1. Tips for the ACT Writing Test Junior Composition

2. Basic Tips  Carefully read the instructions on the cover of the test booklet.  Do not skip lines and do not write in the margins.  Write your essay legibly, in English.

3. Organizing you Answer  Do some planning before writing the essay; you will be instructed to do your prewriting in your Writing Test booklet.  You can refer to these notes as you write the essay on the lined pages in your answer folder.  Carefully consider the prompt and make sure you understand the question it asks—reread it if you aren't sure.  Decide how you want to answer the question in the prompt.  Write down your ideas on the topic. 1.A list of ideas or your point of view on the subject 2.A list of reasons for your ideas 3.A list of examples that you will use to explain your point of view on the issue.

4. Writing your Essay  At the beginning of your essay, make sure readers will see that you understand the issue.  Strong introduction to the topic  Explain your point of view in a clear and logical way.  Strong thesis statements (discussed in detail later)  If possible, discuss the issue in a broader context or evaluate the implications or complications of the issue.  Try to think of other contexts that this issue relates

5. Writing your Essay  Address what others might say to refute your point of view and present a counterargument.  Don’t avoid problematic issues  Address them and refute them  Use specific examples.  Avoid very general and clichéd examples  Vary the structure of your sentences, and use varied and precise word choices.

6. Writing your Essay  Stay focused on the topic.  End with a strong conclusion that summarizes or reinforces your position.  Make logical relationships clear by using transitional words and phrases.

7. Proofread your Essay  If there is time, do a final check of the essay when it is finished.  Correct any mistakes in grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling.  If you find any words that are hard to read, recopy them so your readers can read them easily.  Make any corrections and revisions neatly, between the lines (but not in the margins).

8. What is the most important aspect of a strong essay?  The Thesis Statement  The parable of the Two Builders (Matthew 7:24-27) The Wise and Foolish Builders  "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

9. What is a thesis?  A thesis is an essay’s or paper’s major claim.  A thesis is comprised of: 1.Limited Subject 2.Definite Attitude 3.Points of Development

10. What is a “strong” thesis?  A strong thesis makes a claim that: 1.Requires proof 2.Offers some point about the significance of your evidence that would not have been immediately obvious to readers.

11. What is a “weak” thesis?  A weak thesis either makes no claim or makes a claim that does not need proving, such as a statement of fact or a common opinion.

12. 5 Kinds of Weak Thesis Statements 1.Make no claim 2.Are obviously true or a statement of fact 3.Restate conventional wisdom 4.Offer personal conviction as the basis for the claim 5.Make an overly broad claim

13. Specify and Subordinate  These methods will aid in fixing most of these problems often found in thesis statements.  Specify: replace the overly abstract terms with something specific  Subordinate: rank one of the two items in the pairing underneath the other.  Specify to focus the claim and subordinate to qualify the claim still more.

14. 1. The Thesis Makes No Claim  Problem Examples:  “I’m going to write about Darwin’s concerns with evolution in The Origin of Species.”

15. 1. The Thesis Makes No Claim  Solution:  Raise specific issues for the essay to explore.  Solution Examples:  “Darwin’s concern with survival of the fittest in The Origin of Species leads him to neglect a potentially conflicting aspect of his theory of evolution-survival as a matter of independence.”

16. Exception to 1.  Some disciplines expect writers to offer a statement of method and/or intention in their paper’s openings.  Poor Example:  “In this paper I will discuss America’s treatment of the elderly.”  Good Example:  “In this paper I will examine how congressional Republicans undermined the attempts of the Democratic administration to legislate a fiscally responsible health-care policy for the elderly.”

17. 2. The Thesis Is Obviously True or Is a Statement of Fact  Problem examples:  “The jean industry targets its advertisements to appeal to young adults.”

18. 2. The Thesis Is Obviously True or Is a Statement of Fact  Solution:  Find some avenue of inquiry- a question about the facts or an issue raised by them.  Make an assertion with which it would be possible for readers to disagree.  Solution Examples:  “By inventing new terms, such as ‘loose fit’ and ‘relaxed fit,’ the jean industry has attempted to normalize, even glorify, its product for an older and fatter generation.”

19. 3. The Thesis Restates Conventional Wisdom  Problem example:  “An important part of one’s college education is learning to better understand others’ points of view”

20. 3. The Thesis Restates Conventional Wisdom  Solution:  Seek to complicate- see more than one point of view on – your subject. Avoid conventional wisdom unless you can qualify it or introduce a fresh perspective on it.  Solution example:  “Although an important part of one’s college education is learning to better understand others’ points of view, a persistent danger is that students will be required simply to substitute the teacher’s answers for the ones they grew up uncritically believing.”

21. 4.The Thesis Offers Personal Conviction as the Basis for the Claim  Problem example:  “Sir Thomas More’s Utopia proposes an unworkable set of solutions to society’s problems because, like communist Russia, it suppresses individualism.”

22. 4. The Thesis Offers Personal Conviction as the Basis for the Claim  Solution:  Replace opinions (self-evident truths) with ideas (theories about the meaning and significance of the subject, which can be supported by evidence).  Solution example:  “Sir Thomas More’s Utopia treats individualism as a serious but remediable social problem. His radical treatment of what we now call “socialization” attempts to redefine the meaning and origin of individual identity.”

23. 5. The Thesis Makes an Overly Broad Claim  Problem examples:  “Violent revolutions have had both positive and negative results.”

24. 5. The Thesis Makes an Overly Broad Claim  Solution:  Convert broad categories and generic (fit anything) claims to more specific assertions.  Specify and Subordinate  Solution examples:  “Although violent revolutions begin to redress long- standing social inequities, they often do so at the cost of long-term economic dysfunction and the suffering that attends it.

25. Othello Thesis Statement  Create a thesis statement for the following essay prompt:  Write a character analysis of one major character from the first two acts of Othello.

26. Othello Thesis Statement  “Othello is a play about love and jealousy.”  “Although Othello appears to attack jealousy, it also supports the skepticism of the jealous characters over the naivete of the lovers.”