can the act essay hurt your score

Everything You Need to Know About ACT Writing

The ACT Writing test, or essay section, tests your ability to read different perspectives on a topic and present your own opinion in writing. It’s the optional last section of the exam, meaning that you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to–although there are many colleges and universities that require or recommend it for admissions. Here’s what you need to know about ACT Writing in a nutshell!

What is the ACT Writing section?

Here are the need-to-know facts about the ACT Writing section :

• It’s a 40-minute test to complete with pencil and paper
• You’ll get one essay prompt about a debatable topic and three different perspectives on it
• evaluate the three different perspectives
• present your own perspective (which may agree in part or in full with any of the provided viewpoints)
• explain the relationship between your viewpoint and the provided ones.

Do I have to take ACT Writing?

Nope! It’s not a required part of the exam. You can think of it as an add-on that, yes, also costs a little bit more. But whether the test requires the essay and whether colleges do are two separate issues. While you can submit the ACT without writing to many colleges and universities, others (including most super-competitive colleges) will ask you for it. Because the list of which colleges require ACT writing is constantly changing, it’s best to check with the individual schools you’re thinking of applying to before you register.

With that said, some students do take the exam before they know where they’ll be applying to college. So in this case, is it better to do the ACT test with or without writing? If you’re really uncertain, take it with writing. This will ensure that you don’t have to go back to the test center because you’ve decided to apply to a college that does require it in a few months! Yes, it requires some extra prep–but it’s worth it to keep your options open.

How does ACT Writing scoring work?

If you’ve been prepping for the ACT overall, you’re probably very (overly?) familiar with the 1-36 scoring scale by now. But this isn’t how the ACT essay is scored! Because it’s not a multiple-choice section, the essay has its own unique scoring. Take a look!

How ACT Writing Is Scored

The writing portion of the ACT is scored by two graders, each of whom will assign you a writing score of 1 to 6 on four different writing “domains.” These domains include:

• Ideas and Analysis: does your thesis statement and writing examine the implications of the issue with clarity and nuance?
• Development and Support: do you use well-developed and specific examples to support your thesis?
• Organization: does your essay have a strong structure and a logical flow?
• Language Use and Conventions: do you use correct grammar, word usage, mechanics, punctuation, and sentence structures?

Your total points added up between these two graders are converted from these domain scores to a scaled score of 2 to 12, which is the final score you will see on your score report.

Getting Your ACT Writing Scores

So you’ve done it! You sat down, you wrote your essay…now what? When will ACT Writing scores be available? Well, you’ll get your multiple-choice scores in around two weeks, and you’ll get your ACT Writing scores (and full score report) about two weeks after that. So anticipate waiting around a month to get the total view of how you did on the ACT essay.

Can ACT Writing hurt your score?

No! Not, that is, if you’re talking about the composite ACT score on the 1-36 scale. This is an average of your 1-36 scores in each of the four multiple-choice sections (Reading, Math, English, and Science). It doesn’t take your essay score into account. In other words–does the ACT writing score affect composite scores? It doesn’t.

With that said, the essay score will affect your ELA subscore on the exam. (You can see what this looks like on a score report here .) But colleges and universities are far more interested in your sectional and composite scores.

What essay score is good?

Generally, an 8+ is an excellent ACT Writing score , but it depends on where you’re applying. Ivy-League-bound students should aim for 9 or above !

Can ACT Writing be superscored?

Nope! The ACT superscore is a way of combining your highest multiple-choice scores from different sections and different test dates to give you the highest possible combination. But it only affects your composite score . Because the essay isn’t part of your composite score, it’s not part of the superscore, either.

What happens if I mess up on the writing section?

If you’re wondering if you can cancel the section after they’ve taken it, unfortunately, the answer is no. Once you’ve written the essay, your score will appear on your score report. But if you change your mind about taking the writing section of the ACT, you can cancel it before you get into the testing room.

If you feel that you didn’t do your best, or you get a lower score than you’d like, can you retake ACT Writing? Definitely! But for the moment, ACT sectional retesting is on hold—and it may or may not include the ACT writing test being taken separately. To retake ACT Writing, in other words, you’ll need to retake the entire exam…for now.

How to Improve Your Writing Score

So how do you boost your ACT essay score? Take a look at these tips!

✅ Practice planning and writing essays on practice ACT essay prompts. Although writing full essays (preferably as part of ACT practice tests ) is the best practice, ten-minute outlining sessions in which you plan out your essay (like you will do on the test) can go a long way in helping you learn how to quickly generate and organize your ideas.

✅ If grammar is not your strong suit, check out our post on ACT grammar rules . Not only will this help you improve your grammar for the ACT essay, but it also will help you with the ACT English section !

✅ Share your writing with the strong writers you know and get feedback from them. Have them score your practice essays using the ACT rubric .

✅ Review the sample essays on actstudent.org so that you can get a sense of what kinds of essays get which scores. This can be incredibly helpful!

✅ Learn about current events and form your own opinions on them. Engage in lively debates with your friends and family so that you can practice supporting your opinions and anticipating opposing arguments!

Want even more? Read Your Magical Guide to Scoring a Perfect 12 on the ACT Essay , which will guide you through all the basics (if you’re a beginner) and how to improve your score (if you’ve already taken the test). There, you will find lots more writing tips and strategies that will help you show the ACT Writing test who’s boss. Happy Studying!

Rachel is a Magoosh Content Creator. She writes and updates content on our High School and GRE Blogs to ensure students are equipped with the best information during their test prep journey. As a test-prep instructor for more than five years in there different countries, Rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT, and she is one of the authors of our Magoosh ACT Prep Book . Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Université de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London. For over a decade, Rachel has honed her craft as a fiction and memoir writer and public speaker. Her novel, THE BALLERINAS , is forthcoming in December 2021 from St. Martin’s Press , while her memoir, GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND , co-written with Jessica Pan, was published in 2014 by Penguin Random House. Her work has appeared in over a dozen online and print publications, including Vanity Fair Hollywood. When she isn’t strategically stringing words together at Magoosh, you can find Rachel riding horses or with her nose in a book. Join her on Twitter , Instagram , or Facebook !

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You get 40 minutes to write, but ACT graders have to grade each essay in less than five.

The way to get a great ACT writing score is to make the graders’ jobs easy. So, don’t sweat the small stuff. Focus on the big picture: a clear position, logical organization, and strong examples.

ACT Writing Rubric

The ACT essay is scored by two graders who will each assign a score of 1–6 for a total score of 2–12.

View a sample ACT essay prompt . Your ACT writing score will be based on how well you can do the following:

What's a Good ACT Writing Score?

The ACT Writing Test is scored on a scale of 2 (lowest score) to 12 (highest score). The average ACT Writing score is between a 6 and 7. Here's a look at national ACT writing score percentiles, according to the latest data released by ACT, Inc.

SOURCE:  ACT, Inc.

More ACT Writing Tips

Your argument, organization, and supporting examples are the most crucial pieces of your essay, but these four writing tips can help boost your score.

Yes, ACT graders really do tend to reward longer essays. Try to write at least four paragraphs spanning two to three pages. If your handwriting is large, make sure you write an extra page to compensate!

Read More: What's A Good ACT Score?

2. Keep It Interesting

Vary your sentence structure to improve the rhythm of your essay. If you write a really long sentence with lots of modifiers and dependent clauses, it sometimes helps to follow it with a shorter, more direct sentence. It really works.

3. Watch Your Word Choice

Sprinkle some nice vocabulary words throughout your essay (make sure to spell them correctly!). If you’re uncertain about the meaning or spelling of a word, it’s best just to pick a different word. Using a big word incorrectly makes a worse impression than using a smaller word correctly.

4. Practice Your Best Handwriting

Though graders shouldn’t take neatness into consideration when determining your ACT writing score, the bottom line is that a neat, legible essay is easier to read. And a happy grader is a good thing! For an essay that's truly easy on the eyes, make sure you indent each paragraph and avoid messy cross-outs.

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What to Expect on the ACT Essay

Understanding the act essay prompt, how the act essay is scored, ideas and analysis.

