's sites are full of awesome, free resources that can be found by students prepping for standardized tests. With a PhD from UC Irvine and degrees in Education and English, she's been working in education since 2004 and has helped students prepare for standardized tests, as well as college and graduate school admissions, since 2007. She enjoys the agony and bliss of trail running, backpacking, hot yoga, and esoteric knowledge.

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Dr. robert d. kohen, college admissions consulting & test prep, ten new act essay question prompts.

The ACT recently changed the format of the optional essay, debuting the new essay on the September 2015 exam. From September on, all essay prompts will require you to not only respond to a specific question, but to also read and address three unique perspectives on the question.

While the new essay format is admittedly more complex than the earlier version, it’s still very predictable and you can do very well on it with the right preparation. For advice on how to approach the essay, check out my post  How To Write the New ACT Essay .

Unfortunately, the ACT has only released a meager two sample prompts for you to preview. The first one is available on the ACT’s website here . The second is included in the most recent practice ACT the test makers have released, available as a PDF  here .

In order to do your best on the essay, you’ll want to make sure you practice with more than just two essay question prompts. Here are ten additional new ACT sample essay question prompts I’ve written to help you prepare. You’ll have 40 minutes to complete each essay.

Accelerating Globalization (Sample Essay Prompt 1)

Only a few hundred years ago, communication between countries on opposite ends of the globe was painstakingly slow or non-existent. Most people knew little about distant lands, peoples and cultures. What they thought they knew was frequently erroneous or ill conceived. Within the past hundred years, however, the pace of globalization has accelerated rapidly. Today travel across the globe in less than 24 hours is a real possibility for many people. Individuals and nations can instantly communicate with one another across great distances. For better or worse, the world has become more connected than was ever imaginable before, and it continues to become more connected every day. Has globalization made the world a better or a worse place?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the effects of globalization.

Perspective 1

Globalization, despite its lustrous promises, has created more problems than it has solved. It has allowed rich countries to get richer at the expense of poorer countries, and it has increased, not decreased, the number of armed conflicts in the world.

Perspective 2

The world is undoubtedly a better place today because of globalization. It has allowed critical resources to be distributed to the governments and people that need them the most.

Perspective 3

While I celebrate the productive exchange of cultures globalization has facilitated, I worry about how globalization is homogenizing those cultures. Take languages—do we really want to live in a world where one day everyone only speaks only one global language?

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the impact of globalization on the world. 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.

Technology and Everyday Life (Sample Essay Prompt 2)

Technology has radically changed the way we interact with the world. Not long ago, individuals who wanted to get in touch had to do so either by meeting in person or sending messages through postal mail. In order to perform most types of research, people were forced to visit physical libraries, bookstores or archives. Over the past two decades, technology has rendered many of these time-consuming tasks obsolete. Messages can be sent anywhere in the world via email in only a matter of seconds. All sorts of information is available with the click of a smart phone button. People can not only call individuals anytime, but they can also access their geolocation on demand. It seems like everyone is on his or her smart phone every waking minute. Has this increase in the power and reach of technology bettered out lives?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the presence of technology in our lives.

Today’s technology has greatly bettered our lives. Individuals are more connected to the information and people they want to connect with, and the result is smarter, happier and more fulfilled human beings.

Technology promises to “connect” us with one another. But look around and you’ll see how disconnected it’s made us—individuals no longer interact with one another because they’ve become so consumed by their phones and devices.

Technology may have made the world a better place for those who have access to it, but its prohibitive costs have made it inaccessible, and consequently unhelpful, to too many people.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the impact of technology on our lives. In your essay, be sure to:

College Sports (Sample Essay Prompt 3)

College sports have become incredibly popular in the United States. Big games air on the most coveted TV channels at the most coveted times. Teams are followed not only by loyal students and alumni but also by diverse fans from across the country. Major athletic programs bring millions of dollars to university coffers. Star coaches can often earn more than university presidents, making them the highest paid employees on campus. Full scholarships are awarded to star athletes because of their athletic prowess rather than their academic record. In some instances, athletes are even given fake grades to help them stay on the team. Given all of this, should colleges continue to support their sports teams?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the role of athletics at colleges.

