ACT Essay Help

A smorgasbord of tips designed to boost your ACT Essay score

Overall Advice on Your Essay




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Proofread if you have time.

Category: Overall Advice

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Handwriting, spelling and accurate examples leave positive or negative impressions.

Category: Overall Advice

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Don't skip lines between paragraphs; only indent for a new paragraph.

Category: Overall Advice


State your thesis clearly and precisely in your intro.

Category: Ideas & Analysis

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Answer the prompt DIRECTLY.

Off-topic essays will receive a "0".

Category: Ideas & Analysis

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Critically engage reader with multiple, relevant perspectives.

Category: Ideas & Analysis

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Explicitly mention all three perspectives.

Category: Ideas & Analysis

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Use concrete, descriptive examples that prove your thesis

Avoid hypothetical examples & generalizations.
Use names, dates and specific details.
It does NOT have to be factual.
Avoid examples that negate your thesis.

Category: Development & Support


Use effective transitions between paragraphs.

Category: Organization

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Use effective transitions within your body paragraphs.

above all, furthermore, therefore, as a result, etc.

Category: Organization

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Show relationships between ideas.

Category: Organization

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Connect examples to your thesis at the end of each body paragraph.

Category: Organization

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Intro and Conclusion should grab your reader, contain thesis, and be approximately 3-4 sentences.

Approximately 3-4 sentences-one sentence is not a paragraph.

Category: Organization

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Fill 2.5 pages: 4-7 paragraphs

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Use Standard English Grammar.

A person = he or she / people = they
Than = comparision, then = time / it's = it is, its = possessive
Their = possessive, there = a place, they're = they are
Too = also; in excess, To = a prepposition; to indicate the infinitive
Apostrophes, redundancy, commas, semicolons, pronouns
DO'nt capitaliZe unneceSsarily

Category: Language & Convention

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Vary your sentence structure and avoid being too casual.

Category: Language & Convention

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Spell out words like 'and' 'with' or 'could not' vs. '&' 'w/' or 'couldn't'.

Category: Language & Convention

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Avoid awkward/wordy sentences.

Category: Language & Convention

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Use appropriate collegebound vocabulary.

Category: Language & Convention

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Use inclusive language (i.e., I find, most people tend to).

Avoid extreme language (i.e., all, always, never, etc.).

Category: Language & Convention