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(Updated) ACT Essay Scoring: Completely Explained

ACT Writing

It's finally that day you've circled on your calendar—the day when ACT essay scores are released. You log into ACTstudent and look at your essay score . There's an "8" for your overall Writing score as well as four different "domain" scores of 6, 8, 9, and 10. What does your ACT Writing score mean and how is your ACT essay scored? This article will shed some light on both of these things.

Feature image credit: eppny by woodleywonderworks , used under CC BY 2.0 /Resized from original.

A Quick Look Into ACT Essay Scoring

On test day, you complete the first four sections of the ACT then write your essay. What happens next?

Once ACT, Inc. receives your essay, it is scanned and uploaded to an essay grading program for graders to score. In addition, ACT.org states that "[a]n image of your essay will be available to your high school and the colleges to which you have ACT report your scores from that test date."

Each ACT essay is scored by two different graders on a scale of 1-6 across four different domains, for a total score out of 12 in each domain. These domain scores are then averaged into a total score out of 12.

NOTE : The ACT Writing Test from September 2015-June 2016 had a slightly different scoring scale; instead of averaging all the domain scores to get a total ACT Writing score out of 12, the domain scores were combined and scaled into a total score out of 36. On June 28th, 2016, however, ACT, Inc. announced that starting in September of 2016, the Writing test would no longer be scored on a scale of 1-36, due to the confusion this had caused. This change to out-of-12 ACT Writing scores is still different from the pre-September 2015 ACT essay scoring, since that system relied on graders giving the essay one holistic score (rather than 4 analytical domain scores).

Because the ACT Writing is optional, your essay score will not be factored into your ACT composite score. It will, however, be factored into your English-Language Arts subscore, which averages your English, Reading, and Writing scores and rounds up to the nearest whole number.

So what are the four domains that your essay is scored across?

#1: Ideas and Analysis

Scores in this domain relate to your discussion of the perspectives on the essay topic.

#2: Development and Support

Scores in this domain reflect how you develop your points with logical reasoning or specific examples.

#3: Organization

Scores in this domain relate to your essay's organization on both a macro (overall structure) and micro (within each paragraph) level.

#4: Language Use

Scores in this domain depend on your command of standard written English (including grammar and punctuation); variety in sentence structure and vocabulary is also rewarded in this domain.

For more on what goes into each domain score, read my article on the ACT Writing Rubric .

ACT Essay Scoring: Official Policy

Every essay is graded by two graders , who must score the essay within one point of each other. If the graders' scores disagree by more than one point, a third grader will be brought in to resolve the issue. It's currently unclear whether this means a greater-than-one-point difference in domain score or overall essay score between graders—stay tuned for more information.

While your essay receives scores in each of the four domain areas, the domains themselves are graded holistically . For example, in the Language Use domain, there are no guidelines that instruct scorers to deduct 1 point for every 10 grammatical errors.

Another important part of official ACT essay scoring policy is that factual accuracy is not important. ACT essay graders are not supposed to score essays based on whether or not the facts are accurate. The point of the ACT essay is NOT to write a research paper with well-documented facts on a topic. Instead, you're asked to argue in favor of a perspective on the topic and compare your perspective to at least one other perspective ; as long as your examples support your arguments, it doesn't matter if the examples aren't 100% true.

ACT Writing Scores in Practice

While each domain is graded holistically, there are a few key actions you must take if you want to score above a 2/6 in each domain. I've extracted these ACTions via analysis of the essay scoring rubric as well as through scrutiny of the sample essays the ACT provides on its website .

As I go through each domain, I'll be using the following official sample ACT prompt for any examples:

Intelligent Machines

Many of the goods and services we depend on daily are now supplied by intelligent, automated machines rather than human beings. Robots build cars and other goods on assembly lines, where once there were human workers. Many of our phone conversations are now conducted not with people but with sophisticated technologies. We can now buy goods at a variety of stores without the help of a human cashier. Automation is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what is lost when we replace humans with machines? Given the accelerating variety and prevalence of intelligent machines, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of their presence in our lives.

Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing presence of intelligent machines. In your essay, be sure to

• clearly state your own perspective on the issue and analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective
• develop and support your ideas with reasoning and examples
• organize your ideas clearly and logically
• communicate your ideas effectively in standard written English

Your perspective may be in full agreement with any of the others, in partial agreement, or wholly different.

Ideas and Analysis

You must: Have a clear thesis in your essay.

Because you are writing a persuasive essay, it is imperative that you make your position on the topic clear . Otherwise, how can you persuade someone that your view is the correct view?

Since you have limited time and have to compare your perspective with at least one other perspectives anyway, the most straightforward thing to do choose one of the three perspectives given to you by the ACT to argue for in your thesis.

Alternatively, you may choose to take a more nuanced perspective (that may combine aspects of more than one of the ACT perspectives); however, if you do this, it's important to make sure your perspective isn't so nuanced as to be unclear.

For example, acknowledging that intelligent machines challenge what we think humans can be (both in positive and negative ways) is a clear, yet nuanced thesis that combines aspects of Perspectives 1 and 3. Stating that intelligent machines push humans and machines toward new, previously-unimagined possibilities but also take away our humanity because of changes to our daily encounters is an unclear thesis that argues for both Perspectives 1 and 3 being true. This second thesis is not only unclear, but will run into difficulty with the next part of ideas and analysis: comparing your perspective to at least one other.

You must: Discuss the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective.

The prompt explicitly states that you need to "analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective." If you fail to discuss how your perspective relates to any other perspective, it will be very difficult to score above a 2 or 3 in the Ideas and Analysis Domain.

The easiest way to do this is to take your perspective and compare it to one of the perspectives the ACT lays out for you. With the above "Intelligent Machines" prompt, for instance, you could compare your position to at least one of the following: how machines cause us to lose our own humanity (Perspective One), how they are efficient and create prosperity (Perspective Two), or how machines challenge us and push us to new possibilities (Perspective Three).

It is possible to come up with your own perspective and compare it to another perspective that isn't at all mentioned in the prompts the ACT lays out; however, because time is of the essence in the ACT essay, you'll probably find it more efficient to form your own perspective (possibly from a combination of a couple of the given perspectives) and compare it to the ACT perspectives that don't match yours.

Development and Support

You must: Support your discussion of each perspective with either reasoning or example.

There are a couple of ways you can support your arguments. One way is to use reasoning , which tends to be more abstract. For example, if you were using reasoning to support your argument for Perspective Two, you could discuss how machines taking over lower skill jobs frees up humans to do higher skilled tasks that require more creative thinking.

The other way you can support your points is through use of specific examples . For example, to support Perspective Two, you could use the example of how the mass-production of clothes has made it less expensive for everyone to own things like good boots.

For a high score in this domain, you must: Discuss both positive and negative aspects of the perspectives you disagree with as well.

In order to achieve a high score in this domain, you must show that you understand the complexities of the issue. The main way to do this is to discuss the pros as well as the cons of the perspectives you disagree with.

For instance, if you agree with Perspective Two in the above prompt (machines make us more efficient and that's good), if you compare it to Perspective One, you should provide a brief instance of that perspective being "sort of" true before moving on to show how it is not as true as Perspective Two. Learn how to juggle both sides of a perspective in our article on how to write an ACT essay step-by-step .

Organization

You must: Group your ideas logically.

Writing an organized essay will make it easier for the essay graders to follow your logic and reasoning. Grouping your ideas logically can mean separating out ideas into different paragraphs (for instance, putting each perspective into its own paragraph), or it can involve clearly linking different aspects of the same idea in the same paragraph . No matter how you plan out your essay, try to make it as easy as possible to follow your arguments.

Language Use

You must: Write clearly.

Being able to communicate clearly is a key skill for college and life in general, so it makes sense that it would be tested on the ACT (a college entrance exam). ACT essay graders care more about the clarity of your thoughts than the fanciness of your language. Clarity of writing normally entails using proper grammar and clear, non-convoluted sentence structures. Throwing in fancy vocab won't get you anywhere if it makes things less clear instead of more clear (I've seen this happen too many times to count).

