<p>I took the ACT with Writing, composite score of 32. Yet my essay was an 8, which is weird. I usually score -very- well on the essay. My SAT one (2280) was scored an 11. Should I pay the $25.00 to get it regraded?</p>
<p>Um.. a 32 means you got about.. 6-7 out of 75 wrong. Does that sound right to you? Usually if they misgraded it, you'll score really really low.</p>
<p>Or if you're talking about your essay, I think I misunderstood, don't bother. It doesn't affect your composite. Plus, I heard it's all about length anyways..</p>
<p>Yes. I meant the essay. I'm concerned that the 8 will look bad to Ivy's (Harvard in particular)</p>
<p>I haven't heard too many successes with regrading the essay, but it's worth a shot if you really think you did better. I know from previous posts, a lot of people who normally score well on essays (in school, SAT, so on) don't do so well with the ACT.</p>
<p>Regarding the ACT's essay, it was actually very easy for me to go from an 8 to an 11. What I did was follow the format in the Princeton Review's Cracking the ACT 2006 and writing as close to their sample 12 essay as possible. Granted you need to be able to write a lot fast, use good grammar and sentence structure, and write on a new/different prompt. But I do honestly believe the essay is the one part of the ACT where studying will make or break your grade.</p>
<p>I'd say no to rescoring it.</p>
<p>The ACT essay graders do not grade like you're used to in high school. From my best estimate, they care almost nothing about punctuation, grammar, spelling, structure, or anything really. All they mainly seem to look at is essay length, in the form of details, examples, and so on. You can have the most "correct" essay in the world, but if you don't fill more than 2 pages (probably 3-4) with details, you aren't going to get that 12.</p>
<p>Do not feel bad about it. I scored a 35 on the English on the last ACT test with an essay that I was fairly confident with, yet I was given only a 5 out of 12 on the essay (4% percentile). This is despite the fact that i've always gotten A's on school essays.</p>
<p>Other very high scorers have reported similar stories about being graded low on the essay. These are 30+ composite scorers who were confident with their essays, yet are given only 4-8 scores on it. Interestingly in contrast, people who have reported getting B's and C's in school and who have composites in the low 20s have been given perfect 12s.</p>
<p>This is probably a consequence of the 'holistic' scoring method, whereby the essay graders are only allowed 1 minute (maybe less?) to read your entire essay, form an opinion on it, and grade it. This scoring method is very detrimental to anyone who is a slow writer. They simply have no way to scoop up a high score in the time allotted due to this scoring method.</p>
<p>Alrighty. Thanks for the help all of you. It seems like the ACT essay is just a load of crap.</p>
<p>Mo24, could you briefly tell us what your essay was like to get a 5?</p>
<p>Hmm, it's been a few months but let's see... I believe it was an essay about whether senior high school students should be given benefits that others aren't allowed in the hopes that they will stay in school longer and graduate.</p>
<p>It was very short - only about 1 and 1/3rd pages. I started with an introduction which reworded the initial topic, and covered the main points that would be expanded upon in the next paragraphs. Each of the next two paragraphs started with an introduction, provided details to it, and summed it up with a closing sentence. Transitions between paragraphs, a varied word choice and sentence structure, and perfect grammar were all used. I intended the third paragraph to be an opposition to the "other side" of the argument, but I ran out of time, and it ended up being joined with the conclusion for a total of only four paragraphs. The conclusion summarized each of the points that were made, tied them together, and finished by stating the overall importance that giving seniors benefits would entail.</p>
<p>As far as actual content, it's been too long to say for sure. I think one of the reasons I cited was that any incentive that would keep high school seniors in school would have beneficial implications on the country's economy as a whole, since students who graduate high school are much more likely to go on to college and eventually end up with higher paying jobs. It was something along those lines.</p>
<p>I took that essay as well. Overall, I'm sure your writing wasn't at all that bad. So if you could've written just one more page, I think that would have been enough to double your score. The essay, just as much as the rest of the test, is all about speed.</p>
<p>I don't know what you were saying about length being the only considered factor. I only wrote 1 1/2 to 2 pages and I got a 12. Also, I just finished 9th grade and took the ACT through a talent search type program, will I be able to use my essay score on my college application? Thanks!</p>
<p>Haydenstone,</p>
<p>You'll be able to submit your scores to colleges. They might prefer more recent scores, though.</p>
<p>Yeah, writing just a formulaic 5-paragraph essay got me an 11, I think a lot of people forget to integrate their opposing viewpoint in the essay and restate their thesis, both of which are necessary components of a solid ACT essay.</p>