This domain evaluates your ability to analyze multiple perspectives (yours and one of the given perspectives). To score highly in the Ideas and Analysis domain, your argumentative essay should contain a clear thesis statement and address the complexity, underlying assumptions and implications of the perspectives you have chosen to write about.

Development and Support

This domain evaluates your ability to support your point of view. To score highly in Development and Support, your must support your ideas with examples and logical reasoning. Be sure to convey the significance of your argument as well as address an alternative perspective in a way that ultimately bolsters your position.

Organization

This domain evaluates your ability to craft a well-designed essay. To score highly in the Organization domain, your essay should include introduction and conclusion paragraphs, a thesis statement, topic sentences as well as transitions both between paragraphs as well as sentences as appropriate.

Language Use and Conventions

This domain evaluates your ability to communicate your ideas using the conventions of written English. To score highly in the Language Use and Conventions domain, your word choice should be accurate and precise, you should use synonyms and pronouns as appropriate to vary your word choice, use proper sentence structure and write with a tone that matches the nature of your argument. Minor spelling or grammar errors that do not hinder the reader’s ability to understand your argument do not count against you.

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Your ACT Scoring Guide for 2024

Act scoring: your complete guide for 2024.

Bonus Material: ACT Score Ranges for 499 Colleges

How does ACT scoring work?

Can you superscore the ACT? What does it take to get a “good” ACT score?

If you’re starting your ACT test prep, you’ve probably asked at least one of these questions.

The ACT is a vastly different test than the SAT, the other college entrance exam. It has different sections and time constraints. It especially has a different scoring system, which can feel foreign to first-time test-takers.

We’re here to break down everything you need to know about ACT scoring in 2022 so you can jump into this test feeling confident and prepared.

We also give readers access to the ACT Score Ranges for the top 499 U.S. colleges and universities, a great resource for those establishing their target ACT scores. Grab this below.

Download ACT Score Ranges for 499 Colleges

Here’s what we cover in this post:

• How the ACT is Scored

Which Scores Matter Most to Colleges in 2022

• Superscoring the ACT
• What Counts as a Good ACT Score for 2022
• ACT and SAT Score Comparison
• Bonus: ACT Score Ranges for 499 Colleges

ACT Scoring 101

The ACT has 5 sections, in this order:

• Essay ( optional )

Every section except the ACT essay is scored on a scale of 1-36. 1 is the lowest score you can achieve on an individual section, while 36 is the highest score possible.

Students also receive an ACT total score, called the composite score . This is the average of the scores received on the four required ACT sections.

Take a look at this sample student ACT score report to see this scoring system in action.

Here, the student’s composite score of 21 is the average of the student’s individual ACT section scores (19, 18, 24, and 23). If this average equates to a decimal, such as 20.8, ACT will round to the nearest whole number , which would be 21 in this case.

What about the ACT Essay score?

The student’s ACT essay (also referred to as Writing) scores do not impact their ACT composite score and fall on a range of 2-12. This number is the sum of two essay readers’ scores, which are assigned in 4 domains:

• Ideas & Analysis
• Development & Support
• Organization
• Language Use & Conventions

You can find the detailed rubric that ACT essay readers use here .

If you do not take the ACT essay, you will not see a score reported in the “Writing” column. Nor will you see an English Language Arts (ELA) score.

What are ranks?

As you can see in the sample ACT score report above, reports also include information about a student’s “ranking” in the U.S. and that student’s home state. These are approximate percentages of recent grads who have taken the ACT in the U.S. and your state and achieved the same score as you or lower.

The ACT offers these rankings for your composite score, individual section scores, and STEM/ELA scores.

These rankings can be helpful from an assessment perspective. But when it comes to the numbers colleges care about, they aren’t as essential.

What are college readiness benchmarks?

Your score report will also show how your scores relate to what ACT calls “College Readiness Benchmarks,” indicated by a purple line within each scoring column. These are scoring benchmarks designed to predict success in college-level courses.

In this sample score report, the student is below these benchmarks for Math and Science. She is above the benchmarks for English and Reading.

Here are the benchmark ACT scores for college readiness as of 2022:

• English: 18
• Math:  22
• Reading: 22
• Science: 23

How does ACT calculate my score per section?

Every ACT section has different content and different numbers of questions. So how does ACT boil each down to a number on a scale of 1-36?

Basically, they’ll tally up the number of questions you got correct on a section, called your raw score . They then convert these raw scores for each section to a number between 1-36 using a specific scaled conversion table, like the one below.

If you got 31 questions correct on the ACT Science section of this test, for example, this would yield a 26 sectional score. 50 correct questions on ACT Math on this test equates to a 30.

Is a 36 on one ACT exactly the same as a 36 on another ACT?

Not necessarily.

No two ACTs are alike. They will vary in difficulty, so ACT uses a process called “equating” to balance these discrepancies. The company doesn’t say much about what goes into the equating process, but we can see it at work if we look at sections from the raw score conversion charts for 2 official ACT practice tests.

To get a 30 on ACT English on Practice Test #1, a student must get 65 questions correct. But to get a 30 on ACT English on Practice Test #2, a student has to ace 66 questions.

This might seem like a subtle difference, but take a look at Math. 49 Math questions correct on Practice Test #1 yields a 30, while 51 equates to a 30 on Practice Test #2.

These differences can add up!

Can you predict when ACT will administer an “easy” test?

Nope. While taking the test, you might be able to sense if a section feels harder or easier than other official practice tests.

But there’s no viable way to predict an “easy” ACT. What’s more, an “easy” ACT does not necessarily equate to an easy perfect score! Easier sections often require students to get more questions correct to earn a higher score.

What scores will colleges prioritize when they look at your score report? Your composite? Each section score? Your Essay score? Your ACT rankings?

In a nutshell, colleges are going to care most about your ACT composite score . But they will also likely place a heavy emphasis on your ACT section scores.

That’s why we encourage students to work on maximizing their scores in all 4 sections of the ACT. Doing so will also positively impact their composite score, as the composite is the average of all 4 section scores.

Schools have different policies regarding how they assess ACT Essay scores. Because fewer and fewer schools are requiring the ACT Essay, it’s safe to say that most schools will only assess these Essay scores for advising purposes (if at all).

You can learn more about how specific colleges on your list review ACT score reports by checking out what they have to say about standardized tests on their websites.

Bates College , for example, while test-optional, actually specifies the Middle 50% of successful applicants’ test scores on its website. It also states that it superscores the ACT and SAT, which we discuss in the next section.

We’ve compiled the ACT score ranges of successful applicants to the top 499 U.S. colleges and universities in one easy-to-read document! Download a copy below.

Can You Superscore the ACT?

Yes! The ACT recently launched superscoring . Superscoring allows ACT test-takers to count their highest section and composite scores as official scores. Colleges ultimately have the final say in how they review these scores, but superscoring can be a valuable tool for students who plan on taking the ACT at least twice.

As we saw with Bates College above, many colleges already have their own superscoring policies in place.

They should elaborate on their website what these policies look like, which can vary widely. Some require submission of all test scores, for example, while others might only consider the highest scores submitted.

Here’s what Stanford says about superscoring on its website:

To make the most of superscoring opportunities, students should plan on taking the ACT at least twice.

Some students worry that taking the ACT two or three times may reflect badly on their college applications. This couldn’t be farther from the truth!

Most students take the ACT at least twice, and many experience a score increase the second or third time around. There is no evidence to suggest that taking the ACT more than once impacts the college admissions decision.

What is a Good ACT Score for 2022?

Most students assume that because 36 is the highest possible ACT score (both composite and individual), it’s a “good” ACT score.

Yet while a 36 will definitely add a competitive edge to an application, anything less than a 36 isn’t necessarily a bad  ACT score.

In fact, it all comes down to how you define a “good” ACT score . We have 2 definitions for this.

• “Good” is anything that is “above average” with sectional scores and percentile rankings
• “Good” is anything that will look competitive on a college application

Let’s start with the first definition.

Good ACT Score #1: The “Above Average” ACT Score

ACT regularly releases a “National Norms” report for ACT scores . This includes data from all ACT test scores reported for the 2023-2024 period (although these scores could be from 2021, 2022, and 2023 class graduates).