Colleges should strongly support their sports teams. These teams not only generate millions of dollars for schools, but they also help sell prospective students on attending the college.

Sports have no official place in college. Colleges are institutions created for learning, not for athletics. College sports compromise academic standards and disadvantage students who don’t participate.

While college sports play a valuable role on university campuses, it is important for administrators to not lose perspective. That some football coaches earn more than university presidents, for example, is clearly wrong.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on college support for sports teams. In your essay, be sure to:

College Curricula (Sample Essay Prompt 4)

For years, American colleges have emphasized the liberal arts over more narrow technical and professional training. College students have been required to study a broad range of academic disciplines, such as literature, philosophy, history and mathematics. Today, however, a growing number of colleges and students have rejected the liberal arts in favor of what some consider to be more practical subjects, such as accounting, finance and nutrition. Global economic hardship has led many to question the value of a liberal arts education that, in their eyes, fails to adequately prepare students for the realities they will face after graduation. Is it important for colleges to promote the study of the liberal arts, or should they emphasize professional and technical training in its place?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about college curricula.

The liberal arts are essential to a quality education because they teach students how to think critically about a broad range of topics, thus preparing them to tackle any issue that might arise in the workplace.

It is time to bury the liberal arts model at our colleges. Reading Shakespeare and studying pure mathematics will not help anyone be successful in any sort of business.

Colleges should closely integrate the liberal arts with professional studies, as each can benefit from the other. Business courses, for example, are enriched by the philosophical study of ethics.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the relative importance of the liberal arts and professional studies. In your essay, be sure to:

Arts Funding (Sample Essay Prompt 5)

Government funding for the arts is commonplace in many countries today. In the United States, the government funds writers, musicians and visual artists through a variety of initiatives. Critics of this type of funding argue that the government has no place in the arts. Why should taxpayers, the majority of whom have no interest in the works being supported by such funding, be forced to pay for those works? Others, however, argue that government funding for the arts is critical to the wellness of our society. Given the dismal financial prospects in the arts, many artists would be unable to support themselves without the type of funding that the government provides. Should the government continue to fund the arts?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the government funding for the arts.

The government has no place in the arts because the government is not qualified to judge which projects should receive funding and which should not.

Without financial support from the government, many great works of art would never be created. Government funding is thus essential.

The free marketplace, not the government, is the best source of arts funding. If an artist can’t get any money, the reason is simple—her work is not very good!

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

Corporate Responsibility (Sample Essay Prompt 6)

Large corporations make up some of the wealthiest entities in the world today. Some see these corporations as engines of economic development and progress, bringing better products at better prices to a wider range of people every day. Others, however, criticize corporations for their shortcomings when it comes to social responsibility: failing to assist the less fortunate in our society, including their workers, while focusing too narrowly on profits at the expense of social welfare. Should corporations do more than simply aim to improve their profit margins? Is it important for large corporations to set aside profits from time to time in order to donate to charities and to help the needy?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about corporate responsibility.

Corporations have only one responsibility: to make the greatest profit they possibly can. It is only by doing so that they can benefit their workers, shareholders, and society.

Profits often get in the way of doing the right thing. Large corporations should focus less on profits and more on developing meaningful ways of helping the disadvantaged.

It is important that corporations adhere to any and all laws that pertain to them. Beyond this, however, they are free to do as they please.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on corporate responsibility. In your essay, be sure to:

The Federal Government (Sample Essay Prompt 7)

The United States government is made up of various national, state and local governing bodies. Certain responsibilities, like the building of interstate roadways, are looked after by the national, or federal, government, whereas more local issues are often overseen by local government bodies like state legislatures or city councils. Many argue that states and cities in the United States wield too much power, power that they believe should belong in the hands of the federal government. Others contend that the federal government is too large and is unresponsive to the particular needs of states and cities; they would like to see local government overtake many of the responsibilities now delegated to the federal government. Should the federal government or local governing bodies have more power?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the role of the federal government.

States and cities are ill-equipped to handle most of their own governing. The federal government can do not only a better job of governing them, but a faster and cheaper one.

The federal government is too big to adequately address the needs of individual states and cities. States and cities know what is best for them, not the federal government.

