what is the act essay scored out of

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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., act writing score secrets.

You get 40 minutes to write, but ACT graders have to grade each essay in less than five.

The way to get a great ACT writing score is to make the graders’ jobs easy. So, don’t sweat the small stuff. Focus on the big picture: a clear position, logical organization, and strong examples.

ACT Writing Rubric

The ACT essay is scored by two graders who will each assign a score of 1–6 for a total score of 2–12.

View a sample ACT essay prompt . Your ACT writing score will be based on how well you can do the following:

What's a Good ACT Writing Score?

The ACT Writing Test is scored on a scale of 2 (lowest score) to 12 (highest score). The average ACT Writing score is between a 6 and 7. Here's a look at national ACT writing score percentiles, according to the latest data released by ACT, Inc.

SOURCE:  ACT, Inc.

More ACT Writing Tips

Your argument, organization, and supporting examples are the most crucial pieces of your essay, but these four writing tips can help boost your score.

Yes, ACT graders really do tend to reward longer essays. Try to write at least four paragraphs spanning two to three pages. If your handwriting is large, make sure you write an extra page to compensate!

Read More: What's A Good ACT Score?

2. Keep It Interesting

Vary your sentence structure to improve the rhythm of your essay. If you write a really long sentence with lots of modifiers and dependent clauses, it sometimes helps to follow it with a shorter, more direct sentence. It really works.

3. Watch Your Word Choice

Sprinkle some nice vocabulary words throughout your essay (make sure to spell them correctly!). If you’re uncertain about the meaning or spelling of a word, it’s best just to pick a different word. Using a big word incorrectly makes a worse impression than using a smaller word correctly.

4. Practice Your Best Handwriting

Though graders shouldn’t take neatness into consideration when determining your ACT writing score, the bottom line is that a neat, legible essay is easier to read. And a happy grader is a good thing! For an essay that's truly easy on the eyes, make sure you indent each paragraph and avoid messy cross-outs.

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Your ACT Scoring Guide for 2024

Act scoring: your complete guide for 2024.

Bonus Material: ACT Score Ranges for 499 Colleges

How does ACT scoring work?

Can you superscore the ACT? What does it take to get a “good” ACT score?

If you’re starting your ACT test prep, you’ve probably asked at least one of these questions.

The ACT is a vastly different test than the SAT, the other college entrance exam. It has different sections and time constraints. It especially has a different scoring system, which can feel foreign to first-time test-takers.

We’re here to break down everything you need to know about ACT scoring in 2022 so you can jump into this test feeling confident and prepared.

We also give readers access to the ACT Score Ranges for the top 499 U.S. colleges and universities, a great resource for those establishing their target ACT scores. Grab this below.

Download ACT Score Ranges for 499 Colleges

Here’s what we cover in this post:

• How the ACT is Scored

Which Scores Matter Most to Colleges in 2022

• Superscoring the ACT
• What Counts as a Good ACT Score for 2022
• ACT and SAT Score Comparison
• Bonus: ACT Score Ranges for 499 Colleges

ACT Scoring 101

The ACT has 5 sections, in this order:

• Essay ( optional )

Every section except the ACT essay is scored on a scale of 1-36. 1 is the lowest score you can achieve on an individual section, while 36 is the highest score possible.

Students also receive an ACT total score, called the composite score . This is the average of the scores received on the four required ACT sections.

Take a look at this sample student ACT score report to see this scoring system in action.

Here, the student’s composite score of 21 is the average of the student’s individual ACT section scores (19, 18, 24, and 23). If this average equates to a decimal, such as 20.8, ACT will round to the nearest whole number , which would be 21 in this case.

What about the ACT Essay score?

The student’s ACT essay (also referred to as Writing) scores do not impact their ACT composite score and fall on a range of 2-12. This number is the sum of two essay readers’ scores, which are assigned in 4 domains:

• Ideas & Analysis
• Development & Support
• Organization
• Language Use & Conventions

You can find the detailed rubric that ACT essay readers use here .

If you do not take the ACT essay, you will not see a score reported in the “Writing” column. Nor will you see an English Language Arts (ELA) score.

What are ranks?

As you can see in the sample ACT score report above, reports also include information about a student’s “ranking” in the U.S. and that student’s home state. These are approximate percentages of recent grads who have taken the ACT in the U.S. and your state and achieved the same score as you or lower.

The ACT offers these rankings for your composite score, individual section scores, and STEM/ELA scores.

These rankings can be helpful from an assessment perspective. But when it comes to the numbers colleges care about, they aren’t as essential.

What are college readiness benchmarks?

Your score report will also show how your scores relate to what ACT calls “College Readiness Benchmarks,” indicated by a purple line within each scoring column. These are scoring benchmarks designed to predict success in college-level courses.

In this sample score report, the student is below these benchmarks for Math and Science. She is above the benchmarks for English and Reading.

Here are the benchmark ACT scores for college readiness as of 2022:

• English: 18
• Math:  22
• Reading: 22
• Science: 23

How does ACT calculate my score per section?

Every ACT section has different content and different numbers of questions. So how does ACT boil each down to a number on a scale of 1-36?

