1. ACT Writing: How To

2. Warm Up
You have each been given a sample ACT essay. Read the essay, and comment on the following:
What is the thesis of this essay? What is the student arguing?
What are the strengths of this essay?
Places of improvement?
Based on this essay, what do you believe the prompt was?
Additionally, what do you believe the purpose of ACT writing is?

3. The Basics
ACT Writing portion is an optional, 40 minute essay that is meant to measure skills of evaluation and analysis
The prompt will describe an issue, and present three different perspectives on that issue…
The test asks of three tasks:
Evaluate and analyze the given perspectives
State and develop your OWN perspective
Explain the relationship between your perspective and those given

4. Important to Know
The ACT writing test complements the English and reading tests.
More specifically, the combined information from these tests tells postsecondary institutions about students’ understandings of the conventions of writing, and the ability to produce a direct sample in limited time…

5. How to Prepare?
Staying Updated: The prompt will be in relation to a current issue or event. The more knowledgeable you are about these issues, the better you can respond.
Participating in debates and discussions regarding these issues, as well as reading and engaging
Writing in many formats, and utilizing unique vocabulary in these different situations– essays, editorials, journals, etc.
Practicing argumentative writing. You must explain your perspective in a convincing manner
Timed writings– used to limited time!!

6. Consideration
When responding to prompts, it is important that your essay highlights your abilities to:
Analyze and evaluate multiple perspectives
State and develop your own perspective on the issue
Explain and support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed examples
Clearly and logically organize your essay
Effectively communicate your ideas in standard written English

7. Let’s Try the Prompt
You will be given a prompt– your job is not to write the essay, but break down the prompt, decide your perspective, and find your examples
You will have six minutes to complete this example
Remember:
Analyze and evaluate the perspectives
State and develop YOURs
Explain and support your ideas

8. Writing Continued Now, Body Paragraphs.
Introduce your first reason or example for support
3-5 sentences to explain your reasoning and HOW it relates to your thinking
Connect back to thesis
Example: One example of how a fully mechanic society would disrupt life is through the use of computers as teachers. If the human qualities of a teacher were removed, our system of education would not hold the ability to differentiate for students, thus leading them away from success. Again, machines do not replace our human interactions with humans, even if they provide convenience.

9. How to Organize
Think for a second who is reading this essay– you want to make a significant impact in the first paragraph
Take 8-10 minutes to plan – are you arguing for one perspective, or developing your own? Decide and clarify in a thesis– make sure you have two to three examples. ORGANIZE your essay
Writing– minutes
Paragraph 1– Intro and Thesis
Paragraph 2: OR after body paragraphs, introduce counter. “In contrast to my perspective, Perspective {x} claims that…” and then WHY it is misguided

10. BIGGEST STEP!!
REVISE– make sure you have about 2-4 minutes to look over and revise your essay– replace dull words, edit awkward sentence structure, etc.
Practice WILL HELP!!

11. How it is scored! Take a look at the rubric, what does it consider?
Take a moment to read over, and annotate the rubric
What questions do you have?
Which sections do you believe you will need the most work?
Which ones will be the most successful for you?

12. Now, Practice Essay
Take a few minutes to read over TWO examples of a practice essay
TWO readers will read your essay, and your total score will be the sum of the two scores. If there is more than a point difference between the two, a third reader will consider
Again, consider the entire rubric. Mark up the rubric and the essay, creating justification for the score
After you have scored, you will meet with your other reader to give a final score to the essay. Then we will discuss

13. Prompt
Schools in some states have changed their calendars so that they are now year round schools. Advocates of year-round school argue that the traditional summer break is a waste of students’ time that could be otherwise spent learning. Opponents charge that today’s students are already overburdened with the stress of school, and need the summer to get a much-needed break. In your view, should the traditional three month summer vacation from school be maintained?

14. Scores
Student Essay #1: 3. Adequate writing, offers points, but no counterpoints. Logical but there are no meaningful connections between the paragraphs. Discussion is limited, and no specific reasoning is offered
Student Essay #2: 5. Takes a stance and offers explanation within a larger context of today’s culture. Demonstrates the complexities of the argument, and many different examples are used– both general and specific.