Local government fails only when it lacks the backing of the federal government. The federal government should provide logistical and financial support to states and cities in order to enable them to govern themselves effectively.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the relative roles of local and federal government. In your essay, be sure to:

Religious Liberty (Sample Essay Prompt 8)

The relationship between religious liberty and individual rights has often been a problematic one throughout American history. Today, for example, many businesses feel compelled to refuse service to homosexuals because of the religious beliefs of the business owners. Some argue that this refusal of service constitutes unlawful discrimination. Public school boards are often uncertain which religious holidays to add to the academic calendar. Should a Christian student, for instance, have to miss school because of a Jewish holiday? How should the state balance the need to respect religious liberty with need to preserve the rights of all members of society?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about religious liberty and individual rights.

The state must accommodate all religions to the fullest extent possible. This means school days off for all major religious holidays and protecting the right of business owners to refuse service based on religious beliefs.

The government has no special obligation to protect religious liberties when they interfere with the freedoms and well-being of the public at large.

Government should seek, to the greatest extent possible, ways to accommodate both religious liberty and individual rights when the two find themselves in conflict.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the state and religious liberty. In your essay, be sure to:

Solving Society’s Problems (Sample Prompt 9)

The world today faces a wide range of challenges. Despite the great economic and scientific progress mankind has made, many in the world are still struggling to survive. Even in developed nations, individuals and communities face problems like poverty, disease and violence. Individuals and private organizations have done much to help alleviate many of these problems. Government have also played a role in addressing issues like poverty and public health. In your opinion, who has a bigger role to play in solving today’s problems: governments or individuals?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the role of government and individuals in solving today’s problems.

Individuals could not possibly hope to solve problems as large as the ones we face today. Only large governments with sizable resources can help.

Governments are, by nature, composed of individuals working as a team. Governments can solve major problems because they harness the power of individuals.

The best solutions to society’s problems always come from individuals, not governments. Governments lack the creativity and drive necessary to tackle major problems successfully.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the role of individuals and governments as problem solvers. In your essay, be sure to:

Avoiding Armed Conflicts (Sample Prompt 10)

Armed conflicts between nations have always been and remain, unfortunately, a constant fact of life. How politicians and governments seek to avoid of these conflicts, however, varies greatly. Many leaders and political thinkers insist on the importance of demonstrating military might in order to reduce the likelihood of such conflicts. Others argue that flexing military muscle is basically inviting armed conflict, and that the best way nations can avoid conflicts is simply by keeping an open line of communication with one another. When forced to choose between a strong showing of military might and diplomatic efforts, which should nations choose in order to avoid armed conflicts?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about how military might and diplomatic efforts can prevent armed conflicts.

Without a strong showing of military might, a nation will lead its enemies to believe that it is weak and vulnerable to attack. The result is, inevitably, such an attack.

International conflicts can quickly escalate into full-blown armed conflicts unless the nations involved talk to one another and learn to settle their differences through words rather than bombs.

Demonstrating military might is always a better way to prevent armed conflict than diplomacy, because whereas military might is a deterrent to conflict, diplomacy rarely succeeds in resolving international disagreements.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the respective roles of diplomacy and military might. In your essay, be sure to:

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ACT Essay Format and Templates You Can Use

ACT Writing

Most of the ACT is entirely multiple choice. All you have to worry about when answering the questions is that you're filling in the correct answer bubble!

But then there's that (optional) Writing section, which requires you to give your answer in words. How are you supposed to write a persuasive essay in 40 minutes? What format should your essay have? Is there an ACT essay template that can guarantee you a high score? We'll answer these questions in this article.

feature image credit: homework ritual by woodleywonderworks , used under CC BY 2.0 /Cropped from original.

What Does Your ACT Essay Need? 5 Key Elements

In order to do well on ACT Writing, your essay will need to have the following five elements (not necessarily in this order):

#1: An Introduction

The first thing the grader will see is your opening paragraph, so you should make a good impression. Don't just jump right into the meat of your essay— introduce your perspective (your thesis statement) and how it relates to the other perspective(s) you'll be discussing. You don't necessarily have to start out by writing your introduction (you can always leave a few lines blank at the top of your essay and come back to it after you've written your example paragraphs), but you MUST include it.