Basically, they’ll tally up the number of questions you got correct on a section, called your raw score . They then convert these raw scores for each section to a number between 1-36 using a specific scaled conversion table, like the one below.

If you got 31 questions correct on the ACT Science section of this test, for example, this would yield a 26 sectional score. 50 correct questions on ACT Math on this test equates to a 30.

Is a 36 on one ACT exactly the same as a 36 on another ACT?

Not necessarily.

No two ACTs are alike. They will vary in difficulty, so ACT uses a process called “equating” to balance these discrepancies. The company doesn’t say much about what goes into the equating process, but we can see it at work if we look at sections from the raw score conversion charts for 2 official ACT practice tests.

To get a 30 on ACT English on Practice Test #1, a student must get 65 questions correct. But to get a 30 on ACT English on Practice Test #2, a student has to ace 66 questions.

This might seem like a subtle difference, but take a look at Math. 49 Math questions correct on Practice Test #1 yields a 30, while 51 equates to a 30 on Practice Test #2.

These differences can add up!

Can you predict when ACT will administer an “easy” test?

Nope. While taking the test, you might be able to sense if a section feels harder or easier than other official practice tests.

But there’s no viable way to predict an “easy” ACT. What’s more, an “easy” ACT does not necessarily equate to an easy perfect score! Easier sections often require students to get more questions correct to earn a higher score.

What scores will colleges prioritize when they look at your score report? Your composite? Each section score? Your Essay score? Your ACT rankings?

In a nutshell, colleges are going to care most about your ACT composite score . But they will also likely place a heavy emphasis on your ACT section scores.

That’s why we encourage students to work on maximizing their scores in all 4 sections of the ACT. Doing so will also positively impact their composite score, as the composite is the average of all 4 section scores.

Schools have different policies regarding how they assess ACT Essay scores. Because fewer and fewer schools are requiring the ACT Essay, it’s safe to say that most schools will only assess these Essay scores for advising purposes (if at all).

You can learn more about how specific colleges on your list review ACT score reports by checking out what they have to say about standardized tests on their websites.

Bates College , for example, while test-optional, actually specifies the Middle 50% of successful applicants’ test scores on its website. It also states that it superscores the ACT and SAT, which we discuss in the next section.

We’ve compiled the ACT score ranges of successful applicants to the top 499 U.S. colleges and universities in one easy-to-read document! Download a copy below.

Can You Superscore the ACT?

Yes! The ACT recently launched superscoring . Superscoring allows ACT test-takers to count their highest section and composite scores as official scores. Colleges ultimately have the final say in how they review these scores, but superscoring can be a valuable tool for students who plan on taking the ACT at least twice.

As we saw with Bates College above, many colleges already have their own superscoring policies in place.

They should elaborate on their website what these policies look like, which can vary widely. Some require submission of all test scores, for example, while others might only consider the highest scores submitted.

Here’s what Stanford says about superscoring on its website:

To make the most of superscoring opportunities, students should plan on taking the ACT at least twice.

Some students worry that taking the ACT two or three times may reflect badly on their college applications. This couldn’t be farther from the truth!

Most students take the ACT at least twice, and many experience a score increase the second or third time around. There is no evidence to suggest that taking the ACT more than once impacts the college admissions decision.

What is a Good ACT Score for 2022?

Most students assume that because 36 is the highest possible ACT score (both composite and individual), it’s a “good” ACT score.

Yet while a 36 will definitely add a competitive edge to an application, anything less than a 36 isn’t necessarily a bad  ACT score.

In fact, it all comes down to how you define a “good” ACT score . We have 2 definitions for this.

• “Good” is anything that is “above average” with sectional scores and percentile rankings
• “Good” is anything that will look competitive on a college application

Let’s start with the first definition.

Good ACT Score #1: The “Above Average” ACT Score

ACT regularly releases a “National Norms” report for ACT scores . This includes data from all ACT test scores reported for the 2023-2024 period (although these scores could be from 2021, 2022, and 2023 class graduates).

The most recent National Norms ACT Report includes the average section and composite scores of those reported between 2022 and 2023.

Here’s what they are:

Using the first definition of a “good” ACT score, a composite score of 20 or higher on the ACT could be considered a competitive score for 2023.

At the very least, we encourage students who are new to the ACT to aim for a target score that is above national averages, on individual sections and the whole test itself.

This would mean establishing a goal score of the following on each section:

Of course, your starting score may be higher than a composite of 21, so we also recommend that students start with a diagnostic ACT to see where they currently stand.

Good ACT Score #2: The College Competitive ACT Score

Of course, scoring above-average on the ACT is just  one  interpretation of what it means to do well on the test.

In the context of college entrance, one student’s “good” ACT score could be vastly different than another student’s. It just comes down to where you are applying and the average ACT scores of admitted applicants.

So, we like to say that, under this definition, a ‘good ACT score’ is the one that is right for you given your college aspirations. This will  probably be close to the ACT scores of admitted applicants. 

Plenty of universities specify ACT score ranges of successful applicants on their websites (although some are not public with this information).  

Most do so by specifying the ‘Middle 50,’ or the 25th and 75th percentile of accepted students’ ACT scores.

