<p>how exactly does it work ? i made the dumb mistake of blindly signing up for it, does it affect your composite score ? thanks !</p>
<p>It does not affect your composite score. It is a separate score. A scaled combined English/writing score is given, but most schools will just look at composte, english, math, reading, and science.</p>
<p>Your writing score is determined by an essay after the other 4 sections. There are no multiple choice, just an essay.</p>
<p>Many colleges will NOT consider your ACT score unless you take the optional writing portion. So you did the right thing by signing up for it.</p>
<p>In the writing section, you are given 30 minutes to write an essay that responds to a prompt they provide you with. The prompt will usually be an opinion or idea that is pertinent to high school students. You will be asked whether you agree or disgree with the prompt, or if you fall somewhere in between.</p>
<p>Your finished essay will be graded by 2 readers who will give the essay a score between 0 and 6. The scores are added, so a perfect essay will be given a score of 12. Essays are graded on response, content, organization, and writing style.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>