1. ACT Writing

2. Understanding the Prompt
Read the prompt carefully, annotating as you read.
Make sure you understand the subject, conflict, and context of the argument. Consider the relationships between the three perspectives. Determine the stance of each prospective: positive, negative, or qualifying.
Find the question. If there is no question, create your own. Make sure your thesis statement answers it specifically. Take a position!
Understand your 3 Tasks.
Discuss +/- of all 3 Perspectives
Give Your Opinion (Make Your Claim!)
Prove You’re Right

3. Planning Your Response
Pick a strategy that works for you!
Make a 3 Column T-Chart with the pros/cons and examples for each perspective of the argument.
When trying to come up with ideas, consider your friend “Al.” Think about how the subject of the essay relates to the following broad topics, all ending in “-al”:
Consider writing down an outline or three main points (examples).
Write a thesis statement that answers the prompt’s question.
Just start writing or do some prewriting on the prompt itself.
Financial
Societal
Physical
Historical
Cultural
Intellectual
Personal
Textual
Ethical
Philosophical
Spiritual
Environmental
Practical
Logical
International/Global
Technological

4. Organization
There is freedom in how you organize and plan your essay. I would recommend one of the following options. They all have introductory and concluding paragraphs. Their body paragraph plans are different.
Option A: Write one paragraph analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each perspective. Your position should be the last and strongest body paragraph. (RECOMMENDED)
Option B: Write a body paragraph for each of the three tasks: Discuss +/- of all 3 Perspectives, Give Your Opinion, and Prove You’re Right. (NOT RECOMMENDED)
Option C: Select three major parts of the argument. Write a body paragraph for each major part of the argument. Consider using the examples and “your friend Al” that you came up with during your planning stage. Discuss all three perspectives in the context of the relevant topics and examples as you write each body paragraph. (NATURAL/SKILLED, BUT CHALLENGING)

5. Intro Paragraphs
They all need to do three things, preferably in this order:
Hook Your Audience: A famous quote, a provocative/thoughtful question, a story, or some kind of interesting lead.
Enter the Conversation: Using your prior knowledge in combination with the information that the prompt gives you, discuss the significance of the subject/argument by introducing some background knowledge. We call this the critical context. Pretend you’re at a party, and this conversation came up. You listen for a while, debate with the others, and let your voice be heard. Write it like that scene at the party, just more formally – like you’re having a scholarly conversation with your professors and friends from college.
State Your Thesis: A thesis statement is made up of a subject, claim, and, sometimes, your main ideas. If you entered the conversation well, go ahead and state your claim specifically. You state your claim by giving your opinion clearly and boldly.

6. Body Paragraphs
After creating your brief outline and writing your introduction, you should transition to your body paragraphs. Your body paragraphs must develop your big idea by discussing your little ideas.
Big Idea: This is your position on the argument. This is also called your opinion, claim, or argument. What side did you take? Stick with it!
Little Ideas: These little ideas develop your big idea. They are also called your main ideas, evidence, examples, supporting points, etc. Your little ideas must analyze the perspectives, discussing the good and bad points of each position, and support your claim by persuading your reader that your position is the best. Each body paragraph should focus on one main point that supports your big idea broadly, but have specific examples to flesh it out.
Each body paragraph should have 2-3 DEVELOPED examples. Never drop in a piece of evidence without explaining why it matters and tying it back to supporting your claim.

7. Body Paragraphs – PEER
Point – Each body paragraph must have a point somehow related toward your claim’s answer to the prompt.
Example – Each body paragraph must have at least one developed example, but it should preferably have 2-3 DEVELOPED examples.
Explanation – You must explain your example(s) and connect it/them toward answering your prompt. No examples should go unexplained.
Relate – Relate and connect your explanations and examples with how they answer the prompt. Consider using a transition word/phrase or a logical transition in between paragraphs.

8. Conclusion
There is some disagreement on how to end an essay. The traditional format is TSS:
Thesis: Rephrase your thesis.
Summarize: Sum up your main points.
Super So What: Why did what you had to say matter? Leave your audience something to consider. Maybe a thoughtful question?
However, there are some teachers and writers who believe that restating the thesis and summing up the main points is redundant, especially in a short essay. They would suggest that you just write an effective “Super So What?”.

9. Length?
“Yeah, but how long does it need to be?” The best answer is this: write enough that you effectively answer the prompt. That means your ideas should be well-developed; your reader should feel like you gave him or her enough information to know what and why you believe what you believe.
“So, five paragraphs?” Well, you didn’t really listen, but, that’ll do. You can write five paragraphs of fluff and nonsense when three long, strong paragraphs would have been far better.
Consider a short intro (3-5 sentences), three long body paragraphs (+8 sentences each), and a short conclusion (3-5 sentences).
If you use advanced syntax – like making use of commas, dashes, colons, and semicolons – your sentences will be longer, and you may not need as many sentences; however, you still must use correct grammar and punctuation. D’you see what I did there? It’s called sentence variety!

10. Tone!
Your tone should be that of a scholarly conversation. This means you should avoid slang and contractions. Don’t be too conversational – like when you’re talking with a friend or sending a text message. Your audience is a teacher, not your friend. Instead, write like you are talking to a college professor or that very intelligent, professional English teacher you have. ;)
Avoid being informal. However, trying too hard to be formal can make you sound unnatural. Find the balance – don’t sound either clunky or chummy.
First Person: For argument style writing, you are allowed to write in first person: I, me, my, mine, we, and our. Some teachers will tell you that writing in first person is informal. I would prefer you to write in third person – in other words, just state it and avoid talking about yourself.
However, first person is acceptable and is useful for relating personal experiences. Either way, avoid terrible phrases like: I feel, I think, I believe, In my opinion, etc. Those phrases are usually worthless filler. Just state your ideas boldly.

11. Checklist Does your essay have the following basic ingredients?
Consider adding 3 or more of the following extra ingredients:
A personal story using “I”
An intro with a hook and clearly stated thesis
A relevant study or news item
Something relevant you have learned in school
Analyzation/Discussion of all 3 perspectives
Is there a rhetorical question?
+3 Developed body paragraphs that support your thesis
A proverb or wise saying
A direct quote
A conclusion with a “SUPER SO WHAT?”
A connection to your self, a book you have read, an experience you have had, or observation of life or current events/history
Skips lines between paragraphs and indents
Has some flashy vocabulary that you’re sure you are using properly
Some kind of skillful language choice: imagery, simile/metaphor/analogy, anecdote, appeal, parallel structure, anaphora, allusion, alliteration, juxtaposition, antithesis, polysyndeton/asyndeton, etc.
Some Sentence Variety

12. How is it graded?
You will be scored in four different categories on a scale of 1 – 6 points. The four categories are:
Ideas and Analysis: Did you answer the question and discuss all three perspectives?
Development and Support: Did you support your answer with relevant, explained examples?
Organization: Do you have an intro, body, conclusion, and helpful transitions? Is it cohesive/unified?
Language Use: Did you use advanced vocabulary, your voice, and have some sentence variety?
Total your score from each category; a 16 or better is considered a passing score. A 4 or better in each category is considered acceptable writing.