The most recent National Norms ACT Report includes the average section and composite scores of those reported between 2022 and 2023.

Here’s what they are:

Using the first definition of a “good” ACT score, a composite score of 20 or higher on the ACT could be considered a competitive score for 2023.

At the very least, we encourage students who are new to the ACT to aim for a target score that is above national averages, on individual sections and the whole test itself.

This would mean establishing a goal score of the following on each section:

Of course, your starting score may be higher than a composite of 21, so we also recommend that students start with a diagnostic ACT to see where they currently stand.

Good ACT Score #2: The College Competitive ACT Score

Of course, scoring above-average on the ACT is just  one  interpretation of what it means to do well on the test.

In the context of college entrance, one student’s “good” ACT score could be vastly different than another student’s. It just comes down to where you are applying and the average ACT scores of admitted applicants.

So, we like to say that, under this definition, a ‘good ACT score’ is the one that is right for you given your college aspirations. This will  probably be close to the ACT scores of admitted applicants. 

Plenty of universities specify ACT score ranges of successful applicants on their websites (although some are not public with this information).  

Most do so by specifying the ‘Middle 50,’ or the 25th and 75th percentile of accepted students’ ACT scores.

Here’s a sampling of the Middle 50s from various elite institutions:

Source :  The National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS (2019)

And here are the Middle 50s of ACT score ranges of successful applicants to the top 499 U.S. colleges and universities.

If the colleges on your list do not specify these score ranges on their websites, you can check out the Common Data Set, an effort to give clear, relevant information to everyone involved in the college admissions process about universities’ “institutional priorities.”

What are institutional priorities? These refer to what a college cares about when it’s admitting an incoming class.

The Common Data Set for Princeton University , for example, contains information about the university’s enrollment, admissions, financial aid, and more. A school’s CDS should also include details about test scores of admitted applicants, as Princeton’s shows here:  

Princeton’s CDS also breaks down ACT scores into 25th and 75th percentiles. You can use these percentiles to understand competitive scores of admitted applicants.

For example, one can safely conclude based on this CDS that 50% of admitted applicants to Princeton in 2022-2023 had ACT composite scores ranging from 34 to 35.

SAT and ACT Score Comparison

How do ACT scores compare to SAT scores?

The two college entrance exams are pretty different. But it is possible to figure out what an ACT score generally aligns with on the SAT, and vice versa.

In fact, in 2018, ACT and the CollegeBoard completed what’s called a “Concordance Study,” which examined the relationship between ACT scores and SAT scores. ACT emphasizes that this study does not “equate scores” but can be a “helpful tool for finding comparable scores.”

Translation: It’s impossible to pinpoint exact equivalences, but it is possible to approximate.

Here is one of the score comparison tables that resulted from this study, which compares ACT Composites to SAT Composites. Notice how this table also includes an “SAT Range,” designed to compensate for fluctuations in test difficulty.

ACT also has a digital tool on its website that allows for quick score comparison calculations:

Ideally, students should choose one test to prepare for as they plan their college application journey. All U.S. colleges accept both tests equally. Not sure which test is the best fit for you? We can help .

Download ACT Score Ranges of 499 Colleges

Curious about what ACT score you need to get into your dream school?

We’ve compiled the ACT score ranges of successful applicants to the top 499 U.S. colleges in one simple document, which you can download for free below!

Here’s what you’ll get with this handy resource:

• Middle 50 ACT composite scores for the top 499 U.S. colleges and universities
• Middle 50 ACT sectional scores for English and Math
• Admit rate for each college
• All based on the most recent available data (2019)

Kate is a graduate of Princeton University. Over the last decade, Kate has successfully mentored hundreds of students in all aspects of the college admissions process, including the SAT, ACT, and college application essay. 

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5 Tips to Score a 12 On Your ACT Essay

There is no question that the ACT is important for high school students who are thinking about applying to college. While the multiple choice sections are designed to assess students’ knowledge in math, English, science and reading, there is also a writing section that assesses students’ abilities to write an essay. Doing well on this section of the ACT can help distinguish you as an accomplished writer to colleges.

Though you can easily understand your score a multiple choice test, you might be left wondering what will earn you a good score on the ACT essay. If you’re aiming for a 12 on the ACT essay, read on for some tips and tricks!

What is the ACT Essay?

While the multiple choice sections of the ACT might be more unforgiving, the ACT essay is a great opportunity to show off your writing skills. According the ACT website, you should aim to write a “unified, coherent essay” in which you:

• clearly state your own perspective on the issue and analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective
• develop and support your ideas with reasoning and examples
• organize your ideas clearly and logically
• communicate your ideas effectively in Standard written English.

To see these ideas in motion, you can take a look at a sample ACT prompt and essay here .

How is the ACT Essay scored?

The ACT essay is scored on a scale of 1 to 12. Your essay will be read and scored by two different grades on a scale of 1 to 6 in four different domains, for a total score out of 12 in each of these four domains. These four scores will then be averaged for a total score out of 12.

For more information about how this section of the test is scored, you can look at the official ACT Writing Test Scoring Rubric .

Tip 1: Know what a 12 looks like

In general, if you are aiming to do well in something, you should know what  exemplary work looks like and try to emulate it. This is certainly the case for the ACT Essay, so before you walk into the testing center to write your essay, make sure you know know what essays that scored a 12 in this section look like!

Be sure to read as many sample essays as you can find—these should be available online through a quick Google search. Keep in mind, though, that the structure of the writing section changed in Fall 2015, so make sure that the examples you are looking at are current and align with the structure of the current essay prompt.

As you’re looking at essays that scored a 12, be sure to also look at essays that scored in the middle and essays that received a poor score. Try to understand what went wrong in the poorly scored essays as well as what could be improved in the middle-scoring ones. Take note of what was successful in the high-scoring sample essays that you read—what makes these essays stand out from the middle-scoring ones?

If there are notes from graders that justify the scores of the essays, be sure to pay attention to these as well. Aiming for a high score on the ACT essay section means that you need to try to understand exactly what the graders are looking for. Study the rubric once more and remember what you’ll need to accomplish in each category.

Tip 2: Pick a perspective and stick to it

When it comes to the writing prompt, the ACT website says “ The test describes an issue and provides three different perspectives on the issue. You are asked to read and consider the issue and perspectives, state your own perspective on the issue, and analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective on the issue. Your score will not be affected by the perspective you take on the issue.”

In order to write a strong essay, you can choose whatever perspective you like—just make sure it’s one that you can support and defend effectively throughout your essay. Scorers are looking for a strong, well-organized point of view, and like it says above, it doesn’t matter whether you agree, disagree, or are somewhere in the middle; what matters is the writing.

It is important to remember that even if you don’t agree with the perspective that you’re writing from on a personal level, your essay needs to show that you can effectively argue a point. In addition, make sure to remember to relate your perspective to one of the perspectives provided in the prompt. Be sure to address the counter arguments as well in one of your body paragraphs, using the perspective opposite to your personal perspective to demonstrate your understanding of opposing views.

Tip 3: Use concrete examples

Grounding your writing in concrete examples is one extremely important element of writing effective ACT essay. You could use this as an opportunity to show off your historical knowledge by relating your argument to a relevant fact or event in history or current events, or you could come up with a rhetorical scenario or example. Including examples might even mean including a personal anecdote (although if you do end up doing this, you should make sure that your story is short and relates directly to your argument).

Take a look at the ways in which the writers of sample essays that scored a 12 managed to seamlessly incorporate examples into their writing. While you don’t have to be an expert on the essay topic, nor are you expected to be able to list off obscure facts and trivia about it, you need to make sure that your essay draws from real concrete examples rather that just vague abstract arguments.

Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to show off your language skills

One of the markers of a successful ACT essay is its use of language. This is a great opportunity to show off some of your ACT/SAT vocabulary words that you might have been studying for the English section of the test. Opt for higher-level vocabulary words when given the chance—as a general rule of thumb, you should aim to use about 1-2 higher level vocab words per paragraph.