#2: Your Thesis Statement (should be in your introduction)

You must take a perspective on the issue presented in the prompt paragraph and state it clearly . I advise using one of the three perspectives the ACT gives you as your position/perspective; you can come up with your own perspective, but then you'll have less time to spend on writing the essay (which is not ideal with a time constraint). Your thesis statement (the statement of your perspective) should go in the introduction of your essay.

#3: A Discussion of the Relationship Between Perspectives

In your essay, you must discuss the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective . Make sure to discuss pros as well as cons for the perspectives you don't agree with to show you understand the complexities of the issue.

#4:  Examples or Reasoning to Support Each Point

To support your arguments for and against each perspective, you need to draw on reasoning or specific examples . This reasoning should be in the same paragraph as the arguments. For instance, if your argument is about how globalization leads to greater efficiency, you should include your support for this argument in the same paragraph.

And it's not enough to just say "Because freedom" or "Because Stalin" or something like that as your support and leave it at that. You need to actually explain how your reasoning or examples support your point.

#5: Clear Organization

Avoid discussing multiple points in one paragraph. Instead, our recommended strategy is to discuss one perspective per paragraph . This organization will not only make it easier for you to stay on track, but will also make it easier for your essay's scorers to follow your reasoning (always a good thing).

ACT Essay Outline

The 5-paragraph structure might seem boring, but it is a good way to keep your points organized when writing an essay. For the ACT essay, you'll need an introduction, two to three body paragraphs (at least one paragraph for each perspective), and a conclusion . You should state your thesis in your introduction and conclusion (using different words in your conclusion so that you're not repeating yourself exactly).

So how do you write in this five paragraph structure on the ACT? I'll show you how to put the plan into action with an essay template that can be used for any ACT essay question. First, here's the prompt I'll be using:

Public Health and Individual Freedom

Most people want to be healthy, and most people want as much freedom as possible to do the things they want. Unfortunately, these two desires sometimes conflict. For example, smoking is prohibited from most public places, which restricts the freedom of some individuals for the sake of the health of others. Likewise, car emissions are regulated in many areas in order to reduce pollution and its health risks to others, which in turn restricts some people's freedom to drive the vehicles they want. In a society that values both health and freedom, how do we best balance the two? How should we think about conflicts between public health and individual freedom?

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the conflict between public health and individual freedom.

Write a unified, coherent essay about the conflict between public health and individual freedom. In your essay, be sure to:

• clearly state your own perspective on the issue and analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective
• organize your ideas clearly and logically
• explain the relationship between your perspective and those given
• communicate your ideas effectively in standard written English

Your perspective may be in full agreement with any of the others, in partial agreement, or wholly different.

Next, I'll break down the ACT essay into its individual parts (introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion) and give examples for what each should look like. Because I'm writing in response to a specific prompt, some of the information may not translate exactly from essay to essay; instead, focus on the structure of the paragraphs. I've bolded key structural words and phrases for you to focus on.

Introduction (2-3 sentences)

Begin your introduction with a general statement about the topic that draws the reader in; should provide some context for what you'll be discussing in the essay. Can be omitted if you're short on time (1-2 sentences).

As society progresses into the 21 st century, there are some pundits who create a false two-sided fight between individual liberty and complete dependence on the government.

Next comes your thesis statement that includes a clear position on the issue. For the highest score, you should also mention the other perspectives you'll be discussing in contrast to the position you've chosen (1 sentence).

While individual freedom is essential to society, the freedom to avoid health risks should supersede freedom of the individual when individual behavior endangers others.

Sample ACT essay introduction:

As society progresses into the 21 st century, there are some pundits who create a false two-sided fight between individual liberty and complete dependence on the government. While individual freedom is essential to society, the freedom to avoid health risks should supersede freedom of the individual when individual behavior endangers others.

Body Paragraph 1 (Opposing perspective) (5-7 sentences)

Open with a transition to a different perspective (1 sentence).

Perspective Two espouses the view that "[t]hose who give up freedom in order to gain security deserve neither."

