Many students are taking the ACT this weekend. Therefore, I want to focus on the ACT 30-minute essay. While this essay is technically optional, many colleges will NOT accept your ACT score without this writing component. Don’t limit yourself with college choices—take this essay section!
Five Weapons to Win the ACT Essay:
- Choose Your Side: Create a pro/con chart. Think of as many arguments as possible. Be creative! Then, choose the side that has more points. (It doesn’t matter if you, personally, feel the other way!)
- Plan Your Attack: Spend FIVE FULL minutes organizing your argument. Don’t just jump in! Create a small outline.
- Organize Your Argument: Start with generalizations and qualify these broad statements with concrete details and specifics. Support your generalizations with examples from your own life.
- Begin with a Bang: Start with a one-word sentence, rhetorical question, or short narrative to really hook the reader!
- Shoot Down the Opposition! The winning strategy in any debate, argument, or persuasive essay is to DISPROVE the other side. Choose one or two points from the opposition (go back to pro/con chart) and shoot these points down!