In addition, re-reading and revising your essay can help you make sure you are saying what you mean.

Example of an unclear sentence: Machines are more practical because they are cheaper and so you can hire less people to do the work and pay less money overall and so you have a better profit margin.

Example of a clearer sentence (revised): Machines are more practical and cheaper in the long run because you can hire fewer people to get the same work done.

TURNS out, the steam engine was more practical (and cheaper in the long run) than a thousand people pushing and pulling a train by hand.

What Does This Mean for Your ACT Essay?

From the lists of actions above, you can probably tell that the most important part of the ACT essay is to be clear . The ACT Writing test is designed to measure insight, not just how advanced your vocabulary is. Remember to...

#1: Be clear up front what your perspective on the issue is. Don't hide your thesis.

#2: Make it obvious when you're discussing your perspective (and make sure to discuss the relationship between your perspective and at least one other ).

#3: Support each argument with reasoning and/or specific examples.

#4: Take time to plan so you can write an organized essay.

#5: Focus on writing clearly before you start worrying about using advanced vocabulary.

What's Next?

Want to learn more about how to write an ACT essay? Read my step-by-step guide to ACT Writing .

You've learned what your essay needs to include. But how you do you decode the prompt? Follow along as I teach you how to attack ACT Writing prompts .

Is a longer ACT essay always a better ACT essay? Find out how essay length can affect your score on ACT Writing here .

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Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.

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Enter your email to unlock an extra $25 off an sat or act program, by submitting my email address. i certify that i am 13 years of age or older, agree to recieve marketing email messages from the princeton review, and agree to terms of use., sample act essay prompt (and how to tackle it).

Are you taking the ACT with Writing? No need to stress! The ACT essay follows a predictable format, which means you can practice and prepare beforehand. Take a look at a sample ACT writing prompt and learn five key steps to penning a high-scoring essay.

Keep in mind: The ACT writing essay is optional. Currently, only 27 colleges and universities require the ACT with Writing. You can see the complete list  here . If there is any chance that you might apply to one of those schools, you should register for the ACT with Writing. Not sure where you will apply? You should strongly consider signing up for the essay and keep your options open.

ACT with Writing: Sample Prompt

This example writing prompt comes straight from our book ACT Prep :

Education and the Workplace

Many colleges and universities have cut their humanities departments, and high schools have started to shift their attention much more definitively toward STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and away from ELA (English, Language Arts). Representatives from both school boards and government organizations suggest that the move toward STEM is necessary in helping students to participate in a meaningful way in the American workplace. Given the urgency of this debate for the future of education and society as a whole, it is worth examining the potential consequences of this shift in how students are educated in the United States.

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the shift in American education.

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the issue of how schools should balance STEM and ELA subjects. In your essay, be sure to:

• analyze and evaluate the perspectives given
• state and develop your own perspective on the issue
• explain the relationship between your perspective and those given

Your perspective may be in full agreement with any of the others, in partial agreement, or wholly different. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed, persuasive examples.

How to Write the ACT Essay

Your job is to write an essay in which you take some sort of position on the prompt, all while assessing the three perspectives provided in the boxes. Find a way to anchor your essay with a unique perspective of your own that can be defended and debated, and you are already in the upper echelon of scorers.

Step 1: Work the Prompt

What in the prompt requires you to weigh in? Why is this issue still the subject of debate and not a done deal?

Step 2: Work the Perspectives

Typically, the three perspectives will be split: one for , one against , and one in the middle . Your goal in Step 2 is to figure out where each perspective stands and then identify at least one shortcoming of each perspective. For the example above, ask yourself: 

• What does each perspective consider?
• What does each perspective overlook?

Read More: What's a Good ACT Score?

Step 3: Generate Your Own Perspective

Now it's time to come up with your own perspective! If you merely restate one of the three given perspectives, you won’t be able to get into the highest scoring ranges. You’ll draw from each of the perspectives, and you may side with one of them, but your perspective should have something unique about it.

