<p>I'm trying to make the tough decision on whether or not to take the ACT Writing Test. I've read that a lot of colleges base awarded scholarships on a person's scores on the ACT/SAT. My primary concern is that I might get a high enough composite score to qualify for a scholarship, but a poor writing score once factored into the final score will disqualify me for it. But then, it also seems that most of the best colleges now require it.</p>
<p>I'm looking over the new section the act.org website has about the writing portion of the test and am a bit dismayed about it. The link for the '6' scored essay is here:
<a href="http://www.act.org/aap/writing/sample/six.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.act.org/aap/writing/sample/six.html</a></p>
<p>I haven't actually counted it, but it looks like it is at least 500 words long, and of course, very well done. I think I would be somewhat challenged to write that entire essay in 30 minutes even if I had memorized the entire content of it before hand. The '5' scored essay isn't that different either.</p>
<p>For those who have taken the writing test before... are the scorers' grading standards really that high, given how little time is given to prepare and write the essay, or are these two sample essays simply extreme examples?</p>