Here’s a sampling of the Middle 50s from various elite institutions:

Source :  The National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS (2019)

And here are the Middle 50s of ACT score ranges of successful applicants to the top 499 U.S. colleges and universities.

If the colleges on your list do not specify these score ranges on their websites, you can check out the Common Data Set, an effort to give clear, relevant information to everyone involved in the college admissions process about universities’ “institutional priorities.”

What are institutional priorities? These refer to what a college cares about when it’s admitting an incoming class.

The Common Data Set for Princeton University , for example, contains information about the university’s enrollment, admissions, financial aid, and more. A school’s CDS should also include details about test scores of admitted applicants, as Princeton’s shows here:  

Princeton’s CDS also breaks down ACT scores into 25th and 75th percentiles. You can use these percentiles to understand competitive scores of admitted applicants.

For example, one can safely conclude based on this CDS that 50% of admitted applicants to Princeton in 2022-2023 had ACT composite scores ranging from 34 to 35.

SAT and ACT Score Comparison

How do ACT scores compare to SAT scores?

The two college entrance exams are pretty different. But it is possible to figure out what an ACT score generally aligns with on the SAT, and vice versa.

In fact, in 2018, ACT and the CollegeBoard completed what’s called a “Concordance Study,” which examined the relationship between ACT scores and SAT scores. ACT emphasizes that this study does not “equate scores” but can be a “helpful tool for finding comparable scores.”

Translation: It’s impossible to pinpoint exact equivalences, but it is possible to approximate.

Here is one of the score comparison tables that resulted from this study, which compares ACT Composites to SAT Composites. Notice how this table also includes an “SAT Range,” designed to compensate for fluctuations in test difficulty.

ACT also has a digital tool on its website that allows for quick score comparison calculations:

Ideally, students should choose one test to prepare for as they plan their college application journey. All U.S. colleges accept both tests equally. Not sure which test is the best fit for you? We can help .

Download ACT Score Ranges of 499 Colleges

Curious about what ACT score you need to get into your dream school?

We’ve compiled the ACT score ranges of successful applicants to the top 499 U.S. colleges in one simple document, which you can download for free below!

Here’s what you’ll get with this handy resource:

• Middle 50 ACT composite scores for the top 499 U.S. colleges and universities
• Middle 50 ACT sectional scores for English and Math
• Admit rate for each college
• All based on the most recent available data (2019)

Kate is a graduate of Princeton University. Over the last decade, Kate has successfully mentored hundreds of students in all aspects of the college admissions process, including the SAT, ACT, and college application essay. 

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What is a Good ACT Writing Score?

The ACT Writing section is the only optional part of the ACT. However, optional does not mean unnecessary . A number of colleges do require it to be included with the rest of your ACT scores as part of their application process. If any of the schools you’re considering require you to take the ACT Writing Section, you definitely need to know what constitutes a good ACT Writing Score.

Start improving your ACT writing score (and everything else) today with Magoosh!

Act writing: essay percentiles.

The ACT Essay is scored from 1-6 in four categories by two graders. This gives you four scores from 2-12. You then receive a final ACT Essay score from 2-12 that is the average of these four scores. This is the score you will be reporting to colleges. For more detail on how the essay is scored, make sure you check out Rachel’s article on ACT Essay scores .

Here’s the breakdown for ACT essay scores and percentiles for the 2022 reporting period:

As you can see from this table, the mean, or average, score on the ACT Writing section is 6. It’s a good idea to aim for at least the 75th percentile, so in this case a good ACT writing score would be an 8 or above. A 9 or above would put you in the 96th percentile, which is great!

Of course, a lot depends on the schools to which you apply ( this thorough rundown on ACT scores has more info). Generally, the more selective the school, the higher your score should be to be competitive.

Universities that require the ACT Writing will almost always have an average score range on their admissions website, so make sure you do your research. If you aspire to Ivy League or other highly-selective schools , a 9 is the threshold you should try your best to reach to be safe.

However, most schools do not provide a cut-off score, so theoretically a below-average score will not eliminate you from being considered for admission. Then again, it won’t help you either.

If you are ever concerned that your essay score is inaccurate, however, you can ask for your essay to be re-scored. The $50 fee for the re-score will be refunded if you do get a higher score .

So what’s the takeaway from all of this? Really, a few key points:

• Research the schools you plan to apply to, and see which of them require the ACT Writing test.
• At the least, shoot for an 8+ overall score for a “good” ACT Writing score.
• A score of 9+ is an ideal score for applications to selective schools.
• If you believe your essay has been mis-scored, you may request a re-score for a fee.
• Don’t panic!

ACT Essay Grader

If you’re coming to this post after taking your first ACT practice test, you might be wondering how the heck you’re supposed to even grade your essay. You’re thinking, “What even IS my ACT Essay score?”

To start, let your essay sit for a day or two before grading it (it’s helpful to get some distance). Then, follow the official scoring rubric from ACT , and ask a trusted friend/teacher/parent to do the same. Be as objective as possible as you grade—you won’t do yourself any favors by inflating your score!

Then, use our handy ACT Essay Grading tool to find your score:

Click the button below to get started:   Start Quiz!