Scorers want to see that you can navigate the English language skillfully, and so you should also take the chance to vary your sentence structure when you get the chance. Consider, also, utilizing devices such as rhetorical questions and complex sentences.

If you are going to use more complicated vocabulary and grammar structures, however, make sure you fully understand how to use them. It will reflect poorly upon your writing skills if you include a complicated word that doesn’t make sense in the context of a sentence, or if a grammatical structure that you try to use isn’t quite right. If you’re going to use a semicolon to combine two sentences, for example, make sure you understand that a semicolon is not the same thing as a comma. When in doubt, stick to what you know! It is better to have a less complicated structure that is used correctly versus an attempt at a more advanced grammatical concept that is actually wrong.

Lastly, be sure to keep it real in your writing. While scorers want to see students who are skilled in their use of the english language, it is easy to tell when someone is simply trying to electrify their vocabulary in order to titillate the reader for the written examination. Your writing and tone should reflect who you are as a writer, so remember to keep it down to earth.

Tip 5: Pay attention to timing & your energy level

For the essay section, you will get 40 minutes. This includes time for planning, writing, and editing, so make sure you dole out the appropriate amount of time for each part of the process. You can practice this by timing yourself to write an essay from a sample prompt at home. Start by giving yourself an hour, and gradually work it down to 40 minutes so that you are prepared by the time the testing date rolls around. If you find that you need more time for planning than you do writing, or if you come to learn that you need a particularly large chunk of time to edit, keep these things in mind when it comes time to write your essay for the exam.

The essay will be the last section on the test, so keep this in mind while you complete the multiple choice sections of the ACT. While you should be devoting your full attention and energy to each multiple choice section of the test, keep in mind that once you are finished with all of the multiple choice sections, you will still have to write the essay.

When you get breaks between sections, be sure to eat a snack, drink some water, and use the restroom so that you are not uncomfortable or distracted by the end of the test. While you might be tempted to just breeze through the essay section so that you can finish the ACT, know that you will not be allowed to leave the testing center until everyone has finished the test—so be sure to use up all of the allotted time!

For more information about the ACT and essay writing, check out these blog posts:

What to Bring (And Not Bring) to the ACT

10 Tips to Improve Your ACT Score

Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Essay

A Guide to the Optional ACT Writing Section

Want to know how your SAT score/ACT score impacts your chances of acceptance to your dream schools? Our free Chancing Engine will not only help you predict your odds, but also let you know how you stack up against other applicants, and which aspects of your profile to improve. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to gain access to our Chancing Engine and get a jumpstart on your college strategy!

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Writing Test Description for the ACT

If you register for the ACT with writing, you will take the writing section after the four multiple-choice sections. Your score in the writing section will not affect your scores on the multiple-choice or your Composite score.

The writing section is a 40-minute essay test that measures your writing skills—specifically, writing skills taught in high school English classes and in entry-level college composition courses.

The section consists of one writing prompt that describes a complex issue and provides three different perspectives on the issue. You are asked to read the prompt and write an essay in which you develop your own perspective on the issue. Your essay must analyze the relationship between your own perspective and one or more other perspectives. You may adopt one of the perspectives given in the prompt as your own, or you may introduce one that is completely different from those given. Your score will not be affected by the perspective you take on the issue.

Five scores are reported for the writing section: a single subject-level writing score reported on a scale of 2–12, and four domain scores that are based on an analytic scoring rubric. The subject score is the rounded average of the four domain scores. The four writing domains are:

Writing Skills Measured by the ACT Writing Test

Ideas and analysis.

Scores in this domain reflect the ability to generate productive ideas and engage critically with multiple perspectives on the given issue. Competent writers understand the issue they are invited to address, the purpose for writing, and the audience. They generate ideas that are relevant to the situation.

Development and Support

Scores in this domain reflect the ability to discuss ideas, offer rationale, and bolster an argument. Competent writers explain and explore their ideas, discuss implications, and illustrate through examples. They help the reader understand their thinking about the issue.

Organization

Scores in this domain reflect the ability to organize ideas with clarity and purpose. Organizational choices are integral to effective writing. Competent writers arrange their essay in a way that clearly shows the relationship between ideas, and they guide the reader through their discussion.

Language Use and Conventions

Scores in this domain reflect the ability to use written language to convey arguments with clarity. Competent writers make use of the conventions of grammar, syntax, word usage, and mechanics. They are also aware of their audience and adjust the style and tone of their writing to communicate effectively. See  sample essays  or read   test tips .

Get more information about how the writing test is scored .

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ACT® Writing Test All You Need To Know!

The ACT® Writing section is a paper-and-pencil essay test that assesses your writing skills and knowledge of standard English. This test works with the ACT English and Reading Tests to evaluate your understanding of the English language and how you use it to communicate an idea and logically develop a thesis.

This test section is optional and doesn’t affect your composite ACT score. However, if you want to study language, literature, or any allied subject, this optional test looks good on your college application. A good ACT Writing Test score will indicate your readiness for introductory college composition courses or any related subjects you wish to pursue.

If you want to learn more about the ACT Writing Test, this guide will explain its format, topics, and scoring structure. We’ve also included bonus ACT Essay writing tips to give you a headstart. Read on!

How is ACT Writing Formatted?

The ACT Writing section consists of a passage, followed by three perspectives associated with that passage, and a few writing prompts. After reading the passage and perspectives carefully, you’ll need to formulate a thesis by outlining the points addressed in the prompts.

You can incorporate a partial or complete perspective from the prompt or derive your own. Either way, your essay should examine the relationship between your perspective and the perspective(s) already presented in the prompt. You will only be evaluated on your comprehension, analytical, and writing abilities, as well as your ability to logically create and defend a thesis.

You must write your essay on the answer sheets provided to you. Remember to carry pencils, an eraser, and a sharpener. Mechanical pencils or ink pens are prohibited. If you have a documented disability that affects how you take the test, you can request ACT testing accommodations .

The ACT Writing section comprises 40 minutes of the total testing time of 3 hours and 35 minutes. In these 40 minutes, you must read the passage, perspectives, and prompts, develop your argument, and write a thesis. To make the most of your time, follow a structured essay template that contains a clear introduction, body, and conclusion.

Why is the ACT Writing section optional?

While the ACT Reading, Math, and Science Tests assess your overall college readiness parameters, the ACT Writing Test focuses only on your command of standard written English. Because this test evaluates a targeted skill required for specific college course placements and/or admissions, taking the ACT Writing section is optional.

However, some states require you to take the ACT Writing Test to graduate high school, so check your high school, state, and college admission requirements. Check out our blog on the role of ACT Writing in college admissions to learn how an ACT Writing score can help bolster your career.

What Skills are Assessed on the ACT Writing Test?

The ACT does not publish a syllabus for the writing test. However, the subject matter typically involves social and political issues, so staying up-to-date with current events is recommended.

The ACT publishes a list of skills that are assessed on the ACT Writing Test. Each skill carries a specific number of points that are reported on your ACT scorecard. This score is a measurement of your readiness for college-level English language and composition courses. The list below explains the skills tested on ACT Writing:

• Ideas and Analysis The first writing skill assesses how you engage with and develop critical perspectives on a given issue. You must understand the issue at hand, your audience, and the purpose of your assignment.
• Development and Support As the name suggests, this skill evaluates your ability to develop an idea or argument and support it with logic and examples.
• Organization This skill tests how you organize your arguments and ideas with clarity and purpose. You must arrange your essay by maintaining a cohesive link between your perspective, argument, evidence, and example, followed by your conclusion.
• Language Use and Conventions As you may have guessed, this skill assesses your command of written English. You must demonstrate how you use your knowledge of standard grammar conventions, syntax, and usage to develop your thesis. You will also have to adjust your writing and tone for your target reader so you can communicate your argument effectively.

ACT Writing Score

The ACT Writing score is reported as four domain scores and one holistic score. Each domain score relates to one writing skill discussed in the previous section. The holistic and domain scores are scored on a scale of 2 to 12. Your final ACT Writing score is calculated by averaging the four domain scores and rounding them to the nearest whole number. To make it easy for you, we've put together the table below showing the scoring structure for ACT Writing:

Remember that your ACT score report contains an ELA (English Language Arts) score. This score is calculated based on your ACT English , ACT Reading , and ACT Writing scores and is crucial if you plan to major in the humanities. You will NOT get an ELA score if you do not opt for the ACT Writing Test. If you're curious about how the ACT is scored, check out our article on the ACT scoring structure .