Alternatively, if you don't want to name the specific perspective that opposes yours (or if you can't because you're comparing your perspective to a combination of ones given by the ACT):

Proponents of freedom of the individual above all else espouse the view that "[t]hose who give up freedom in order to gain security deserve neither."

Next, provide an example of how this perspective is somewhat true and explain why (2-3 sentences).

This perspective is true to some extent. For instance, in the Civil Rights movement, schools were integrated at the cost of both the mental well-being of racists, who had to deal with the blow to their world view, and the physical and emotional well-being of those being integrated, who had to deal with the abuse flung upon them by said racists. The freedom to attend any public school was deemed more important to society than the temporary mental, emotional, and in some cases physical health risks caused by that freedom.

Provide an example of how this perspective is mostly false when compared to the perspective you agree with and explain why (2-3 sentences).

However, Perspective Two[/this absolutist perspective] is not always a useful way to think about the world, particularly when life and death is at stake. During the Civil Rights movement, parents who were afraid their children might incur physical or even fatal harm from being forced to integrate still had the freedom to homeschool; the same goes for parents who were racist and did not wish their children to interact with children of "lesser" races. While the government pushed the issue of freedom of all people to attend all public schools, it could not make it mandatory for every child to attend a public school (rather than being homeschooled, or attending private or church school) and risk physical injury or worse.

Sample Body Paragraph (Opposing Perspective):

Perspective Two espouses the view that "[t]hose who give up freedom in order to gain security deserve neither." This perspective is true to some extent. For instance, in the Civil Rights movement, schools were integrated at the cost of both the mental well-being of racists, who had to deal with the blow to their world view, and the physical and emotional well-being of those being integrated, who had to deal with the abuse flung upon them by said racists. The freedom to attend any public school was deemed more important to society than the temporary mental, emotional, and in some cases physical health risks caused by that freedom. However, Perspective Two is not always a useful way to think about the world, particularly when life and death is at stake. During the Civil Rights movement, parents who were afraid their children might incur physical or even fatal harm from being forced to integrate still had the freedom to homeschool; the same goes for parents who were racist and did not wish their children to interact with children of "lesser" races. While the government pushed the issue of freedom of all people to attend all public schools, it could not make it mandatory for every child to attend a public school (rather than being homeschooled, or attending private or church school) and risk physical injury or worse.

Body Paragraph 2 (Opposing perspective) (5-7 sentences)

Same as above, except with another perspective you disagree with/don't entirely agree with. Make sure to use transition words so that the change of topic (from the previous perspective) isn't abrupt or unexpected.

To make your example of the Spanish Inquisition less unexpected, make sure to use transitions.

As of September 2016, the ACT no longer requires you to discuss all three perspectives in your essay; instead, you need only "clearly state your own perspective on the issue and analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective."

If you've chosen only to discuss the relationship between your perspective and one other perspective, then this second body paragraph is optional . However, if you're limiting your analysis to one other perspective , then in order to fully explore the relationship between this other perspective and your own point of view you'll most likely need a second paragraph . In that case, this body paragraph should be similar in structure to the previous body paragraph.

Body Paragraph 3 (Your perspective) (5-7 sentences)

Acknowledge the value of the other perspective(s) you discussed, but affirm that your perspective is the truest one (1-2 sentences).

As can be seen from the examples above, sometimes the greater good means individual freedom is more important than personal health. For the most part, however, allowing individual behavior to harm others damages both freedom and health.

Provide one final example of why this perspective is true (3-5 sentences).

Some parents worry that vaccines contain toxic chemicals and so have fought for the right to not vaccinate their children against once deadly diseases like measles. By being allowed this freedom, however, these parents are not only putting their children at risk of catching these virulent diseases, but are risking the life of anyone with a compromised immune system who comes into contact with a non-vaccinated child. The results of the anti-vaccination movement can be seen in cases like the recent measles outbreak at Disneyland and the mumps outbreak at a New York City daycare company; both of these outbreaks unfortunately led to fatalities. When the health risks caused by personal freedom reach life-and-death stakes, it is necessary to restrict individual freedom in favor of freedom to avoid preventable health risks.