• Essays at this level will respond to all three perspectives offered.
• The thesis is nuanced and precise.
• The argument puts the issue in context insightfully, examining implications, complexities, tensions, values, and assumptions.
• Ideas and analysis are well developed and qualified.
• Organization is skillful and unified around a main idea; the essay progresses logically and uses transitions.
• Word choice, sentence structures, style and register are all skillfully and precisely used.
• Some errors that do not impede meaning may be present.
• The thesis is precise, though could be more nuanced.
• The argument puts the issue in context thoughtfully, examining implications, complexities, tensions, values, and assumptions.
• Ideas and analysis are mostly developed.
• Organization is productive and mostly unified around a main idea; the essay progresses logically and uses transitions.
• Language use is serviceable, if not skillful.
• Essays at this level will respond to at least two of the perspectives offered.
• The thesis is clear.
• The argument puts the issue in context, recognizing implications, complexities, tensions, values, and assumptions.
• Ideas and analysis are clear.
• Organization is clear and related to the main idea; the essay progresses logically and uses transitions.
• Word choice, sentence structures, style and register are all adequate.
• Some errors that impede meaning may be present.
• The thesis is somewhat clear.
• The issue’s context is limited or tangential.
• Ideas and analysis are relevant, but too general or specific.
• Organization is basic and mostly coherent.
• Language use is basic and unvaried.
• Distracting errors that impede meaning may be present.
• Essays at this level only weakly respond to multiple perspectives.
• The thesis may not be evident and analysis is incomplete, irrelevant, or repetitive.
• Development and illustration are weak, inadequate, or illogical, and the argument is unclear.
• Some attempt at organization is visible.
• Language use is inconsistent and distracting errors that impede meaning are present.
• The essay does not respond to the task.
• Analysis is unclear, while ideas are undeveloped and unsupported.
• Little to no organization is evident, while errors in language usage may be common and often impede understanding.

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Question 2 of 2

Elizabeth holds a degree in Psychology from The College of William & Mary. While there, she volunteered as a tutor and discovered she loved the personal connection she formed with her students. She has now been helping students with test prep and schoolwork as a professional tutor for over six years. When not discussing grammar or reading passages, she can be found trying every drink at her local coffee shop while writing creative short stories and making plans for her next travel adventure!

View all posts

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30 responses to “What is a Good ACT Writing Score?”

I have a 24 on the written portion of the act. is that good?

Good question! 🙂 The quality of a score depends a lot on what you are comparing it to–if you only need an 18+ then a 24 is awesome! If you are supposed to get at least a 30, then a score of 24 would present a challenge to your application. A 24 is in about the 84th percentile, which means you are strong in the general pool of test takers. 🙂

If you know what you might need for the universities you like, that should be your guiding information, more than anything else. But good job! 🙂

My score is 8 out of 12.how much value do this score gain?

The new 1-12 scoring scale for the ACT Essay hasn’t been out long enough for there to be any official percentiles for the score ranges. But for the time being, you can still get a good idea of percentile by looking at this chart of percentiles for the original 36-point essay scale .

Because the maximum number of ACT Essay points is 1/3 of what it used to be (12 is 1/3 of 36), you can multiply your score by 3 to get the equivalent under the old scoring system. 8*3 = 24, and on the old chart linked above, a 24 puts you in the 88th percentile. This means you scored higher than 88% of all ACT Essay test-takers. This is pretty respectable. Congratulations!

How do I request a rescore on the writing section?

Here is some helpful info from act.org https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Request-for-Score-Verification.pdf

My son scored a 5 out of 6 on the writing. How can that be. His ACT score was a 32. I do not understand the writing grade.

First off, congratulations on your son’s 32 on the general ACT. That’s a really good score! 🙂

As for the ACT, it sounds like your son actually got a 10 out of 12? Since he would have received a rating from two separate scorers who both looked at his essay, that 5 out of 6 figure should be doubled, I think.

Your son actually does have a pretty good ACT Writing score. If you were to put his score on the ACT’s regular 0-36 scale, his essay score is equivalent to about a 30. That’s very close to the 32 your son got on the rest of the test. The reason his ACT Writing score is in the single digits isn’t because it’s bad. Instead, his score shows a 5 out of 6 because the ACT recently changed the scoring scale for ACT Writing, so that it’s not in the same 36 point range as the rest of the exam.

My daughter is in 8th grade. She scored a 32 on her ACT Exam (36 in English, 35 in Reading, 30 in Science, 26 in Math). I was familiar with all of those scores and understand that she did pretty well. However, I have no experience with the writing score. She scored a 9 on the writing. I am not sure how good this is. Should she retake it? She doesn’t really know her future college plans, but she does want the option to attend an Ivy League school. Does she need to retake the writing portion again?

Hello Lisa,

A 9 is strong! That puts your daughter above the 90th percentile in writing, and seems in line with the rest of her score. If she wanted to improve the writing for whatever reason, there is room to do so, and it may be necessary just to pull the science/math scores up to the level of her English/reading scores, too. But this is an amazing outcome for an 8th grader. The ACT is meant to showcase knowledge obtained through all of high school, so she will likely improve just by dint of having completed more years of school. 🙂

My daughter got a 27 and a 10 on the writing for her first test. Can she keep the Writing score and then only re-take the ACT portion? So, she would be submitting results from two different tests.

