<p>I recently found my ACT scores online. I got a 34 composite (36 English, 35 math, 34 reading, 32 science). My problem: I received a 4 on the writing. A four!!! I am number one in my class, have a 4.0 unweighted gpa, was on the UIL ready writing and literary criticism teams, was the student of the year in the highest honors English my high school has my sophomore year, and am going to be the yearbook writing editor next year.
I came out of the test knowing that my essay wasn't great; it only had three or four paragraphs. But I am certain that there were no major grammar/spelling/punctuation issues. Yes it was short, but I addressed the topic and even explained how it would be better than the counter argument.
Is it true that the graders only glance at the essays to grade them? Would they have given me such a low score simply because my essay was short? Any college that requires the writing portion will throw out my application with such a low score, right?
I have not yet taken the SAT, and those scores will be a factor in whether or not I retake the ACT. </p>
<p>Something else had to be off. I got 8’s consistently for my length I am sure. I only wrote two-three paragraphs, and I have deceptively small handwriting that gets as much as double the words per line. They do look for specific structures though, and I had the rest beyond length I think. I get between 93-100 on all my papers. They treat essays like AP exams do, there are certain bells you have to ring. Look them up and see what you’re missing. And yes, length has been proven to be a big one. It’s a game with hoops to jump through like a lot of standardized things.</p>
<p>the length could possibly be the problem. I had about six paragraphs and took up almost all of the writing space and somehow I got a 10 without having even practiced </p>
<p>Yeah I’ve taken the ACT twice and got a 9 on the writing both times…I took honors english frosh and sophomore year but I honestly hate writing and english so I took an easy english class this year (sports literature). Im pretty good at writing but not the best… on the ACT I had 32 on Math and Science but only 28 on English and 22 on Reading so obviously your much better at writing/reading than me. That is very weird that you only got a four. I think sentence structure is the key, they are looking for a classic 5 paragraph essay with an intro, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Also make sure you have an extremely clear thesis statement at the end of your intro and have clearly defining topic sentences for each of your paragraphs. Thats exactly what i’ve done both times and I think I had pretty good ideas and reasoning behind my arguments also.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s something to worry about too much, especially if all your grades and test scores are so strong. My son did not have your academic qualifications, but he received a 31 composite on the ACT, with a 35 in one verbal section and a 33 in the other (I can’t remember how they broke down). He only received a 6 on the writing sample. I doubt that had anything to do with the rejections he received from Berkeley, UNC, and Claremont-McKenna - they were always reaches for him. His transcripts and scores proved that he can read and write well enough.</p>