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

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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.”

8. 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.

9. 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.)

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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???

13. 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.

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

15. 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

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

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

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

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

20. 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

21. 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.