Sample Body Paragraph (Your Perspective):

As can be seen from the examples above, sometimes the greater good means individual freedom is more important than personal health. For the most part, however, allowing individual behavior to harm others damages both freedom and health. Some parents worry that vaccines contain toxic chemicals and so have fought for the right to not vaccinate their children against once deadly diseases like measles. By being allowed this freedom, however, these parents are not only putting their children at risk of catching these virulent diseases, but are risking the life of anyone with a compromised immune system who comes into contact with a non-vaccinated child. The results of the anti-vaccination movement can be seen in cases like the recent measles outbreak at Disneyland and the mumps outbreak at a New York City daycare company; both of these outbreaks unfortunately led to fatalities. When the health risks caused by personal freedom reach life-and-death stakes, it is necessary to restrict individual freedom in favor of freedom to avoid preventable health risks.

Conclusion (1-2 sentences)

Transition into restating your thesis, using different words (1-2 sentences).

Sample ACT Essay conclusion:

America was built on the idea that there is a fundamental right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—in that order. When individual behavior puts others' lives at risk, it must be curtailed.

Putting Your Essay Together

Here is my final ACT essay template (excluding the second body paragraph):

[Body paragraph two on the other opposing perspective would go here]

Even though there are some minor grammatical issues in this essay, because they don't significantly affect the readability of the essay they don't matter. There are also some factual inaccuracies in this essay (as far as I know, there haven't been any reports of a mumps outbreak in NYC daycare facilities), but that doesn't matter for the ACT as long as the facts are persuasive and make sense in the context of the essay . Adding false information about a mumps outbreak added to the persuasive impact of the essay, so I put it in, whereas I couldn't figure out a way to work dinosaurs into this essay, and so they were not included.

Next essay, my velociraptor friend. Next essay.

How Do You Write Essays In This Format?

Now that you have a structural template for your ACT essay, how and when do you use it?

An essay template is most helpful during the planning phase of your essay. Whether you're writing a practice essay or taking the test for real, it's important to take the time to plan out your essay before you start writing. I personally believe 8-10 minutes is a good amount of planning time to start out with, although you may get faster at planning as you practice, leaving more time for writing and revising.

It might be tempting to leave out this planning stage so that you have more time to read the prompt or write. Don't fall into this trap! If you don't take the time to plan, you run the risk of writing a disorganized essay that doesn't really support your argument or omits how one of the other perspectives relates to yours. If you're struggling with decoding the prompts, be sure to read my article on how to attack ACT Writing prompts ; it'll help you break down every ACT Writing prompt so that you can extract the information you need to write your essay.

In addition to using this essay template when you're planning out your essay, you also need to make sure you practice writing this kind of essay before you take the real ACT Plus Writing. Don't expect to just memorize this outline and be good to go on test day—you'll need to practice putting the template to good use. Practice with as many ACT Writing prompts as you can—our complete guide to ACT Writing prompts will get you started.

ACT Essay Format: A Quick Recap

Remember, your essay should be in the following format:

• Your point of view on the essay topic (easiest to choose one of the three perspectives the ACT gives you).
• Reason why it's true (with reasoning or examples for support)
• Reason why it's not as true as your perspective (with reasoning or examples for support)
• One last reason why your perspective is true (with reasoning or examples for support).
• Conclusion (with your thesis restated)—1-2 sentences

What's Next?

Want to learn more about how to write a top-scoring ACT essay? Watch as I construct an ACT essay, step-by-step .

Looking to put the icing on your ACT essay cake? Check out our top 15 ACT Writing tips and strategies .

Wondering how much you have to write to do well on ACT Writing? Read this article on essay length and your ACT Writing score .

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Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.

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Mastering the art of crafting an impressive act essay.

When it comes to taking the ACT, the essay section can be a daunting task for many students. Crafting a stellar ACT essay requires a combination of critical thinking, writing skills, and knowledge of what the examiners are looking for. In this article, we will provide you with valuable tips and strategies to help you ace the ACT essay section.

Understanding the Prompt: The first step in writing a top-notch ACT essay is to carefully read and understand the prompt. Take the time to analyze the prompt, identify the key points, and determine the perspective you want to take. Make sure to address all parts of the prompt in your essay to demonstrate your understanding of the topic.

