<p>Hello everyone! I am taking the June ACT this weekend and I needed some help with the essay portion. Generally, I believe that I do not have a ‘creative’ mind in a sense that the it is hard for me to think of ideas relating to the prompt. The only prompt that I truly know ‘something’ about is the debate of school uniforms ( because I personally deal with that issue everyday ). Obviously, the ACT isn’t going to use that prompt anymore. Simply put my question is: How do you guys think of ‘outside the box responses’ to topics that you aren’t generally familiar with everyday?</p>
<p>Some examples are:
Whether a teenager should be required to maintain a C average in school before receiving driver’s license?</p>
<p>Whether students should be required to complete a certain number of community service hours prior to graduation?</p>
<p>Whether high schools should create separate classrooms for male and female students in subjects such as mathematics and science?</p>
<p>How would you guys go about writing to prompts like these? Thanks for your responses in advance! :)</p>
<p>My advice would be to write a punchy essay. While it’s impossible to substitute gimmicks for real structure and flow, I think ACT essay graders favor the ‘wow factor.’ When I wrote a solid, tempered essay (a la AP Lang) I received a lower score than I did when I wrote a flashy, rodomontade essay. Let’s take the community service hours prompt as an example. </p>
<p>Typical essay: “I believe community service should not be a requirement in school. There are many reasons for this.” </p>
<p>Punchier essay: “Did humanitarian luminaries need the stipulation of mandatory service hours to begin their work? These people sought opportunities from their hearts. Requiring service hours for high school students inherently undermines the spirit of volunteering, and it should not be mandated by schools. It is not a good idea to attach the resonance of a chore to something that should be done in good faith.” </p>
<p>See how the first essay simply says no to the question, while the second makes observations? Even if you can’t come up with impressive arguments on the spot, I think writing with more power can make a difference in your score. It’s good to read opinion pieces in the news to see how people write when they are truly passionate about a subject. </p>