<p>i find that the act writing is actually harder than the sat essay just b/c it has real life examples. for the sat essay, i can use literary and historical examples. but for the act, i find it hard to use books/history when the essay is about, say, whether or not students should be punished for being late to class (sept 08 test).</p>
<p>so, what examples do you guys use for the act essay? are your strategies different from the sat?</p>
<p>Im not big on examples and am a slow writer. i know i pay for it on standardized writing tests. haha. I just give hypotheticals on ACT. this month I talked about a kid on my cross country team some.</p>
<p>The ACT essay prompts are stupid, but they make it really easy to make up some personal "experiences".</p>
<p>I wrote about my experience on cross country, that didn't actually happen, but I tweaked it to fit the prompt. SAT writing prompts give you more leeway, whereas ACT prompts tell you exactly what to write.</p>
<p>I, too, have "tweaked" my personal experiences to fit the prompt. I don't think it's that big a deal, personally. Do what you have to do. (Oh, and I've never gotten anything but a 12 on my essays.)</p>
<p>I almost always make personal experiences up.. and I always get 8-9s on my essays... but I don't really care, I put my efforts into studying the important stuff. :p</p>
<p>The ACT essay is a joke in my opinion. I know they are trying to relate it to us but it seems i'm apathetic when it comes to the ACT essay. I don't care if you sell kids foods that get in them fat in school and i dont care about giving EC to students who aren't late. With the SAT essay it's a very broad question that you can really use specific examples on. Maybe thats why i got 11 on the SAT essay and 9 on the ACT.</p>
<p>I never used real life examples on the ACT, but yet I still obtained a 10.
But the essay I wrote yesterday (also didn't have life examples) probably got a 9. :(</p>
<p>I prefer the ACT essay over the SAT essay.
SAT - 7 versus the ACT - 10</p>
<p>imo i feel that the act is too specific while the sat is a lot more general, and in a way better for using a broad range of examples.
sooo, most of you use personal examples for ACT?</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree with Debacle. It feels like the ACT prompt is trying to "come down to our level" when really it's just asking you to write an essay about something that really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. The SAT forces you to form an opinion on a general issue that you can relate to different aspects of your life, rather than limiting it to something you may not care about.</p>
<p>I've never taken the SAT, so I have no idea what the writing is like. On the ACT, I have to BS the entire essay because the prompt is always incredibly stupid. I did get an 11 on it in September though.</p>
<p>I prefer the SAT essay rather than the ACT one. I find it much harder to write because (in my opinion) the topic is much more specific. The SAT asks a really broad question that can be answered with just about anything.</p>
<p>I loved the October SAT essay better than the ACT essay. Compromises vs. emphasis on winning.</p>
<p>yea i dont understand why act tries to have a more applicable essay topic...its hard to apply books like lord of the flies to their prompts lol.</p>
<p>Yeah I like the SAT essays better.</p>