Check out our blog on ACT score percentiles to learn how they are calculated and what they mean for your total score.

How Hard Is ACT Writing?

The ACT Writing section can be challenging, depending on how well you can execute a cohesive essay and demonstrate your mastery of standard written English. Assessment is based on your ability to read a text critically, form an argument, and support it with logic.

Below are the ACT Writing Test scores from the past three years (2020-2022). The table shows the number of students who took the ACT Writing Test between 2020-22 and the average score for each test year. We've also included the average ELA score and the percentage of students who fulfilled the ELA college readiness benchmark set by Act.org:

As you can see from the table above, the average writing and ELA scores have gone down in the last three years. This decrease also reflects the percentage of students who could not meet the ELA college readiness benchmark. After looking at the data, it appears that scoring has become more rigorous over the years.

ACT Writing Tips

• Read, read, read Read texts like short stories, essays, news articles, blogs, and research essays. These will give you an idea of how a well-written article or text is constructed and how the writer supports their perspective through evidence and examples. You will also learn about the different types of writing styles, language use, and other elements of writing.
• Introduction (1 paragraph)
• Body text (2 - 3 paragraphs)
• Conclusion (1 paragraph)
• Write Reading should be followed by repeated practice. Write essays, stories, poems, editorials, and reports. This way, you can get an idea of the time it takes to write a cohesive text. Also, you will understand how to develop an essay's introduction, body, and conclusion to make it coherent and meaningful.

Check out our expert guide on writing an ACT essay, including examples of what excellence looks like.

Frequently Answered Questions (FAQs)

As of 2022, the following schools require an ACT Writing score:

• Martin Luther College (MN)
• Soka University of America (CA)
• United States Military Academy (West Point) (NY)
• University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX)
• Yellowstone Christian College (MT)

Related Articles

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Question about ACT with writing and how it is scored.

So I took the June ACT with writing, however I wasn’t really aware that I had no real reason to take the test with writing until a few days before I took the exam. The school that I intend on going to has no requirement for the writing portion of the test, and because of this, I am afraid that if I did bad on the essay, it will negatively affect my composite score. Can someone much more familiar with the scoring of the exam tell me how this can affect my score, if at all? Thank you.

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How Does the ACT Work, and What’s a Good Score?

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The ACT is one of the two main college readiness exams. Like they do with the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), admissions offices use your ACT score to help determine if you’re a good fit for their college or university.

Both tests are widely used, but recently, the ACT has become more popular than the SAT. Over two million students take the ACT every year, while about 1.7 million take the SAT. It’s easy to feel like all standardized tests are the same, but these tests measure two different things.

The SAT measures your ability to learn, and the ACT measures what you’ve already learned. They’re two completely different approaches to determining your “college readiness,” but both are well-respected, and most schools don’t have a preference for one or the other.

The ACT was developed by a college professor in response to his frustrations with the SAT, which at the time was the only means of gauging how prepared students were for college. As an educator, he felt it was far better to know that your students had the necessary prerequisite knowledge than to know how good they were at learning.

Tomato, to-mah-to, you’re taking the ACT. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Quick facts on the ACT

Eligibility requirements: none

Length: three hours and 30 minutes

Sections: four required (English, math, reading, science), one optional (writing)

Number of questions: 215 (plus an essay prompt)

Types of questions: multiple choice, essay (writing section only)

Score range: 1–36

Cost: $46 without the writing section, $62.50 with the writing section

What does ACT stand for? ACT technically stands for American College Testing, but the test is administered by an organization of the same name, and they simply refer to it as the ACT.

What does the ACT test you on?

The ACT tests you based on things you should learn by the end of your senior year of high school. We’ll tell you what to expect from each section and give you some tips, but first, here’s a tip that applies to every multiple choice section:

Never leave a question blank. You aren’t penalized for wrong answers, so even if you have absolutely no clue what the answer is, take a guess!

ACT English Test

Length: 45 minutes

Number of questions: 75

The English section of the ACT will measure your mastery of the nuts and bolts of prose. Rather than asking you to retrieve information or think critically about a passage, you’ll examine individual phrases, sentences, or paragraphs.

The makers of the test say that the English section “measures your understanding of the conventions of standard English (punctuation, usage, and sentence structure), production of writing (topic development, organization, unity, and cohesion), and knowledge of language (word choice, style, and tone).”

There are several varieties of multiple choice questions, but they’re all based on passages. If a passage has underlined sections, some of the questions will ask you to improve those parts with one of the options provided. If none of the suggested changes improve the passage, you can choose “no change” (this is pretty common).

You may be asked to change a passage to create a specific effect, like building a stronger transition between two thoughts or rearranging sentences to form a more logical progression. You’ll also be asked about how particular changes might affect the passage, or what information a particular section provides.

According to national data from the ACT, this is the section most people score lowest on.

Tip: This test gives you the least amount of time per question, so don’t waste time on tough questions. Guess, and come back to them later if there’s time.If you don’t have extra time at the end, think about how many more questions you were able to get through!   It’s sunk-cost economics at work.

ACT Mathematics Test

Length: 60 minutes

Number of questions: 60

All of the questions of the math section of the ACT are solvable without a calculator. Still, using one could save you some precious time. Here’s how the makers of the test break down the questions:

• Number and quantity (7–10%)
• Algebra (12–15%)
• Functions (12–15%)
• Geometry (12–15%)
• Statistics and probability (8–12%)
• Modeling (less than 25%)
• Integrating essential skills (about 15%)

You’ll need to know the basic terminology and formulas for basic high school math. Be sure to read how the ACT describes each math section .

The ACT has already done a huge favor for you: the questions in each section appear in order of difficulty, so the easiest ones come first. That doesn’t always mean they’ll be the easiest ones for you , so you’ll still want to skim ahead if you get stuck on one.

Tip: Before you start solving a problem, take a look at the possible answers. They may help you decide how to approach the problem.

ACT Reading Test

Length: 35 minutes

Number of questions: 40

The reading section of the ACT contains four passages with 10 questions each. These are designed to test your reading comprehension, and the questions will ask you to summarize pieces of the passage, make inferences from the text, and identify key information. The bulk of the questions will be about the ideas and details in the passages.

The four passages come from the same four subjects every year, and they always appear in the following order:

• Social science
• Natural science

According to national data from the ACT, this is the section people score highest on.

Tip: Answers on the reading section are deliberately trying to trick you. There may be multiple answers that look correct. Before you read the possible answers, try to answer the question for yourself when possible. Then it’ll be harder for those almost right answers to mislead you—because you’ll be looking for a specific answer.

ACT Science Test

For the science section of the ACT, you won’t be expected to have advanced knowledge of any particular kind of science, but you will need a general understanding of these subjects:

• Meteorology

The majority of this test involves interpreting data and working with experiment results. Like the reading and English sections of the ACT, science questions are based on a passage. You’ll have between four and seven questions per passage.

The passages you’ll work from will take these three formats:

• Data representation (30-40%)
• Research summaries (45-55%)
• Conflicting viewpoints (15-20%)

Data representation questions will focus on tables and graphs, and they’ll test your ability to interpret scientific data.

Research summaries will focus on experiments, and you’ll be asked about the design of the experiment and the conclusions drawn from the results.

Conflicting viewpoints questions ask you to analyze and compare two hypotheses or views that are based on different premises or incomplete data.

ACT Writing Test

Length: 40 minutes

Number of questions: one

The writing section is the only part of the test that doesn’t affect your composite score. (It is optional, after all.) The test will present three perspectives on an issue, and you’ll respond with an essay.

Regardless of the prompt, your essay will have the same three expectations:

• Analyze and evaluate the perspectives given.
• State and develop your own perspective on the issue.
• Explain the relationship between your perspective and those given.

Should I take the ACT Writing Test?

