Journal #34: ACT Writing

The ACT is a major part of schooling, because it can determine the studies you go into, the college you get into, and the amount of money you can earn through scholarships. Any junior enrolled in high school must take the ACT, and it becomes a high light of their year. The ACT is split into four parts and also includes a writing portion. The four parts are English, Math, Reading, and Science. I could talk about these parts in detail, but my blog topic is to talk about the ACT Writing portion of the national test, so I will not go into detail of that section of the test. So now onto the writing portion of the ACT.

This is the part of the test where you write an essay based on a question provided by the ACT committee test makers. For example, they might have a question that says "Should schools go by a pass-fail grading system, or should they use a five letter scale grading system? Why or why not?" Then you have half an hour to write a response to that question. You can either choose the pass-fail side or the five letter scale, or you can also choose your own response to it besides the two sides they give you. However, it is suggested that you choose one of the sides they give you. Things your essay should have are listed below:

*Needs a introduction paragraph with a thesis statement.
*Needs a concluding paragraph with a clincher statement or a conclusion statement
*Needs a body with detailed support.
*Needs to include both sides' opinions but telling why the one side is more correct than the other.
*Needs to have very good transitions that smoothly connect the paragraphs. Simple ones such as "First off" or "Also" or "Secondly" are weak transitions and will not score a 6 on the writing portion.
*Needs to have few grammatical errors that change the meaning or take an element away from the essay.
*Needs to clearly present the argument, making it easy for the reader to know what side the writer sides with.
*Needs to have good support, that effectively supports the chosen side, and that is related to the essay.

Along with this, you need to proofread your essay, reread it, and fix any grammatical errors, any run-on sentences, any punctuation errors, or any misuse of wording that might hurt your essay. The essays are ranked from one to six, six being the best, and one being the worst. These points are doubled to give you a score ranging from two to twelve. It is very important to proofread your essay, because finding some grammatical errors and fixing them could be the difference between a five and a six or a three and a four.

So with these requirements and helpful hints, I hope that whoever reads this and takes the ACT Writing portion of the test does well!