Writing, Grammar, and Reading Tips ACT PREP! Writing, Grammar, and Reading Tips

The “Fast-Food” Essay (Ideas from http://www.sparknotes.com) ACT WRITING TEST: The “Fast-Food” Essay (Ideas from http://www.sparknotes.com)

THE “FAST-FOOD” ESSAY A great ACT essay and a great essay are NOT the same thing. Great essays take hours, even days to write. In 30 minutes you will not write an essay that will change the world. Fast food is not just fast, it’s consistent. You need to learn how to write a top-notch essay every time. To make it happen consider the 3 key things that all fast food chains know: Your customers Your ingredients How to put the ingredients together

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS: Two trained raters will score your essay on a scale of 1-6 The 2 grades are then added; final scores range from 2-12 Raters are instructed to look for student’s ability to do the following: To take a side and articulate that opinion on the issue To maintain a clear focus To explain your position with good evidence and solid reasoning To organize ideas logically To communicate clearly Here’s how the raters separate the good from the bad: Score Characteristics: 4-6 Writer shows clear understanding of purpose and fully develops ideas Claims are supported with specific examples A clear focus maintained Writer demonstrates competent use of language (e.g., word choice, sent. structure) Although there may be some errors, they don’t interfere with rater’s understanding of essay 1-3 Writer does not clearly articulate position on issue Development of ideas are general or repetitious Focus is not maintained in every paragraph Incorrect word choice/ weak or awkward sentence structures Errors distracting and interfere with rater’s understanding.

HOW TO ENTICE YOUR CUSTOMERS: DO LIST: Write only on the given topic Take a clear position Write persuasively to convince rater Include examples to support position Write with correct grammar and spelling Write as clearly as possible Write specifically with concrete examples Write 4-5 paragraphs Write as neatly as possible in PRINT DON’T LIST: Write on a topic that relates vaguely to the one given Take a wishy-washy position or argue 2 sides Write creatively just to show off Include examples not related to position Forget to proof for grammar mistakes or misspelled words Use poor sentence structure (e.g., overly long sentences) Be vague Put more importance on length than quality Write in cursive

KNOW YOUR INGREDIENTS: To write a “tasty” essay, you have got use these ingredients: Position: strong and clear opinion expressed in intro (a.k.a.—thesis) Examples: relevant, well-developed, specific reasons that support position Organization: highly recommend Jane Schaeffer Command of Language: sentence construction, word choice, grammar

1. POSITIONING ACT essay topics will address issues that pertain to high school students; most are about education (e.g., dress code, block scheduling) Employ 2 strategies in stating your position: Rephrase the prompt in your own words Choose a side (yea or nay) Example: ACT PROMPT: Many successful adults recall a time in their life when they were considered a failure at one pursuit or another. Some of these people feel strongly that their previous failures taught them valuable lessons and led to their later successes. Others maintain that they went on to achieve success for entirely different reasons. In your opinion, can failure lead to success? Or is failure simply its own experience? STUDENT’S POSITION: (thesis) “Failure can lead to success by teaching important lessons that help us avoid repeating mistakes in the future.”

2. EXAMPLES Strong examples… Go into detail Get specific Note: choose examples that you know a lot about, (duh!) so that you can give specific, descriptive details! Use a broad range of examples from different areas: History Current events Personal life Politics Again, stick to what you know. Don’t make stuff up Rely on “common knowledge” when you have to.

3. ORGANIZATION Intro: (4+ sentences) Grab reader’s attention States your position/ thesis Body Paragraphs: (4-5 sentences long) Topic Sentence Concrete Detail 2+ Commentary CD (optional) 2+ CM (optional) Concluding Sentence (optional) Conclusion: (4+ sentences) Recap argument Possibly: expand on position, look to future, give a “what if” scenario; basically, close meaningfully NOTE: Give intro and conclusion same attention as body paragraphs. Each paragraph should be equally good. A good “fast-food” essay is like the double or triple-decker burger: Use 2-3 body paragraphs. (Three body paragraphs are better, but if you run out of time it is better to drop the 3rd body paragraph instead of conclusion.)

4. COMMAND OF LANGUAGE Variation of sentence structure Vary length no “awkward” sentences Transition between sentences when necessary (e.g., “clearly,” “furthermore,” “however”) Word Choice Use sophisticated words if you can Use the proper word; don’t just try to show off Grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Raters are instructed to look for “patterns” of errors Minor mistakes won’t kill you

KNOW HOW TO PUT YOUR INGREDIENTS TOGETHER Step 1: Read prompt closely. Understand it? Choose a side. (1 min) Step 2: Brainstorm and create an outline. (4- 5 min) Step 3: Write the essay. (15 min) Step 4: Proof the essay. (3 min)

TROUBLE SHOOTING: Refutation??? Can go anywhere Get in; get out. State the opposition; then argue against their claim Opponents of yada yada assert… In the intro, how can I grab my reader’s attention? Any other questions???

WRITING SCORING 6 Point Holistic Scoring Rubric To get above a 2, they must have a counter argument! It can be very small, but they must show that they see the other side of the issue. http://www.opi.mt.gov/PUb/PDF/Assessment/ACT/12Fall6PointHolisticRubric.pdf

Grammar, Usage & Mechanics 40 questions A. Sentence Structure (18 questions) 1. Fragments 2. Run-Ons 3. Modifiers 4. Parallelism 5. Conjunctions

Grammar, cont. B. Usage (12 questions) 1. S-V Agreement 2. Consistency 3. Pronoun- Antecedent Agreement 4. Adverbs and Adjectives 5. Comparatives and Superlatives 6.Prepositions 7. Idioms

Grammar, Cont. Punctuation (10 questions) 1. Commas (3 comma rules!) 2. Semicolons, Dashes, Colons 3. Apostrophe

Rhetorical Skills (35 ?’s) A. Style (12 questions) 1. Redundancy 2. Wordiness 3. Word Choice 4. Clarity

Rhetorical Skills Cont. B. Strategy (12 questions) Use appropriate transitions Maintain tone Maintain main idea Provide Supporting Details Revision Strategies

Rhetorical Skills, Cont. C. Organization (11 questions) Reorder sentences within a paragraph Reorder paragraphs within an essay

Other Tips for the students... ACT does not like redundancy...short and clear sentences are the best Most punctuation are about commas 3 kinds of transitions and conjunctions

Fall 2015 Writing Changes The ACT writing test will remain an optional essay test with a single prompt. Each prompt will present a paragraph that introduces and gives context to a given issue, and three perspectives on the issue. The writer is asked to “evaluate and analyze” the given perspectives; to “state and develop” his or her own perspective; and to “explain the relationship” between his or her perspective and those given. Taken as a whole, these pieces constitute a rich argumentative task that draws from subgenres including evaluative argument and rhetorical analysis, and that also calls upon the tools of expository writing. http://www.act.org/actnext/