It definitely won’t count against you if you don’t take the optional section of the ACT. So if you’re a terrible writer, that’s probably a good choice. However, since it doesn’t count towards your composite score, and it can provide the admissions office with a more personal representation of your academic capabilities, it’s a good idea to take it.

A big shiny ACT score can certainly make your college applications stand out, but people can only learn so much about you from a number. There’s no guarantee a college will use your ACT essay, but if you’re a good writer, this is a positive differentiator that not every applicant is going to have.

Personally, I’d recommend it.

How do ACT scores work?

On the ACT, you gain points for correct answers, and you don’t lose points for incorrect answers.

You’ll receive a separate score for each section of the ACT: English, math, reading, science, and writing (optional). Scores range from 1 to 36 on each section—with the exception of the writing section, where scores range from 2 to 12. These scores are averaged into your “composite score.”

Your score report will show your score and percentile in each section, plus two additional sections: STEM , and ELA (English Language Arts). These are good indicators of your competency in specific subjects, but when someone says, “What’s your ACT score?” they’re asking about your composite score. ACT.org can walk you through each part of your ACT score report .

You’ll be able to view your scores online about two weeks after the exam, and you’ll get your score report in the mail within 2-8 weeks.

What’s a good ACT score?

While a perfect SAT score is 2,400, a perfect ACT score is just 36. But less than .1% of all ACT test-takers get a perfect score. So what’s a good ACT score?

The average ACT score is 21. But sitting smack dab in the middle isn’t going to make your application stand out. And for schools that want to build on their reputation for excellence, a mediocre score may not be good enough (unless you have an exceptional portfolio or something else to show off).

A good score is different for every school

Unless a school explicitly states a minimum ACT score you need to be admitted, you have to look at the students who are actually accepted to determine a “good score.” Whatever schools you’re looking at, you can see the range of standardized test scores for students they’ve accepted. You can even compare the bottom 25% of accepted students and the top 75%. If the other pieces of your application are strong, you can probably get by with a lower score.

Ivy League schools , for example, have significantly higher standards than the national average, and their students’ average ACT scores range from as low as 29 to as high as 35 (or from the 92nd percentile to the 99th).

So a good score really depends on what school you want to go to. But unless you’re looking at a top-tier school—one with a notoriously low acceptance rate—scoring in the top 75% of all test takers should be good enough for most schools. That means a good score is 24 or higher.

But what do you mean by “a good score”?

Of course, good is a relative term. Maybe by “good” you mean scoring in the top 90%? In that case, you’re shooting for a 28 or higher. And yes, four points can make that big of a difference. Sometimes getting a single point higher on your composite score can make a difference of 7%.

While a score around 24 should get you into most schools, scoring 28 or higher will have some schools throwing money at you, begging you to be one of their students.

Now that you know more about what to aim for, let’s talk about what to do with a bad score.

What happens if you get a bad score on the ACT?

No matter how much you study, there are lots of factors that can add up to a bad test day. Lack of sleep, poor diet, not exercising regularly, health issues, stress, and distractions make it harder to perform your best under pressure.

Thankfully, you can retake the ACT as many times as you want. And ACT.org says that 57% of people who retake the ACT improve their score.

When it comes time to submit your ACT score to a school, you can choose to submit your highest composite score. So if you have a bad test day, no one even has to know. This doesn’t mean you can pick and choose your best results from each section, though. If you did really well on different sections on different days, you may want to share both scores—but you can’t blend them into a new composite score like some kind of ACT Frankenstein.

How do you prepare for the ACT?

Like all standardized tests, the best way to prepare for the ACT is to take practice tests. You should certainly study the terms and concepts you’ll need to be familiar with (especially for the math and science sections), but when it comes down to it, practice is the best route to a high score.

The best practice tests will give you explanations for why one answer is correct, and the others are wrong. To make sure you’re getting the most relevant practice, be sure to check out the materials provided by ACT.org, the makers of the test.

Here are some free practice questions they provide, with explanations for each answer:

• English practice questions
• Math practice questions
• Reading practice questions
• Science practice questions
• Writing samples

Let us know in the comments if there’s anything else you wish we would’ve told you about the ACT. Good luck in your studies!

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Does ACT cater for students with any form of learning disability? For instance this student is able to write ACT but would need special accommodation, like additional time, would such special accommodation be allowed for the ACT exam? This student has a condition called Impaired Processing Speed (IPS). An official report to that effect can always be forwarded to the relevant office of ACT when and if necessary.

I kindly await your advice.

Yes, the ACT offers accomodations for documented learning needs. Here’s where they talk about that: https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration/accommodations.html

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The (Optional) ACT Writing Test, Explained

Why would anyone take a test labeled as “optional”? Students aren’t required to take the ACT Writing Test—so why add it to the rest of the four sections ? 

Whether choose to take the Writing Test depends on the requirements of the colleges you’re considering. Because postsecondary institutions make their own decisions about whether to require the results from the Writing test for admissions or course-placement purposes, ACT makes it optional. Keep in mind, though, that “optional” means you have the option of signing up for it in addition to the rest of the ACT—not that you can choose whether you want to take it on the day of the test. 

Unlike the rest of the ACT , the Writing Test doesn’t lend itself to conventional test-taking strategies. The four required sections are all multiple-choice, but this optional test makes you plan and write a somewhat complex essay in a relatively short period of time. For this test, you’ll want more than just the conventional ACT tutor to provide assistance: you’ll need a tutor experienced in writing, not simply test-taking .

To learn more about all the other sections of the ACT, click the image below:

The ACT Writing Test provides a sample of your writing and reasoning skills

The Writing Test is the final element in the ACT process for those looking to go to elite schools or be admitted to selective programs. While the Reading and English sections may provide insight into your comprehension, analysis, organization, and grammar skills, they don’t really touch on composition, synthesis, and argument. Some schools you’re looking at may want to see a sample of your writing as additional information to consider when reviewing your application. 

If you’re shooting for a spot at one of the upper-echelon colleges in the U.S., or if you are looking to enter a course of study that favors strong writing ability, then you should definitely take the ACT Writing Test. For the rest of the students planning on taking the ACT, it’s fine if you forego the option. In your case, an additional score outside of the required tests of the ACT won’t make your college application any more appealing.

Because it’s optional, the Writing Test is scored separately from the rest of the ACT

If you choose to take the Writing Test, your scores for that section will be separate from those for the other four sections and will not affect your composite score in any way. Instead of operating on the 1-36 scale, your essay score will range from 2-12 in four domains: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. Two readers will grade your essay in each domain on a scale of 1-6, and those two scores will then be added together. Your overall score on the Writing test is the rounded average of the scores you achieved in the four domains. 

1. Ideas and Analysis

Scores in this domain reflect your ability to generate productive ideas and engage critically with multiple perspectives on the given issue. Competence in this area is based upon your understanding of the issue, the purpose for writing, and the audience.

2. Development and Support

For this domain, scores are based on your ability to discuss ideas, offer rationale, and support an argument. By helping the reader understand your thinking on the issue, you show your competence through explanation, discussion, and illustration.

3. Organization

This domain deals with your ability to organize ideas with clarity and purpose. Organizational choices are integral to effective writing, so you should be arranging your essay in a way that clearly shows the relationship between ideas and guides the reader through the discussion.

4. Language Use and Conventions

Competent writers make use of the conventions of grammar, syntax, word usage, and mechanics. Scores in this domain are based upon your ability to use written language to convey arguments with clarity, as well as how you adjust the style and tone of your writing to communicate effectively.

You will be prompted with an issue, three perspectives, and instructions for the essay

The ACT Writing test gives you 40 minutes to read the given material and write an essay that analyzes the topic, evaluates each of the three viewpoints, and presents your own argument based on the prompt. Regardless of the issue in the essay you are presented with, the instructions will look the same:

Note that there is room for great deal of variety in how test-takers approach the essay. You are not being evaluated based on what position you take, but on how you explain and defend that position. And as far as the perspectives are concerned, you can hold any view on the spectrum from full agreement to complete disagreement. As the directions emphasize, your essay should declare your position, analyze and evaluate the given perspectives, and explain how your position compares and contrasts with those perspectives. 