Unfortunately it is almost never possible to submit portions of separate test sessions. I can only think of one time ever that this has been allowed, so your daughter will almost certainly need to retake the entire test.

I got a 10/12, but I felt like I did terrible on it. My thoughts were unorganized, decentralized, and incoherent. How is it possible that I scored within the top 3%? Also, does the percentile only include those who decided to take the writing portion, or was the sample from students from all demographics?

On the bright side, this appears to be a situation in which you did better than you thought! Perhaps, your writing was not as incoherent as you thought. Great job! 😀

With regard to sample, please note that the score is only reported when the student takes the optional writing portion. I hope this helps a little! Again, great job. 🙂

Hi I got a 22 on the test portion and an 8 for the writing. I feel like my scores are pretty low and I’m taking the SAT this Saturday so hopefully that will look better. What do you think about my scores? Good, bad, moderate?

Your score for the four-section multiple choice portion of the ACT is definitely not competitive. In terms of ACT percentiles , this only puts you in the 63rd percentile. However, your 8 in ACT Writing is relatively good. That would be an 82nd percentile score.

Different test-takers will find either the ACT or SAT to be easier. So trying your luck with the SAT might not be a bad idea. However, you should also be open to retaking the ACT. Your Writing score indicates that you have strong language arts skills, and there may be ways you can build on those skills to greatly improve in Reading on either the SAT or ACT. And of course, strong writing skills can be used to improve your accuracy in either ACT English or SAT Writing & Language.

As you consider which of these to tests is best, I recommend reading our post on ACT vs. SAT .

I got an 8 on the reading and a 24 overall composite score…is that good or should I retake?

Do you mean 8 on the reading or 8 on the writing? If you got an 8 (out of 46) on reading, I would absolutely retake the test to raise that score. If you got an 8 (out of 12) on the writing, that is more in like with your 24 overall. I will say that aiming for 27+ is often better, but the score you really need should be determined based on the schools you want to attend. If you haven’t done research into that yet, I highly recommend you do. 🙂

Hi, My son took the Feb ACT and got a 33 (35, 33, 32, 31) but didn’t take the writing. So he retook the test in April and received a lower score of 30 (27, 33, 32,31) but received a 12/12 in the writing. Will schools superscore his ELA score; so taking the 35 Eng/32 Reading from Feb test and the 12 (36) from April writing for a superscore of 34? Not sure you can superscore with only taking the writing one time? Thanks in advance. Lisa W.

This will depend heavily on the individual schools, but it is worth sending the full applicant profile to show that there is relative consistency in abilities and a strong writing ability. That said, the most common way to handle scores is to just take one single session/date rather than pick and choose higher outcomes. It may be word contacting some admissions committees to get their take on the matter, too. I hope that helps!

I got a 35 on the test: 36 math, 35 english, 34 reading, and 34 science. that’s great and all, but I completely potatoed the writing with a 9. How much weight does the writing have in applications for ivy league colleges?

Hi Franklin,

Oh no! I have potatoed a part of a test before, and it’s super frustrating. Unfortunately, my answer is going to be a little frustrating, too, because the answer is “it depends.” I would investigate the admissions pages and, if they don’t give you enough details, email admissions directly to ask how much the ACT writing versus the application essays count. In some cases, you will likely be fine, but there will be others where both matter. Good luck!

my son got a 34 composite but 7 on the essay writing. Is that bad?

Wow–your son has a stellar composite score! A 34 puts him in a competitive range for many of the top universities in the country (see this post for more information). As we mention in this blog post, we suggest that students aim for an 8 or higher, but a lower essay score won’t necessarily make or break the application. Schools look at a lot of information as they make their admissions decisions, and as long as you son has a strong overall profile, a slightly lower essay score may not cause too much fuss. I highly recommend that you talk to an admissions counselor at your son’s target schools to get their input before making any decisions!

Hi, I got a 10 on writing, and that’s a pretty high percentile on the chart. However, if I would like to go to a more selective college, and I come from a very competitive high [school where there are likely to be 50+ people with a similar 9+ score, would my 10 still give me an edge?

A 10 is an excellent score–congrats on such a strong essay! 98th percentile is very impressive. You reached the ‘threshold’ for top selective schools, so I’m not sure what sort of ‘edge’ an extra point in writing might give you. However, our expertise is in test prep, not admissions advice, so I’m afraid that we aren’t the best people to answer this question. I recommend that you speak with a guidance or admissions counselor at your high school and your target universities. Good luck!

Hey I got a 7 on the writing, and an overall score of 25 in the test (math:21, english: 26, science:24) do you think that is a good score?

Congrats on taking the ACT! Whether or not this is a good score depends on your target schools and college plans. Your scores are above average , but each school has it’s own requirements. I recommend contacting your target schools directly for more information about the average scores at their schools.

Hello! I got a 9 on the writing portion for the Act, but a 25 overall. (23 math, 23 science, 22 English, 32 reading) I retook the test recently, and felt I did much better than last time. Would I be able to submit a super-score, with my writing score. Or would I be unable to do that.

