The “Fast Food” Essay: Quick and Consistent Strategies for Success on the ACT Writing Exam

All successful food chains understand that to be top notch, you must know… Your customers Your ingredients How to put the ingredients together

Your Customers Two “raters” score your essay Each rater is trained and certified to grade the ACT essay Each rater assigns your essay a score on a scale of 1-6 and these scores are added together to give you a subscore of 2-12 If two raters have wildly different scores, a third rater is brought in

Your Customers contd. The essay graders are your customers and you want to give them an essay that tastes just like what they’re expecting…

How do I know what my customers are expecting? You can learn exactly what the ACT raters expect by looking at the actual ACT essay directions.

The ACT Directions Read the directions below and make sure you understand them: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Assignment In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write about one of two points of view given, or you may present a different point of view on this question. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

The Dos and Don’ts of Great ACT Writing DO: Write only on the given topic Take a clear position on the topic Write persuasively to convince the rater Include reasons and examples to support your position DON’T: Write on a topic that barely relates to the one given Take a “wishy-washy” approach and try to argue 2 sides Write creatively or ornately just to show off Include examples that are not directly related to your position

The Dos and Don’ts of Great ACT Writing DO: Write with correct grammar and spelling Write clearly Write specifically and concretely Write 5 paragraphs and NOTE these paragraphs with proper indentation Write only on the given lined paper Write NEATLY! DON’T: Forget to proof your work for mistakes Use too many fancy vocabulary words or overly long sentences Be vague or use generalizations Put more importance on length than on quality Make your handwriting too large

The Rater’s Instructions Raters must refer to a set-in- stone list of criteria when evaluating each essay and deciding what grade (1-6) it deserves. Here’s what raters are told to grade upon…

The Rater’s Instructions contd. Rank the student’s ability to… Take and articulate a perspective on an issue Maintain a clear focus on the perspective throughout the essay Explore a position by using supportive evidence and logical reasoning Organize ideas logically Communicate clearly in writing

CHARACTERISTICS Here’s how scorers separate the good from the bad…. 4-6 papers (good ones) Writers show a clear understanding of the purpose of the essay by articulating their perspective and developing their ideas Most generalizations will be developed with specific examples to support the writer’s perspective A clear focus will be maintained throughout the paper The paper will show competent use of language Although there may be occasional errors, these will only occasionally distract the rater and won’t interfere with the rater’s ability to understand the writer’s meaning

CHARACTERISTICS Here’s how scorers separate the good from the bad…. 1-3 papers (bad ones) Writers will not clearly articulate a perspective on the issue The writing will usually demonstrate some development of ideas, but the development may be very general or repetitious Most papers will maintain focus on the general topic identified with the prompt, but they may not maintain focus on the specific issue Except for the weakest papers, the essay will use a clear but simple organizational structure The language will be understandable for the most part, but errors will distract the rater and possibly interfere with understanding

To write a tasty ACT essay, you’ve got to know the necessary ingredients… Recipe for a top-notch ACT Essay: Blend equal parts of the following: Positioning: the strength and clarity of your stance on a given topic Examples: The relevance and development of the examples you use to support your argument Organization: The organization of each of your paragraphs and of your essay overall Command of language: Sentence construction, grammar, and word choice

Positioning: The Essay Topics Typical ACT topics will give you a statement that addresses 2-sided issues like dress codes, block scheduling, justice, the definition of success, or the importance of learning from mistakes The broadness of these topics allow you to find many examples to support the position that you take in your essay.

SAMPLE ACT PROMPT Some high schools in the United States have considered creating separate classrooms for male and female students in subjects such as mathematics and science. Some educators think separate classes will be beneficial because students will be less distracted from learning. Other educators think having separate classes for females and males will not be beneficial because it will seem to support stereotypes about differences in ability between males and females. In your opinion, should high schools create separate classes for male and female students?

The Two Sides: How to successfully state your essay’s position Given the 30-minute time constraint, you need to quickly employ the following strategies to ensure a solid position:  Brainstorm the two sides of the issue with supporting points  Choose one (and only one) position  Use a T-Chart to brainstorm

The T-Chart Method My PositionOpposing Position Point 1 Point 2 Point 3 Point 3 (if possible) Your position will need at least 3 points; try to brainstorm at least 2 for the opposing position Let’s try one for whether we should have separate classrooms or not…

We should separate: Fewer distractions Eliminate teachers’ gender bias Students would be more comfortable in their academic interactions It would perpetuate gender biases - although students wouldn’t be compared within one class, surely they would be compared among classes Students of different genders provide different perspectives in academia Comparison to “separate but equal” We should NOT separate: Essay Position: High School should be extended to 5 years

The Steps so far… 1. Read the prompt 2. Make a T-chart that identifies arguments for both sides of the issue 3. Choose a side NEXT STEP: Come up with examples that will substantiate your argument and compose an outline that organizes these ideas.

Step 4: Develop Examples To make an ACT essay shine, you need to use excellent examples. This means that you use:  Specific examples  A variety of examples

ANOTHER SAMPLE 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?