Your strategy is to present your argument while evaluating the given perspectives

Let’s examine an essay prompt from a previously administered ACT. First, you will be given a paragraph briefly introducing a certain issue.

Read the paragraph issue and identify what you should be responding to regarding the issue. For this one, you would be offering your thoughts on “the implications and meaning of [the presence of intelligent machines] in our lives.” As part of your position, you should also answer the question “Automation is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what is lost when we replace humans with machines”? Take a minute to write down your thoughts in the area for planning on the page opposite the prompt. Make sure you are clear in your position and not wishy-washy. In your opening paragraph, use the language of the text to guide how you state your position: for this one, remember that you are giving your thoughts on the implications of automation and what may be lost when humans are replaced by machines.

After the introductory paragraph, you will be presented with three perspectives on the issue you just read about.

When you read the perspectives, remember that you don’t need to agree (or disagree) with any of them. You do, however, have to address them and evaluate them. Keep in mind, though, that your evaluations of the perspectives should fit within the broader framework of your position on the topic. For example, if you agree somewhat with the claim “What we lose by the replacement of people by machines is some part of our own humanity,” incorporate that view into your over-arching argument. Or say that you disagree with the notion “This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone”: don’t analyze only that perspective but explain how your disagreement fits within the framework of your assertion.  

As you plan and write your essay, remember this critical truth: Your analysis of the perspectives should support your position on the issue, rather than the perspectives dictating your view. Yes, the people who score your essay will evaluate your critique of the three perspectives, but what they are most interested in is how you present and support your position on the issue. 

Make time for planning at the front end and allow time for review on the back end

Although you will be given 40 minutes to complete the ACT Writing Test, you certainly don’t want to spend that entire time writing. Resist the instinct to start writing immediately after reading the prompt and make time for planning. Take about five minutes to make a short outline, even if it’s just bullet points about what each paragraph is about. Make sure you know what your viewpoint on the issue is and to what extent you agree or disagree with the three perspectives. 

On the back end of the test, give yourself time to review your work. About five minutes should be enough to go through your essay and correct any grammar and punctuation errors. Don’t worry about getting it perfect, though. While you will be assessed on your mastery of language use and conventions, those who grade the essays recognize that 40 minutes is not sufficient time to generate a polished product. They will treat your essay as a first draft, so a few minor errors won’t hurt your score.

Know what writing strategies to follow and which “traps” to avoid

As part of your ACT tutoring process, you will learn just what the scorers will be looking for in an essay, as well as what may hurt your score. When learning ACT writing tips, it’s important to know what to do and what not to do.

Keep the introduction brief

You have been given an issue, three perspectives, and some instructions: in other words, things the people who evaluate your essay will be aware of. When they start reading your essay, they want to learn about your position and why you hold it—not read some summary of the provided material. You can jump into your thesis statement in the first sentence if you want. 

Don’t write a thesis that fails to flow from the given text

This is a common writing mistake on more than just the ACT Writing Test. When reading about an issue, you may feel the urge to charge right into the writing without properly centering your thoughts. Fight that urge, remembering that the text will present a specific angle on the issue that you should respond to. For our sample essay, don’t respond to other areas that touch on automation, but focus on the idea of how the presence of intelligent machines affects the nature of humanity. 

Use the language of the text for clarity

By periodically using the exact words of the text, you can anchor your thoughts and not veer off topic. When analyzing the perspectives, make sure you are referencing what each one says. In our example, you may refer to the claim that replacing people with machines will cause us to “lose a part of our own humanity.” That sets you up to agree or disagree depending on your position stated in your thesis.

Don’t refer to the perspectives by their numbers

Let’s remember once again the primary purpose of the essay: explain and support your view on the issue. You are using the claims in the three perspectives to guide your own assertion, so take from them what you need to accomplish that goal. Referring to “Perspective One, Two or Three” is lazy writing. Instead, state the core elements of each perspective and incorporate them into your argument, explaining how you feel the evidence supports or doesn’t support each one. 

Be specific in your supporting points

One of the biggest downfalls in persuasive writing is speaking in generalities when presenting supporting evidence. Even though the issue paragraph is in such general terms, you need to be specific. For example, instead of saying that “automation is generally seen as a sign of progress,” provide examples backing that claim. How has automation indicated progress in the past? When has increased automation not been beneficial? Don’t assume that your audience agrees with you: explain why you have chosen your particular position.

Don’t make the conclusion a rehash of what you just wrote

A good conclusion is not supposed to be a paraphrase of everything you previously wrote. Instead, it is an opportunity to connect the dots between your points and thesis in a way that assures the reader what your position really is. Avoid quoting yourself or restating your thesis. Yes, you should be touching on what you just wrote, but do so in a manner that clarifies how your supporting points justify the specific position you’ve taken on that issue. 

To reach your score goal, take advantage of the guidance of an experienced writing tutor

An expert writing tutor gives you the best chance of achieving your target score, not only by teaching you how to plan and construct essays, but also by helping you review and evaluate what you’ve written. While you may notice some of your mistakes, a tutor can better identify which strategies may have been more effective and what adjustments you can make for the next essay. You can find prompts from previous tests and ACT essay test examples online, so there will be plenty of opportunities to write and review your work as part of your ACT tutoring.

While a writing tutor may be your most valuable asset in prepping for the ACT Writing Test, the help you’ve received from your ACT tutor will also be beneficial. Critical to the formulation of a thesis is a clear understanding of the text itself, and that calls for proficiency in reading. An ACT Reading tutor will help your hone your comprehension skills so you can both recognize the scope of the given issue and understand the essay directions. For the writing itself, you can lean on instruction provided by your ACT English tutor to ensure that your writing is concise, your thesis well-supported, and your grammar correct.

Writing is one of those skills that pertains to more occupations than you might think, so you should expect to do lots of it in college. Some careers are especially heavy on writing, such as law, scientific research , and journalism. When admissions officers see that you hope to enter such a field of study, they will want to know whether you are ready to do so. That means determining whether your writing ability meets their standards. A strong showing on the ACT Writing test will show your prowess and prove you’re ready for what lies ahead.

Jonathan Reidenouer, M.Ed., is a professional educator with classroom experience in mathematics and social studies. Since 2015, he has worked full-time as a tutor, specializing in math, test prep, and writing instruction. Request Tutoring From Jonathan

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How to Get a Perfect 12 on the ACT Writing Essay

ACT , ACT Writing

There is no part of the ACT more mysterious to students than the essay, and very few people seem to know what exactly the ACT is looking for in a "perfect" essay (particularly since September 2015 was the new ACT Writing test's debut). Luckily, we've got the expertise to give you some insight into how the essay works and what you can do to push your score those extra few points up the scale.

Whether you're trying to impress your dream school or just want to boost your ACT score, the essay is a great thing to work on. Some of the tips below stand alone, while others are part of larger categories that have been assembled based our ACT expertise.

Important: If you haven't read these two other ACT Writing guides before , take a minute and read them now:

The ACT Writing Rubric: Analysis, Explanation, and Strategies

How to Write an ACT Essay, Step by Step

This will make the rest of the article make more sense.

Part I: What a 12 on the ACT Essay Means

If you're already scoring an 8 or above in every domain on practice (or real) ACT essays, you have a shot at completely nailing what the graders want, represented by a score of 12, with a little practice.

But there's something important to remember in your quest for perfection: on the ACT essay, a 12 is not always achievable. We've got good news and bad news for those of you who are determined to know how to get a 12 on the ACT essay.

The Big Secret

You'll have to practice this specific essay. The perfect ACT essay is like a puzzle that happens to be in writing form—it can be mastered, but to do it well and completely every time requires a few month's practice. Knowing how to write other kinds of essays will only help you a limited amount.

The Bad News

Because the whole essay must be written in 40 minutes, getting a 12 requires some luck. You have to pick a thesis and think of relevant and convincing evidence to support it before you can even start writing, so a lot depends on how quickly you can decided on a point of view and relevant support for whatever the prompt happens to be. And because perfect-scoring essays are almost always at least two pages long , you won't have any time to spare.