Yes, you should be able to do that. The ACT says that “your superscore is the average of your best scores from each subject from multiple test attempts.” Be sure to read over the Superscore FAQs from this official ACT page for more information!

Best of luck to you! 😀

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5 Tips to Score a 12 On Your ACT Essay

There is no question that the ACT is important for high school students who are thinking about applying to college. While the multiple choice sections are designed to assess students’ knowledge in math, English, science and reading, there is also a writing section that assesses students’ abilities to write an essay. Doing well on this section of the ACT can help distinguish you as an accomplished writer to colleges.

Though you can easily understand your score a multiple choice test, you might be left wondering what will earn you a good score on the ACT essay. If you’re aiming for a 12 on the ACT essay, read on for some tips and tricks!

What is the ACT Essay?

While the multiple choice sections of the ACT might be more unforgiving, the ACT essay is a great opportunity to show off your writing skills. According the ACT website, you should aim to write a “unified, coherent essay” in which you:

• 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.

To see these ideas in motion, you can take a look at a sample ACT prompt and essay here .

How is the ACT Essay scored?

The ACT essay is scored on a scale of 1 to 12. Your essay will be read and scored by two different grades on a scale of 1 to 6 in four different domains, for a total score out of 12 in each of these four domains. These four scores will then be averaged for a total score out of 12.

For more information about how this section of the test is scored, you can look at the official ACT Writing Test Scoring Rubric .

Tip 1: Know what a 12 looks like

In general, if you are aiming to do well in something, you should know what  exemplary work looks like and try to emulate it. This is certainly the case for the ACT Essay, so before you walk into the testing center to write your essay, make sure you know know what essays that scored a 12 in this section look like!

Be sure to read as many sample essays as you can find—these should be available online through a quick Google search. Keep in mind, though, that the structure of the writing section changed in Fall 2015, so make sure that the examples you are looking at are current and align with the structure of the current essay prompt.

As you’re looking at essays that scored a 12, be sure to also look at essays that scored in the middle and essays that received a poor score. Try to understand what went wrong in the poorly scored essays as well as what could be improved in the middle-scoring ones. Take note of what was successful in the high-scoring sample essays that you read—what makes these essays stand out from the middle-scoring ones?

If there are notes from graders that justify the scores of the essays, be sure to pay attention to these as well. Aiming for a high score on the ACT essay section means that you need to try to understand exactly what the graders are looking for. Study the rubric once more and remember what you’ll need to accomplish in each category.

Tip 2: Pick a perspective and stick to it

When it comes to the writing prompt, the ACT website says “ The test describes an issue and provides three different perspectives on the issue. You are asked to read and consider the issue and perspectives, state your own perspective on the issue, and analyze the relationship between your perspective and at least one other perspective on the issue. Your score will not be affected by the perspective you take on the issue.”

In order to write a strong essay, you can choose whatever perspective you like—just make sure it’s one that you can support and defend effectively throughout your essay. Scorers are looking for a strong, well-organized point of view, and like it says above, it doesn’t matter whether you agree, disagree, or are somewhere in the middle; what matters is the writing.

It is important to remember that even if you don’t agree with the perspective that you’re writing from on a personal level, your essay needs to show that you can effectively argue a point. In addition, make sure to remember to relate your perspective to one of the perspectives provided in the prompt. Be sure to address the counter arguments as well in one of your body paragraphs, using the perspective opposite to your personal perspective to demonstrate your understanding of opposing views.

Tip 3: Use concrete examples

Grounding your writing in concrete examples is one extremely important element of writing effective ACT essay. You could use this as an opportunity to show off your historical knowledge by relating your argument to a relevant fact or event in history or current events, or you could come up with a rhetorical scenario or example. Including examples might even mean including a personal anecdote (although if you do end up doing this, you should make sure that your story is short and relates directly to your argument).

Take a look at the ways in which the writers of sample essays that scored a 12 managed to seamlessly incorporate examples into their writing. While you don’t have to be an expert on the essay topic, nor are you expected to be able to list off obscure facts and trivia about it, you need to make sure that your essay draws from real concrete examples rather that just vague abstract arguments.

Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to show off your language skills

One of the markers of a successful ACT essay is its use of language. This is a great opportunity to show off some of your ACT/SAT vocabulary words that you might have been studying for the English section of the test. Opt for higher-level vocabulary words when given the chance—as a general rule of thumb, you should aim to use about 1-2 higher level vocab words per paragraph.

Scorers want to see that you can navigate the English language skillfully, and so you should also take the chance to vary your sentence structure when you get the chance. Consider, also, utilizing devices such as rhetorical questions and complex sentences.

If you are going to use more complicated vocabulary and grammar structures, however, make sure you fully understand how to use them. It will reflect poorly upon your writing skills if you include a complicated word that doesn’t make sense in the context of a sentence, or if a grammatical structure that you try to use isn’t quite right. If you’re going to use a semicolon to combine two sentences, for example, make sure you understand that a semicolon is not the same thing as a comma. When in doubt, stick to what you know! It is better to have a less complicated structure that is used correctly versus an attempt at a more advanced grammatical concept that is actually wrong.