Step 4: Put It All Together

Now that you have your ideas in order, here's a blueprint for how to organize the ACT essay. This blueprint works no matter what your prompt is.

Step 5: (If There's Time): Proofread

Spend one or two minutes on proofreading your essay if you have time. You’re looking for big, glaring errors. If you find one, erase it completely or cross it out neatly. Though neatness doesn’t necessarily affect your grade, it does make for a happy grader.

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ACT Writing Test Tips

Writing test-taking tips:.

• Budget your time . Determine how much time you will spend on planning, writing, and reviewing. Be ready to write directly from your outline since it is unlikely that you will have time to draft, review, and recopy your essay.
• Understand the prompt . Before writing, carefully read and consider the prompt. Be sure you understand the issue, the different perspectives, and your task. 
• Use the planning questions . Planning questions are included with the prompt and can help you analyze the different perspectives. Use these questions to think critically about the prompt and generate an effective response. (Planning questions are optional and not scored.) 
• Structure your essay . Use the planning space in your test booklet to structure or outline your response before writing. 
• Establish focus . Establish the focus of your essay by making your argument clear with organized ideas.  
• Support your argument . Explain and illustrate your ideas with sound reasoning and meaningful examples. Discuss the significance of your ideas. Show why your argument is important to consider. 
• Choose your words wisely . Use words that accurately and clearly communicate your ideas.  
• Check for errors.  Take a few minutes before time is called to read over your essay and correct any mistakes. If you find words that are hard to read, rewrite them. 

Eliminating Wordiness

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• An overview of the ACT test and what to expect on test day
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The ACT Writing: What is the ACT essay, and should your student take it?

April 23, 2021

In the words of Shakespeare, “To take the writing or to not take the writing? That is the question.” Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly what he said, but it’s still a question that plagues many parents and students as they sign up for the ACT. As your cursor hovers over the registration button, you may be wondering if your child needs to opt for the essay section in addition to the full test. The short answer? Probably.

The writing portion of the ACT isn’t required by all schools, but around 300 colleges do require or at least recommend that applicants take it. If your student isn’t exactly sure where he or she wants to apply, then we recommend signing up for the writing to be on the safe side. This ensures that all bases are covered, and you won’t be in a bind if your student adds a last-minute school to their college list. The writing section cannot be taken separately from the ACT test, so you will need to plan for your student to take it along with the full test.

So what does taking the writing portion of the ACT mean?

The writing section is a 40-minute essay where students will showcase their abilities to form and support an argument. The paper-and-pencil test presents one writing prompt that describes a complex issue and gives three different perspectives on that issue.

Registration Fee

There is an extra registration fee to take the writing portion of the ACT. This is currently $16.

Preparation

Preparing to take the writing portion is relatively easy. It requires reading through the grading rubric and sample essays, and writing a few practice essays. Overall, a student should plan to devote a few hours to preparation. The ACT website has great resources to prepare, which can be found here . For parents, our online test prep platform Testive, has a guide just for you . Additionally, here are some tips to tackle the writing:

Fully understand the prompt before beginning the essay.

Plan and outline the essay by writing the thesis and the main idea for each paragraph.

Aim to write at least three pages in the exam booklet.

Write at least five paragraphs (introduction, minimum of three body paragraphs, and conclusion).

Use advanced vocabulary.

Do not criticize perspectives and remain objective.

The ACT writing is scored by two trained readers. Each reader will score the essay on a scale of 1 to 6 in each of the four writing domains. Each domain score represents the sum of the two readers' scores. The grading rubric can be found here . A score of 8 or more on the writing is exceptionally good, with 6 as the average score. The table below details the percentiles for each score and gives an idea for what range your student should target.

What about the SAT?

The ACT added the writing section in response to the SAT essay to keep the two tests equivalent. The main difference was that the SAT essay was required while the ACT writing was optional. This has now changed, however. In January of 2021, the College Board announced that after June 2021, it would no longer be offering the essay portion of the SAT.

That’s it! Hopefully you have a better idea of whether or not your student should take the ACT essay. If your student needs assistance preparing for the essay or other sections of the tests, contact us today.