<p>First of all, this is not about strictly the ACT, but instead about the ACT in respect to applying for Stanford.
I have taken the ACT 3 times-- once in sophomore year, and twice this year (one state tested, the other nationally tested). The third time, I took the test with writing.</p>
<p>Here are my scores with the Composite and English Scores:</p>
<p>2009 NO WRITING: 29-- English 35
2010 NO WRITING: 32-- English 35
2010 WITH WRITING:32-- English 35, Writing 6</p>
<p>Stanford requires the Writing Portion, but my writing score is very low. That definitely does not represent my writing ability. I know I can do significantly higher (9-11) if I try again, but I worry that if I do the whole test again (in September of this year, after months of no testing), my other subscores, including my 35 in English, will drop.</p>
<p>Would Stanford see the 6 as out of place and understand that it does not represent me, or should I take the ACT for the fourth time and risk the lower subscores?
Also, I've been reading around the sites and have been reassured that colleges do not care how many times you take the ACT. Is that true (that would fix a lot)?</p>
<p>The trick with the writing portion is that you have to develop on one example, as opposed to give many examples of your opinion.</p>
<p>It sounds stupid, but I couldn’t get mine above an eight until I did that. If they say, “Is X true?” you can’t say “I believe X is true because of A, B, and C,” you have to say “I believe X is true because of A. Let me tell you about A a little more in depth.”</p>
<p>And yeah, I’d suggest taking it again. Or, if you’re worried about the ACT, you could try taking the SAT and getting a high writing score there.</p>
<p>if you can improve, take it again. they are “sensitive” to each subject score each time, so they will likely not have a problem if you improve your writing score. </p>
<p>ACT offers the option of deleting test scores. some people take advantage of it, although i do not particularly recommend or discourage it. i am simply offering it as info, considering that this would be your fourth test. i dont know about whether colleges care how many times you take the ACT, but if you act based on the assumption that they dont, then definitely retake the ACT.</p>
<p>Sorry, this is not necessarily true. Although I am not going to pretend to be an expert on the matter my own experience tells me that this is not always the case. I think it is fine either way you do it as long as you do it well. I would guess that the main key is to always back up what you say (granted that is the key in all writing).</p>
<p>That’s based on both my personal experience and what I read. The first time I wrote my SAT essay, I aced the multiple choice portion, got a question about listening to people who are older than you, and wrote about three famous examples of people who ignored the doubts of others and went on to succeed. I got an 8.</p>
<p>The second time, I read how to write the essays out of a friend’s book (after getting a 7, 8, and 8 on the ACT/SAT in assorted tests) and they it said to pick one specific topic to either prove or disprove the question. I did that, wrote about the war in Vietnam (something I knew nothing about), and ended up with a 10.</p>
<p>I looked at the essays side-by-side on the computer, they were about the same length, and the 8 one was significantly better than the 10 one, in my opinion. That’s what the small amount of studying I did told me to do, and that’s what worked for me.</p>
<p>Not to hijack the thread, but I have a similar question. I also have a 35 ACT, but with a 7 on the essay. If I got an 11 on the SAT essay, solid essays and a great rec from my English teacher, would colleges disregard the 7 essay on the ACT as a weird testing fluke?</p>
<p>You’ll be fine. The ACT/SAT essays generally aren’t weighed that much and if there’s such a big disparity between the two essays, universities generally know to attribute that to faulty grading.</p>
<p>Your essays for Stanford will be the main determination of “good” writing skills persay.</p>
<p>@MSauce</p>
<p>It really varies. It might be possible that when you tried to support X in terms of A, B, and C, you didn’t provide substantial evidence. Concentrating on A certainly gives you more room to expound on A. To each his own.</p>
<p>This is purely for legitimacy purposes. I took the SAT 4 times and got essays scores of 11, 12, 11, and 12. I took the ACT twice and got 12’s both times. I used the same “format” for both essays. My Writing scores for both were fairly high as well, but my writing skills were nowhere close to those of my peers. Yet, I scored higher on these. The important things are structure, syntax flow, and vocabulary.</p>
<p>Strong Introduction (Broad generalization of topic —> Detailed indication of topic —> Thesis)
Thesis (Two points – History, Literature, Personal)
Point 1
Point 2
Strong Conclusion (Thesis —> Detailed discussion of topic —> Broad scope)</p>
<p>As far as the SAT essay goes, I used typical “hamburger model” and got a 12 both times</p>
<p>I find that for examples, it’s good to show one literary, one historical, and one pragmatic example - shows breadth of knowledge and lets you flaunt your writing skill :)</p>
<p>Also, to everyone in this thread, don’t worry about one bad essay score. It’s insignificant compared to the rest of your app; a poor essay score (a standardized test essay, which are notorious for not being demonstrative of one’s true ability) is not going to make or break your admittance.</p>
<p>I collectively used the advice here and bumped my ACT Writing to an 8 and my SAT Writing to a 9. Thanks CC!</p>
<p>One more question: If there is an irregularity (like a Reading score 7 points lower than your high) AND I have to send in that score, do you think the colleges will see that as bad? I’m sending in the ACT with the highest Reading and I have to send the lowest Reading to send in my highest Writing.</p>