Lastly, be sure to keep it real in your writing. While scorers want to see students who are skilled in their use of the english language, it is easy to tell when someone is simply trying to electrify their vocabulary in order to titillate the reader for the written examination. Your writing and tone should reflect who you are as a writer, so remember to keep it down to earth.

Tip 5: Pay attention to timing & your energy level

For the essay section, you will get 40 minutes. This includes time for planning, writing, and editing, so make sure you dole out the appropriate amount of time for each part of the process. You can practice this by timing yourself to write an essay from a sample prompt at home. Start by giving yourself an hour, and gradually work it down to 40 minutes so that you are prepared by the time the testing date rolls around. If you find that you need more time for planning than you do writing, or if you come to learn that you need a particularly large chunk of time to edit, keep these things in mind when it comes time to write your essay for the exam.

The essay will be the last section on the test, so keep this in mind while you complete the multiple choice sections of the ACT. While you should be devoting your full attention and energy to each multiple choice section of the test, keep in mind that once you are finished with all of the multiple choice sections, you will still have to write the essay.

When you get breaks between sections, be sure to eat a snack, drink some water, and use the restroom so that you are not uncomfortable or distracted by the end of the test. While you might be tempted to just breeze through the essay section so that you can finish the ACT, know that you will not be allowed to leave the testing center until everyone has finished the test—so be sure to use up all of the allotted time!

For more information about the ACT and essay writing, check out these blog posts:

What to Bring (And Not Bring) to the ACT

10 Tips to Improve Your ACT Score

Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Essay

A Guide to the Optional ACT Writing Section

Want to know how your SAT score/ACT score impacts your chances of acceptance to your dream schools? Our free Chancing Engine will not only help you predict your odds, but also let you know how you stack up against other applicants, and which aspects of your profile to improve. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to gain access to our Chancing Engine and get a jumpstart on your college strategy!

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What to Expect on the ACT Essay

Understanding the act essay prompt, how the act essay is scored, ideas and analysis.

This domain evaluates your ability to analyze multiple perspectives (yours and one of the given perspectives). To score highly in the Ideas and Analysis domain, your argumentative essay should contain a clear thesis statement and address the complexity, underlying assumptions and implications of the perspectives you have chosen to write about.

Development and Support

This domain evaluates your ability to support your point of view. To score highly in Development and Support, your must support your ideas with examples and logical reasoning. Be sure to convey the significance of your argument as well as address an alternative perspective in a way that ultimately bolsters your position.

Organization

This domain evaluates your ability to craft a well-designed essay. To score highly in the Organization domain, your essay should include introduction and conclusion paragraphs, a thesis statement, topic sentences as well as transitions both between paragraphs as well as sentences as appropriate.

Language Use and Conventions

This domain evaluates your ability to communicate your ideas using the conventions of written English. To score highly in the Language Use and Conventions domain, your word choice should be accurate and precise, you should use synonyms and pronouns as appropriate to vary your word choice, use proper sentence structure and write with a tone that matches the nature of your argument. Minor spelling or grammar errors that do not hinder the reader’s ability to understand your argument do not count against you.

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What's a Good ACT Writing Score?

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For the ACT 2019-2020 reporting year, the average writing score is a 6.5 on a 12-point scale. The number comes from an ACT report on national norms , and represents roughly 2.8 million taken between 2017 and 2019. 

Do You Need the ACT Plus Writing?

Ever since the SAT evolved to include a written component, more and more colleges changed their policies to require ACT students to take the optional Writing Test (see the list of colleges that require ACT Plus Writing ). Hundreds of more colleges "recommend" the Writing Test, and if a selective college recommends something, you should probably do it. After all, strong writing skills are an essential part of college success.

As of March 2016, the SAT no longer includes a required essay section, and we're already seeing many colleges dropping the ACT writing exam as a requirement for admission. Time will tell if this trend continues. However, it is still a good idea to take the ACT Plus Wiring if 1) the colleges you're looking at recommend the test; and 2) you have solid writing skills.

There's no reason to take a recommended exam if you're likely to perform poorly on it. Unless the writing exam is required, take it only if you think it will strengthen your college application. Strong writing skills are essential to college success, so the score certainly can play a positive role in the admissions equation if you get a high score.

Average Scores on the Current 12-Point Writing Exam

An average score on the current ACT Writing Exam is a a 6.5. For highly selective colleges, you'll want a score of 8 or higher. Scores of 10, 11, and 12 truly stand out and highlight strong writing skills.

Unfortunately, for the past couple of years, almost no colleges report ACT writing scores to the Department of Education, so it's difficult to learn what score ranges are typical for different types of colleges. Later in this article, however, you'll see data from the pre-2015 12-point ACT writing exam, and those numbers can give you a pretty accurate sense of what scores will be competitive at different schools.

ACT Writing Scores by College

Because so few schools now require the ACT writing exam, the data is no longer reported to the Department of Education. The data below is historical—it's from pre-2015 when ACT used a 12-point scale and many colleges used the writing score as part of the admissions equation. Nevertheless, the numbers may be useful for seeing what writing scores were typical at different types of colleges and universities.

