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While general discussion about the ACT test is allowed by ACT, discussion of test questions may violate your agreement with ACT. Please be thoughtful in your posts and replies.
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ACT Writing Component

yummygummyyummygummy Registered User Posts: 15 New Member
edited August 2013 in ACT Preparation
Hey guys!

I was just practicing the writing component for the ACT, and I haven't taken it yet.
I was wondering how MUCH do I need to write? Is it more of the quantity than the quality?
What kind of examples do I need to put in? Because I feel like the ACT's kind of prompts don't really tie in with a lot of real world examples, I can only seem to relate it to the things in my school and what happens there..

Thank you so much for you advice!
Post edited by yummygummy on
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Replies to: ACT Writing Component

  • istudyhardistudyhard Registered User Posts: 81 Junior Member
    The prompt itself will be a general topic that you can easily write a lot about. However, with the minute time limit you are given, you should brainstorm for about five minutes and spend the rest of your time writing the essay. I wrote with a 4 paragraph essay because I am more comfortable writing 4 long paragraphs instead of five. You have to adequately support your statements with at least two sentences each, and PR Cracking the ACT suggested leaving a couple of minutes at the end of the test to check for typos and to replace some words with more advanced ones. I also wrote big to persuade the graders to think that I wrote more than I actually did, and I scored a 9/12. Next time I will write an essay composed of 5 paragraphs instead and I should effectively score at least a 10 on the writing portion. Good luck.
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  • Latin4LifeLatin4Life Registered User Posts: 339 Member
    It is more important for you to provide specific examples to support your points than to write a longer essay. The first time I took the ACT, I wrote a five paragraph essay with okay examples and got an 8. The second (it might have been the third) time I took it, I wrote four paragraphs but provided more specific examples and got a 10. So make it more about the details than the length. At least, that is what worked for me. Good Luck!
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  • Latin4LifeLatin4Life Registered User Posts: 339 Member
    As for the examples, history works (more than you think, actually), but for me, the best things to relate a topic to are books you had to read in school. Not sure how well-versed you are with Shakespeare, but his plays have never failed me. I am sure you have read at least one well-known novel like The Great Gatsby, Catcher and the Rye, Romeo & Juliet (I know it is not technically a novel), Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies, Moby Dick or short stories like Rip Van Winkle, or even fairytales. These kinds of literature relate to almost everything in one way or another. Basically, when writing, I find that connecting the prompt to another piece of literature is easiest. Even movies work...honestly anything that tells a story will do. US history can work, but only if it is appropriate. If all else fails, you can relate the prompt to yourself/your community, but I think that relating the prompt to some other text would be your best bet.
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  • yummygummyyummygummy Registered User Posts: 15 New Member
    Ooh, alright! Great, thank you!!

    I just found it kinda difficult to add in specific examples because of the topic of the prompt itself
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