<p>I don't get it entirely does it effect your main score? Does it look bad if you don't take it or does it not really matter? Is doing the essay a good idea or pointless?</p>
<p>Most colleges, or at least the higher tier colleges, require the essay if you want to submit the ACT by itself as your standarized test. Honestly the essay score doesn’t matter all that much unless you bomb it and it doesn’t affect your composite score. Look up the colleges you want to go to and see if they require ACT + writing. I would take it just to be safe.</p>