The Good News

Because the essay is so formulaic, it's always possible to get at least a 10 in each domain. And, on top of this, no college worth its salt is going to base your college admission on getting those last two points on an essay you had to write in 40 minutes. The goal, really, is to show that you can write a decent essay in that time, and a 10 in each domain shows that just as well as a 12 does.

Part II: The Difference Between a 10 and a 12

If we asked the ACT what the difference is between a 10 and a 12 ACT essay, they would direct us to their scoring criteria (replicated in the table below) that describes the difference between the 5 and 6 essay scores in each domain. As you may already know, a total domain score of 12 comes from two readers separately giving your essay a 6; the four domain scores are then averaged to calculate your total essay score of 12.

We've marked the differences between the 5 and 6 criteria in bold . Later, we'll look at these differences in the context of a sample essay.

Part III: Applying the Criteria in a Real ACT Essay Example

Now we'll look at a sample essay and how it demonstrates the characteristics of the 6 essay above. First, let's look at the prompt:

Intelligent Machines

Many of the goods and services we depend on daily are now supplied by intelligent, automated machines rather than human beings. Robots build cars and other goods on assembly lines, where once there were human workers. Many of our phone conversations are now conducted not with people but with sophisticated technologies. We can now buy goods at a variety of stores without the help of a human cashier. Automation is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what is lost when we replace humans with machines? Given the accelerating variety and prevalence of intelligent machines, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of their presence in our lives.

Perspective One: What we lose with the replacement of people by machines is some part of our own humanity. Even our mundane daily encounters no longer require from us basic courtesy, respect, and tolerance for other people.

Perspective Two: Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone.

Perspective Three: Intelligent machines challenge our long-standing ideas about what humans are or can be. This is good because it pushes both humans and machines toward new, unimagined possibilities.

Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing presence of intelligent machines.

Now, read the ACT essay example below , and try to notice how it meets the criteria in the table above.

     From the simplest system of pulleys and ropes to the most complex supercomputer in the world today, machines have had (and continue to have) a profound influence on the development of humanity. Whether it is taking over monotonous, low-skill tasks or removing that messy "human" element from our day-to-day interactions, machines have answered the call to duty. The increasing prevalence of intelligent machines challenges us to change long held beliefs about our limitations and to continue forward to new and even more advanced possibilities.     One common argument against the increased presence of machines in our day to day lives is that machines leach from us our basic humanity. Indeed, certain people whose only social interactions are anonymous text-based conversations with other anonymous Internet forum dwellers over computers may begin to lose basic human courtesy and empathy. This is crystal clear with a glance at the comments section of any popular news article. Yet machines are also capable of enhancing people's abilities to communicate. An example of this can be found in Tod Machover's lab at MIT, where breakthroughs in neurotechnology have made it possible for quadripalegics to manipulate text on computers with their minds. Such interactions would be impossible without the existence of intelligent machines. Therefore, I must disagree with Perspective one. Rather than losing part of our own humanity to machines, we instead make that most-essential-to-humanity of acts, communication, possible.     Another school of thought (Perspective Two) argues that machines are good at how and high skill repetitive jobs, which leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. This can be seen in the human work hours that are saved daily with automated phone menus. Before intelligent machines made automatic telephone menus possible, every customer service call ate up valuable employee time. Now, menus allow callers to choose the number that best suits their needs, routing calls to appropriate destinations without the need for human employees to waste time explaining for the hundredth time that "our business hours are 10am-6pm." On the other hand, no mechanized system of this kind is perfect, because it can't predict all future outcomes. In terms of automated telephone menus, this means that sometimes, no menu options are correct. While automated systems may take the burden off of human workers, it is a mistake to think that they can replace humans entirely. Why else would the last line of resort for most automated phone menus be "Dial "0" to speak to an operator/customer service representative?" Perspective Two is true, but it only goes so far.     A final example will demonstrate how intelligent machines challenge longstanding ideas and push us towards new, unimagined possibilities (perspective three). At my high school, all students had to take diagnostic tests in every main subject to figure out our strengths and weaknesses, and we were then sorted into class by skill level. A truly remarkable pattern emerged as a result of this sorting: it turned out that every kid in my medium-level physics class was also a talented musician. The system that sorted us allowed us to find this underlying pattern, which changed the way our teachers taught us; we learned about mechanics through examples that were more relevant to our lives (answering questions like "how many pulleys are needed to lift a piano?"), which in turn made our classes both more enjoyable and also more effective. When before I had struggled with physics and simply assumed it was a subject I "wasn't good at," the intelligent, automated sorting system allowed me to discover that I could in fact understand mechanics if taught in the right way. This discovery pushed me toward previously unimagined academic possibilities.     In conclusion, intelligent machines help us to move forward as a species to greater heights. While machines can cause problems and may in some cases need human input to function optimally, it is how we react and adapt to the machines that is the real takeaway.

This was a real essay written by me within the time limit. What do you think?

Now let's look at an annotated version of this ACT essay example that points out the essay's features.

What Makes This ACT Essay a 12, Rather Than an 8 or 10?

Considerations That Aren't Included in the ACT's Published Guidelines

The essay is long enough to analyze and compare the author's perspective to other perspectives in a nuanced way (one positive example for each perspective with an addition negative example comparing two perspectives the author disagreed with to her own perspective) and include an introductory paragraph and a conclusion.

While ACT, Inc. doesn't acknowledge that length is a factor in scoring ACT essays , most experts agree that it is. But length means nothing if there isn't valuable information filling the space, so long ACT essays also need to be detailed—this author uses the space to give lots of analysis of and context for her examples.

Paragraph Breaks

You may have noticed that the essay is broken up into multiple paragraphs (into the standard five-paragraph format, in fact). This makes the essay easier to read, especially for the ACT readers who have about two to three minutes to read (and score!) each essay. If your points can easily be split up into small parts, then it makes sense to split it up into even more paragraphs, as long as your essay's organization and logical progression remains clear.

Content and Examples

This essay uses a personal example, which may or may not be made up (spoiler alert: it is). But the point is that it could be made up, as can anything you use in your essay. Being able to think of examples (that are not too obviously made up) can give you a huge advantage on the ACT essay.

Do's and Don'ts for a 12 ACT Essay

The key to a perfect score on the ACT essay is to use every second of your time wisely. To this end, here are a few tips to avoid common time-wasters and put your energy where it will get you the most points.

Do spend time:

#1: Writing as much as you can without including repetitive or irrelevant information.

#2: Revising the first and last paragraphs (they stand out in readers' minds).

#3: Making sure you have transitions.

Don't spend time:

#1: Thinking of 'smart' sounding evidence— examples from your own life (or made up about your own life) are just as viable as current events, as long as you keep your example focused and concise.

#2: Trying to correct every error—the grammar and spelling do not have to be perfect to score a 12 in the Language Use domain.

#3: Adding as many vocabulary words as you can—you only need enough to avoid repeating the same basic words or phrases multiple times; you'll max out fancy vocab's potential at two words per paragraph.

How To Practice Your Writing To Get A Perfect 12 In Each Domain

• Start with our list of ACT essay prompts.
• Create a list of evidence examples—from literature, history, or personal experience—that you can use for many or most prompt arguments.
• Practice first with extended time—50 minutes—so you can get an idea of what it takes to get a top-scoring essay.
• Find a way to grade your essay, using the ACT Writing Rubric . If you can be objective about your writing, you can notice weak spots, especially if you ran out of time but know what to do. Otherwise, try to get help from an English teacher or a friend who's a better writer than you are.
• Start narrowing the time down to 40 minutes to mirror the actual test.
• Stay confident! The ACT essay is just like a puzzle—every time you do one, you get better at doing it.

What's Next?

Find out more about how to write an ACT essay with this step-by-step example .

Use our analysis of the ACT Writing Rubric to learn about how your essay will be scored—and discover strategies you can use to get the score you want.

Want to aim for perfection on the ACT with a 36? Read our guide on how to score a perfect ACT score, written by our resident 36 scorer.

Make sure your ACT score is high enough for the schools you want to apply to. Find out how to find your ACT target score .

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Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.

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