A Look at Specific Examples… What are some possible examples to support that “Learning the lessons taught by failure is a sure route to success”? Possibility: The American Army during the Revolutionary War, which learned from its failures in the early years of war how it needed to fight the British How to make this example work?  BE SPECIFIC! Give dates, mention people, battles, tactics.

Don’t be Intimidated! Don’t worry if you don’t instantly recall the dates of historical events ANY descriptive details that you can provide will strengthen your argument, whether they are personal examples or historical facts Just be sure to choose examples that you know a lot about in order to be specific A solid example and details that use the example to prove the argument make the difference between a good ACT essay and a great one

Your Turn! Write down at least two more specific examples that would help illustrate the position that: “Learning the lessons taught by failure is a sure route to success.” When you are finished, try to think of a COUNTER example.

Variety of Examples As crucial as using specific examples is the variety of examples that you supply to prove your point You’re more likely to impress the ACT scorers if you use a broad range of examples from different areas—history, art, politics, literature, and science, as well as your own life—as opposed to examples in only one of these areas

How It’s Done Here are 3 examples of how you might choose to support the position, Failure can lead to success. History: The Americans’ victory over the British in the Revolutionary War Literature: In spite of David Copperfield’s difficult childhood, he eventually found personal and professional happiness Current Events: The JetBlue airline succeeding by learning from the mistakes of its competitors.

THE OUTLINE Use the basic structure of the 5- paragraph essay to organize your outline

The 5-paragraph Essay A good ACT essay is like a triple-decker burger. A tasty, tasty CON-PRO-PRO burger. It has 5 paragraphs, each with a purpose. Paragraph 1: The Introduction (top bun) Paragraph 2 - CON: Counterargument + Refutation Paragraph 3 -PRO: Supporting Point + Examples (meat) Paragraph 4 - PRO: Supporting Point + Examples (meat) Paragraph 5: Conclusion (bottom bun)

Your Outline Introduction  Background information: What is the controversy?  Thesis statement and reasoning Paragraph 1 - CON  Counterargument + refutation, include example(s) Paragraph 2 - PRO  Support point to your thesis + example(s) Paragraph 3 - PRO  Support point to your thesis + example(s) Conclusion

The Top Bun: Introduction Your introduction must do 3 things: Grab the reader’s attention (hook statement) Explain your position on the topic clearly and concisely Transition the rater smoothly into your 3 supporting points State your thesis

The Thesis Statement The thesis statement identifies where you stand on the topic and should pull the raters into the essay. A good thesis statement is strong, clear, and definitive. High schools should create separate classrooms for male and female students, as this construct would ultimately help close the achievement gap between the sexes in the United States. Although single-gender classrooms may be beneficial in some ways, high schools should not adopt the practice of separating male and female students because this academic structure would ultimately reinforce gender stereotypes. School districts in the United States should not adopt a policy that separates classes by gender.

Body Paragraph 1: Support Includes Counterargument and Refutation All top scoring essays include a statement that explains a counterargument—a side that the opposition takes on– as well as refutation of this counterargument. Basically, good essays show the beliefs of the opposition and show why the author’s position is stronger Example, “Those who support single-sex classrooms may argue that… however, …” or “Many educators/parents argue…”

Body Paragraphs 2 & 3 Support your thesis statement with supporting evidence  Introduce your supporting point  Provide specific and varied examples to prove your point Example – “One reason schools should remain on the four-year graduation plan is …“

Paragraph 5: Conclusion  The re-cap: In 1-2 sentences, summarize what you’ve already argued  Expand on your position Take your argument and push it a little bit further—try looking into the future and show your reader what would happen if the position could be applied on a broader scale.  Provide a firm sense of closure in the last sentences.

Conclusion contd. Examples of expanding your argument in the conclusion: “If ______ is done ____will happen.” “It is when we truly ______that we see_____.” “Until ______happens, _______will continue.” Or provide another well-worded reminder of the importance of your argument being accepted.

Sentence Structure, Word Choice, Grammar, and Spelling Keep your sentences focused and concise—long and complicated sentences won’t impress the scorers. Don’t search for sophisticated vocabulary words that you’re unsure of. Use the best words to make your points clear. A few grammar errors won’t destroy your score, but patterns of errors will make your score suffer.

The Final Don’ts Don’t use “I” or “I believe” or “I think”. It implies opinion or uncertainty and facts are much more persuasive. If you use them, just strike them out! Don’t use “thing” or “stuff”. These words are ambiguous and don’t tell your reader very much. Don’t use slang or word choices that aren’t appropriate for school. These words take away from your ability to persuade the reader.

Writers will not clearly articulate a perspective on the issue The writing will usually demonstrate some development of ideas, but the development may be very general or repetitious Most papers will maintain focus on the general topic identified with the prompt, but they may not maintain focus on the specific issue Except for the weakest papers, the essay will use a clear but simple organizational structure The language will be understandable for the most part, but errors will distract the rater and possibly interfere with understanding Writers show a clear understanding of the purpose of the essay by articulating their perspective and developing their ideas Most generalizations will be developed with specific examples to support the writer’s perspective A clear focus will be maintained throughout the paper The paper will show competent use of language Although there may be occasional errors, these will only occasionally distract the rater and won’t interfere with the rater’s ability to understand the writer’s meaning