Crafting a Strong Thesis: A well-crafted thesis statement is essential for a successful ACT essay. Your thesis should clearly state your perspective on the topic and provide a roadmap for the rest of your essay. Make sure your thesis is specific, concise, and supported by evidence from the reading passages provided.

Mastering the ACT Essay Format

When crafting your ACT essay, it is crucial to pay attention to the format in order to present your ideas clearly and effectively. Here are some tips to help you master the ACT essay format:

• Introduction: Start your essay with a clear introduction that introduces the topic and presents your thesis statement. The introduction should also provide some context for the issue being discussed.
• Body Paragraphs: The body of your essay should consist of three paragraphs, each presenting a separate argument or point of view. Make sure to support each argument with specific examples and evidence.
• Transition: Use transitional phrases to smoothly move from one paragraph to the next. This will help to maintain the flow of your essay and make it easier to follow.
• Conclusion: End your essay with a strong conclusion that restates your thesis and summarizes the main points of your argument. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion.

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your ACT essay is well-organized and effectively communicates your ideas to the reader. Practice writing essays in this format to improve your writing skills and boost your ACT essay score.

Understanding the Prompt

Before you start crafting your ACT essay, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of the prompt. Take the time to carefully read and analyze the prompt provided. Understand the main topic or issue being discussed, the specific question or directive you need to address, and any relevant context or background information provided.

Highlight key words or phrases in the prompt that can guide your essay writing. Pay close attention to any specific requirements or instructions included in the prompt, such as the need to take a specific stance, provide examples, or address multiple perspectives.

By thoroughly understanding the prompt, you’ll be better equipped to craft a focused and coherent response that directly addresses the question at hand. This will help ensure that your essay is well-structured, relevant, and meets the expectations of the ACT examiners.

Developing a Strong Thesis

One of the most important elements of a stellar ACT essay is a strong thesis statement. Your thesis is the central claim that you will be arguing for throughout your essay. It should be clear, specific, and concise, outlining the main point you will be making in your essay.

When developing your thesis, make sure to consider the prompt and the specific issue or topic at hand. Your thesis should directly address the question or problem presented in the prompt, and provide a clear stance on the issue. Avoid vague or generalized statements, and instead strive for a thesis that is focused and impactful.

Remember that your thesis sets the tone for the rest of your essay, so take the time to craft a strong and compelling statement that will guide your writing and help you stay on track as you develop your argument.

Structuring Your Essay

When crafting your ACT essay, it’s essential to have a clear and organized structure. A well-structured essay will not only help you express your ideas effectively but also make it easier for the reader to follow your arguments.

Start with a strong introduction that clearly states your thesis and provides a brief overview of the points you will discuss. This sets the tone for the rest of the essay and gives the reader a roadmap of what to expect.

Next, develop your body paragraphs, each focusing on a specific supporting point that relates back to your thesis. Make sure to provide evidence and examples to back up your claims and demonstrate critical thinking skills.

Conclude your essay with a strong conclusion that summarizes your main points and reinforces your thesis. This is your last chance to leave a lasting impression on the reader, so make it count!

Remember, a well-structured essay is not only about what you say but also how you say it. Pay attention to transitions between paragraphs, logical organization of ideas, and a cohesive flow throughout the essay. This will ensure that your ACT essay is not only well-written but also well-received by the readers.

Using Examples to Support Your Ideas

When crafting your ACT essay, it’s crucial to support your ideas with relevant examples. Providing examples not only strengthens your argument but also helps to illustrate your points clearly to the reader.

Choose Examples Wisely: Select examples that are specific, detailed, and directly relate to the topic at hand. Generic examples may weaken your argument, so be sure to choose examples that are compelling and relevant.

For instance, if you’re discussing the impact of technology on communication, providing a specific example of how social media has changed how people interact can strengthen your argument.

Provide Evidence: Back up your examples with solid evidence to lend credibility to your essay. Statistics, studies, and expert opinions can all serve as valuable evidence to support your claims.

Quoting a study that shows a correlation between excessive screen time and decreased face-to-face communication can add weight to your argument about the negative effects of technology.

Explain the Significance: After presenting your examples, be sure to explain their relevance to your thesis statement. Clearly connect the examples back to your main argument to show how they support your overall point.

