{"id":16403,"date":"2021-07-15t14:59:17","date_gmt":"2021-07-15t21:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=16403"},"modified":"2021-06-17t14:59:17","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17t21:59:17","slug":"act-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/act\/act-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"everything you need to know about act writing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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the act writing test, or essay section, tests your ability to read different perspectives on a topic and present your own opinion in writing. it’s the optional last section of the exam, meaning that you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to–although there are many colleges and universities that require or recommend it for admissions. here’s what you need to know about act writing in a nutshell!<\/p>\n
here are the need-to-know facts about the act writing section<\/a>:<\/p>\n nope! it’s not a required part of the exam. you can think of it as an add-on that, yes, also costs a little bit more. but whether the test requires the essay and whether colleges do are two separate issues. while you can submit the act without writing to many colleges and universities, others (including most super-competitive colleges) will ask you for it. because the list of which colleges require act writing is constantly changing, it’s best to check with the individual schools you’re thinking of applying to before you register.<\/p>\n with that said, some students do take the exam before they know where they’ll be applying to college. so in this case, is it better to do the act test<\/a> with or without writing? if you’re really uncertain, take it with writing. this will ensure that you don’t have to go back to the test center because you’ve decided to apply to a college that does require it in a few months! yes, it requires some extra prep–but it’s worth it to keep your options open.<\/p>\n if you’ve been prepping for the act overall, you’re probably very (overly?) familiar with the 1-36 scoring scale by now. but this isn’t how the act essay is scored! because it’s not a multiple-choice section, the essay has its own unique scoring. take a look!<\/p>\n the writing portion of the act is scored<\/a> by two graders, each of whom will assign you a writing score of 1 to 6<\/a> on four different writing “domains.” these domains include:<\/p>\n your total points added up between these two graders are converted from these domain scores to a scaled score of 2 to 12, which is the final score you will see on your score report.<\/p>\n so you’ve done it! you sat down, you wrote your essay…now what? when will act writing scores be available? well, you’ll get your multiple-choice scores in around two weeks, and you’ll get your act writing scores (and full score report) about two weeks after that. so anticipate waiting around a month to get the total view of how you did on the act essay. <\/p>\n no! not, that is, if you’re talking about the composite act score on the 1-36 scale. this is an average of your 1-36 scores in each of the four multiple-choice sections (reading, math, english, and science). it doesn’t take your essay score into account. in other words–does the act writing score affect composite scores? it doesn’t.<\/p>\n with that said, the essay score will affect your ela subscore on the exam. (you can see what this looks like on a score report here<\/a>.) but colleges and universities are far more interested in your sectional and composite scores.<\/p>\n generally, an 8+ is an excellent act writing score<\/a>, but it depends on where you’re applying. ivy-league-bound students should aim for 9 or above<\/a>!<\/p>\n nope! the act superscore<\/a> is a way of combining your highest multiple-choice scores from different sections and different test dates to give you the highest possible combination. but it only affects your composite score<\/strong>. because the essay isn’t part of your composite score, it’s not part of the superscore, either.<\/p>\n if you’re wondering if you can cancel the section after they’ve taken it, unfortunately, the answer is no. once you’ve written the essay, your score will appear on your score report. but if you change your mind about taking the writing section of the act, you can cancel it before you get into the testing room. <\/p>\n if you feel that you didn’t do your best, or you get a lower score than you’d like, can you retake act writing? definitely! but for the moment, act sectional retesting<\/a> is on hold\u2014and it may or may not include the act writing test being taken separately. to retake act writing, in other words, you’ll need to retake the entire exam…for now.<\/p>\n so how do you boost your act essay score? take a look at these tips!<\/p>\n \u2705 practice planning and writing essays on practice act essay prompts.\u00a0although writing full essays (preferably as part of 2022世界杯入门名单s<\/a>) is the best practice, ten-minute outlining sessions<\/strong> in which you plan out your essay (like you will do on the test) can go a long way in helping you learn how to quickly generate and organize your ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2705 if grammar is not your strong suit, check out our post on act grammar rules<\/a>. not only will this help you improve your grammar for the act essay, but it also will help you with the act english section<\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n \u2705 share your writing with the strong writers you know and get feedback from them. have them score your practice essays using the act rubric<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2705 review the sample essays<\/a> on actstudent.org so that you can get a sense of what kinds of essays get which scores. this can be incredibly helpful!<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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do i have to take act writing?<\/h2>\n
how does act writing scoring work?<\/h2>\n
how act writing is scored<\/h3>\n
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getting your act writing scores<\/h3>\n
can act writing hurt your score?<\/h3>\n
what essay score is good?<\/h3>\n
can act writing be superscored?<\/h3>\n
what happens if i mess up on the writing section?<\/h2>\n
how to improve your writing score<\/h2>\n