<p>I've been looking at the essay examples in Real ACT Prep book, and on page 132 the essay that received a score of 4 is "clearly, though predictably, organized." It had five paragraphs: an introduction, three reason paragraphs, and a conclusion. The essay that received a 5 had that same structure, except for an added paragraph before the conclusion that considered the counterargument. The essay receiving a 6 had seven paragraphs, and it did not state the reasons in the introduction like most basic essays. Is this the difference the graders want to see? Not stating the reasons in the introduction makes it seem like there was little thought put into planning the essay, but this essay is well-written at the same time.</p>
<p>I also read those essays, and I was confused as to why they chose the ones they did. I believe having a “clearly, though predictably, organized” essay is fine as long as the content is impressive…but I guess it depends on who your rater is.</p>
<p>Yes, as some people said on a different thread, the graders must be trained monkeys. 
I hope they like the essay I wrote.</p>
<p>IMO, just write as much as you can…</p>
<p>I like how on the ACT they give u soo much space</p>
<p>I always fun out of room on the SAT</p>
<p>How much is enough on the ACT?</p>
<p>I wrote like 2 1/2.</p>
<p>I got tired of my wood so I brought the bad boys out: my mechanical …
:]</p>
<p>^That’s enough</p>
<p>I did what PR told me to do…</p>
<p>Intro, Counter argument, Body 1, Body 2 (Combining thesis argument 2 and 3), and conclusion.</p>
<p>Also, they said not to use a mechanical pencil on the essay… WHY NOT?! Seriously… I hate the wood too. I was tempted since it’s nicer and I’d probably write faster, but I just stuck to the rules.</p>
<p>Agree with Zens. Intro–>Counter–>Body–>Body–>Conclusion</p>
<p>well my passage was</p>
<p>Intro on how in today’s age where money determines all, we need to have courses on financial management</p>
<p>2nd paragraph: How many college students head off without any idea on spending money and in the first week end up spending their $2000 for the month on Nordstorm, Fossil Watches, etc and then would have to call home to get money. the vicious cycle continues until parent/guardian says no. At which point the student has to find other means of money, making them understand the importance of managing money. if they knew about this to begin with the problem wouldn’t happen</p>
<p>3rd paragraph: My “brother at stanford” took a class on saving money. his first year, all his friends were spending money like crazy, like the guy in the prevoius paragraph. My brother learned to save money. He was even sick at a point, and managed to pay the bill himself. we didn’t find out until the insurance company told us. he managed to pay for it himself because he had saved the money, which removed the financial burden on my family because my dad just lost his job</p>
<p>4th pargraph: problems of bankruptcy which can happen if money isn’t watched carefully/</p>
<p>5th paragraph: conlcusion</p>
<p>my entire essay was just bs</p>
<p>i’ve always wondered…what does if matter if we use mechanical on the essay portion…
lol</p>
<p>^ I don’t think it does. In fact, my essays are always neater if they are in mechanical pencil</p>
<p>I think they’re just afraid people hide little cheat sheets or something in mechanical pencils. (They teach you how to do it in Youtube I believe?) But it’s almost impossible to use a cheat sheet nonetheless since there are prompters walking around.</p>
<p>I use a mechanical pencil anyways for the ACT and SAT; the prompters don’t say anything. (But I bring wooden pencils in just in case.)</p>