By tying your examples back to your thesis, you ensure that your essay stays focused and cohesive, making a stronger case for your position.

Editing and Proofreading Your Essay

Once you’ve finished writing your ACT essay, it’s crucial to spend some time editing and proofreading it. This step is essential to ensure that your essay is clear, coherent, and error-free.

Start by reviewing your essay for overall structure and organization. Make sure your introduction and conclusion are strong and that your body paragraphs flow logically. Check for any gaps in your argument and make sure each paragraph contributes to your overall thesis.

Next, focus on sentence-level editing. Look for awkward phrasing, unclear sentences, and grammatical errors. Consider reading your essay out loud to catch any awkward or confusing passages.

Finally, proofread your essay for spelling and punctuation errors. Pay attention to commonly misused words, such as “there,” “their,” and “they’re.” Make sure your punctuation is consistent and appropriate.

Editing and proofreading may seem tedious, but they are essential steps in crafting a stellar ACT essay. Taking the time to polish your writing can make a significant difference in the clarity and effectiveness of your essay.

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Should You Take the ACT With or Without Writing

Wondering if the ACT writing test is for you? You're not alone. Taking the ACT with writing can give you an edge in college admissions by showcasing your writing skills and adding depth to your college applications with a special ELA score (English language arts). Let's explore the ins and outs of the ACT Writing Test to help you make an informed decision. 

What is the ACT Writing Test?

The ACT writing test is an optional 40-minute essay that comes after the main ACT exam. It's designed to measure your writing skills — skills you've been honing in high school and will need in college. 

You'll get a prompt with a complex issue and three perspectives. Your job? Craft your own viewpoint and analyze how it relates to the given perspectives. 

Your writing sample will be evaluated on these four components:  

Ideas and Analysis

Show you understand the issue and can generate relevant ideas.

Development and Support

Back up your argument with solid reasoning.

Organization

Structure your essay clearly to guide the reader through your argument.  

Language Use and Conventions

Use clear, effective language that resonates with your audience.  

The writing test complements the English and reading tests, offering colleges a fuller picture of your skills. 

Is the Writing Portion of the ACT Required?

The ACT writing test is optional, but some colleges and school districts do require it, so do your homework. Check the requirements for your target schools and your district's graduation policy. 

What is the Difference Between Taking the ACT with Writing vs. Without Writing?

Taking the ACT with writing won't affect your Composite score, but it does add an English Language Arts (ELA) score to your report. Opting out means you'll miss out on this additional score. Learn more about ACT writing scores . 

Why You Should Take the ACT With Writing

The ACT with writing offers a unique platform to articulate your thoughts and viewpoints, and it's a chance to go beyond grades and scores, allowing you to connect with admissions officers on an intellectual level. Whether you're set on a dream school or still charting your course, the ACT writing test is a valuable tool in your college application toolkit. Here are a few more factors to consider:  

1. Your School or State Requires It

Some colleges, highs schools, and states require the ACT writing test. Check this early on to avoid surprises. 

2. You Want Your Application to Stand Out

A strong writing score can make your application more competitive. It's a chance to showcase your logical reasoning skills. 

3. Your Grades in English or Language Arts Aren’t the Best

If your grades in English or language arts courses are not stellar, a high score on the ACT writing test can help balance your academic profile. 

4. You Aren’t Sure Where You Want to Apply Yet

If you're still exploring your options, taking the ACT with writing keeps all doors open, as some colleges may require it. 

Why Take the ACT Without Writing

If none of the above reasons apply to you, and if none of your target schools require the ACT writing test, you might opt to take the ACT without writing. This can also save you time and reduce test-day stress.

How To Prepare for the ACT Writing Test

Crafting a standout ACT essay is all about strategy and focus. Allocate time for planning, writing, and reviewing. Understand the prompt and use optional planning questions to guide your thoughts. Keep your argument focused and support it with sound reasoning. Before submitting, review your essay for clarity and accuracy.  

By following these guidelines, you'll be well on your way to writing an essay that not only showcases your writing skills but also makes your college application stand out.  

Resources to Help You Prepare for the ACT Writing Test

Additional act writing test resources.

Explore these resources for more information on producing your best work on test day.

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