Writing on the SAT and ACT:
A FEW EASY STEPS TO HELP YOU BECOME
SUCCESSFUL IN THE WORLD OF WRITING
BEYOND FCAT WRITES
ACT and SAT Essay Differences
The ACT Essay
The SAT Essay
 Optional, but most schools
 Included in every SAT
 First section of the exam,
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require it
Last section of the exam, 30
minutes
Score is separate from ACT
Composite score – out of 12
points
Students should examine both
sides of an argument
Essay is graded on a rubric
Questions based on high
school
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25 minutes
Score is a part of SAT
Composite score, also listed
separately – 12 pts
Students should pick a side
and defend it
Essay is graded holistically
Fortune cookie style
questions
Sample SAT Essay Question
Consider carefully the issue presented in the following quotation and
the assignment below.
Essay question
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There’s an old saying: “Every cloud has a silver lining.” When I first heard it I thought it
wasmerely literal—simply referring to that silvery edge that first revealed the sun
breaking through. But gradually I came to see its optimistic message. We know that
clouds and other negative events are always temporary and that good things can result
from them.
 Marianne McGonagle, All that Glitters
Assignment: Can an event that appeared at first to be negative lead to
unexpected positive results? Plan and write an essay in which you
develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with
reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience,
or observations.
What will you be graded on?
•HOW CLEARLY YOUR POSITION HAS BEEN
STATED
•SOLID ORGANIZATION
•LOGICAL PRESENTATION OF IDEAS
•THE QUALITY OF YOUR SUPPORTING
EXAMPLES
•SENTENCE VARIETY
•VOCABULARY
•CLARITY OF EXPRESSION
Sample ACT Essay Question
 Educators debate extending high school to five years because of increasing
demands on students from employers and colleges to participate in
extracurricular activities and community service in addition to having high
grades. Some educators support extending high school to five years because
they think students need more time to achieve all that is expected of them.
Other educators do not support extending high school to five years because
they think students would lose interest in school and attendance would
drop in the fifth year. In your opinion, should high school be extended to
five years?
 In your essay, take a position on this question. You may
write about either one of the two points of view given, or
you may present a different point of view on this
question. Use specific reasons and examples to support
your position.
How should I go about
writing this essay?
•A T T H E B E G I N N I N G O F Y O U R E S S A Y , M A K E S U R E
READERS WILL SEE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE
ISSUE.
•E X P L A I N Y O U R P O I N T O F V I E W I N A C L E A R A N D
LOGICAL WAY.
•I F P O S S I B L E , D I S C U S S T H E I S S U E I N A B R O A D E R
CONTEXT OR EVALUATE THE IMPLICATIONS OR
COMPLICATIONS OF THE ISSUE.
•A D D R E S S W H A T O T H E R S M I G H T S A Y T O R E F U T E
YOUR POINT OF VIEW AND PRESENT A
COUNTERARGUMENT.
•U S E S P E C I F I C E X A M P L E S .
•V A R Y T H E S T R U C T U R E O F Y O U R S E N T E N C E S , A N D
USE VARIED AND PRECISE WORD CHOICES.
•M A K E L O G I C A L R E L A T I O N S H I P S C L E A R B Y U S I N G
TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES.
•S T A Y F O C U S E D O N T H E T O P I C .
•E N D W I T H A S T R O N G C O N C L U S I O N T H A T
SUMMARIZES OR REINFORCES YOUR POSITION.
For more
information visit:
•W W W . T H E P R I N C E T O N R E V I E W . C O M
•W W W . C O L L E G E B O A R D . C O M
•W W W . A C T . O R G
•W W W . S P A R K N O T E S . C O M
•W W W . K A P L A N . C O M