<p>When you take the ACT it’s optional to take the essay. Meaning that you don’t have to if the colleges you’re looking at don’t require them for the ACT. The ACT essay is 30 minutes, so it gives you 5 more minutes than the SAT. My essay for the practice test was about whether high school and colleges should require their students to take a foreign language; to expand their knowledge and horizons. That essay topic was a lot different than the one i wrote about for the June SAT, but it depends. It seems like the essay topics are very different but i don’t have enough evidence to back that up.</p>