ACT Essay

<p>How similar is the ACT essay and the SAT essay? Any advice on preping for the ACT essay?</p>

<p>It's 5 Minutes longer and the topic is easier to relate to.
There are also 4 blank pages for you to write in, rather than 2.</p>

<p>You can adopt another view on the topic. You don't have to support or oppose the issue. You can qualify it or something else.</p>

<p>because the act essay topics usually deal with current issues in society, what kinds of examples should we use? i know for the sat essays, i usually use examples from literature... but it seems a bit harder to provide support for act essays.</p>

<p>Use the first person, you're supposed to.</p>

<p>Use personal, specific events from your life in the essay. There's no need to prep for it, just make sure you at least write over the first page because if you don't the best score you can get is 6/12.</p>

<p>How many paragraphs should we write to get a score of 10-12?</p>

<p>4-5: An intro, 2-3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion.</p>

<p>IS prepping for it worth it?</p>

<p>I really don't think so. Just make sure you keep an eye on the clock and allot certain amounts of time for each paragraph. And use the first 5 minutes planning your essay, it makes things alot easier.</p>

<p>thanks!!!!</p>

<p>(I really detest extra punctuation (especially exclamation points), but alas, the 10char rule!)</p>

<p>SAT seemed harder.</p>

<p>I remember the differences between writing an SAT essay than an ACT essay is that you have to say the opposing side in an ACT essay, and say why it's wrong. That's pretty much the only difference.</p>

<p>Oh, and that the ACT prompts are MUCH more interesting and relevant than the SAT prompt.</p>

<p>My advice for the ACT essay is to write as fast as you possibly can. Studies have shown that scores are highly correlated with essay length. Also, the ACT graders really stress responding to counterarguments. I recommend having at least a single paragraph devoted simply to refuting some counterargument to your position. If you're aiming for those really high scores, they also want to see what they have called a "critical context for discussion." This just means they want you to relate the issue in the prompt to a broader issue affecting all of society.</p>

<p>In my experience, the ACT graders are perfectly content with anecdotal examples. I don't think you need to stress out about using examples from literature or history.</p>

<p>Make up examples.</p>

<p>I basically started writing once the proctor said "you may begin" with a cliche entrance (throughout the history of time...), then looked at the prompt. Wrote nonstop. I had about three full pages, and I got a 10.</p>

<p>Should we also be sure to have a thesis, topic sentences, etc...?</p>

<p>3 pages and a 10?</p>