The data below shows the scores for the 25th and 75th percentile of matriculated students at certain colleges. In other words, half of all enrolled students scored somewhere between the lower and upper numbers. Again, keep in mind that this is  not  current data.

You can see that you don't need a perfect 12 to get into the most selective colleges in the country. In fact, a 9 or 10 puts you in a strong position even at schools like Harvard and MIT.

Keep in mind that your ACT Writing Test score is just a tiny part of your application. Your overall ACT composite score matters more than any individual section of the exam. A strong application also needs to include glowing letters or recommendation , a winning essay , and meaningful extracurricular involvement . Most important of all is a strong academic record .

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How to Get a Perfect 12 on the ACT Writing Essay

ACT , ACT Writing

There is no part of the ACT more mysterious to students than the essay, and very few people seem to know what exactly the ACT is looking for in a "perfect" essay (particularly since September 2015 was the new ACT Writing test's debut). Luckily, we've got the expertise to give you some insight into how the essay works and what you can do to push your score those extra few points up the scale.

Whether you're trying to impress your dream school or just want to boost your ACT score, the essay is a great thing to work on. Some of the tips below stand alone, while others are part of larger categories that have been assembled based our ACT expertise.

Important: If you haven't read these two other ACT Writing guides before , take a minute and read them now:

The ACT Writing Rubric: Analysis, Explanation, and Strategies

How to Write an ACT Essay, Step by Step

This will make the rest of the article make more sense.

Part I: What a 12 on the ACT Essay Means

If you're already scoring an 8 or above in every domain on practice (or real) ACT essays, you have a shot at completely nailing what the graders want, represented by a score of 12, with a little practice.

But there's something important to remember in your quest for perfection: on the ACT essay, a 12 is not always achievable. We've got good news and bad news for those of you who are determined to know how to get a 12 on the ACT essay.

The Big Secret

You'll have to practice this specific essay. The perfect ACT essay is like a puzzle that happens to be in writing form—it can be mastered, but to do it well and completely every time requires a few month's practice. Knowing how to write other kinds of essays will only help you a limited amount.

The Bad News

Because the whole essay must be written in 40 minutes, getting a 12 requires some luck. You have to pick a thesis and think of relevant and convincing evidence to support it before you can even start writing, so a lot depends on how quickly you can decided on a point of view and relevant support for whatever the prompt happens to be. And because perfect-scoring essays are almost always at least two pages long , you won't have any time to spare.

The Good News

Because the essay is so formulaic, it's always possible to get at least a 10 in each domain. And, on top of this, no college worth its salt is going to base your college admission on getting those last two points on an essay you had to write in 40 minutes. The goal, really, is to show that you can write a decent essay in that time, and a 10 in each domain shows that just as well as a 12 does.

Part II: The Difference Between a 10 and a 12

If we asked the ACT what the difference is between a 10 and a 12 ACT essay, they would direct us to their scoring criteria (replicated in the table below) that describes the difference between the 5 and 6 essay scores in each domain. As you may already know, a total domain score of 12 comes from two readers separately giving your essay a 6; the four domain scores are then averaged to calculate your total essay score of 12.

We've marked the differences between the 5 and 6 criteria in bold . Later, we'll look at these differences in the context of a sample essay.

Part III: Applying the Criteria in a Real ACT Essay Example

Now we'll look at a sample essay and how it demonstrates the characteristics of the 6 essay above. First, let's look at the prompt:

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.

Perspective One: What we lose with the replacement of people by machines is some part of our own humanity. Even our mundane daily encounters no longer require from us basic courtesy, respect, and tolerance for other people.

Perspective Two: Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone.

Perspective Three: Intelligent machines challenge our long-standing ideas about what humans are or can be. This is good because it pushes both humans and machines toward new, unimagined possibilities.

Write a unified, coherent essay about the increasing presence of intelligent machines.

Now, read the ACT essay example below , and try to notice how it meets the criteria in the table above.

     From the simplest system of pulleys and ropes to the most complex supercomputer in the world today, machines have had (and continue to have) a profound influence on the development of humanity. Whether it is taking over monotonous, low-skill tasks or removing that messy "human" element from our day-to-day interactions, machines have answered the call to duty. The increasing prevalence of intelligent machines challenges us to change long held beliefs about our limitations and to continue forward to new and even more advanced possibilities.     One common argument against the increased presence of machines in our day to day lives is that machines leach from us our basic humanity. Indeed, certain people whose only social interactions are anonymous text-based conversations with other anonymous Internet forum dwellers over computers may begin to lose basic human courtesy and empathy. This is crystal clear with a glance at the comments section of any popular news article. Yet machines are also capable of enhancing people's abilities to communicate. An example of this can be found in Tod Machover's lab at MIT, where breakthroughs in neurotechnology have made it possible for quadripalegics to manipulate text on computers with their minds. Such interactions would be impossible without the existence of intelligent machines. Therefore, I must disagree with Perspective one. Rather than losing part of our own humanity to machines, we instead make that most-essential-to-humanity of acts, communication, possible.     Another school of thought (Perspective Two) argues that machines are good at how and high skill repetitive jobs, which leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. This can be seen in the human work hours that are saved daily with automated phone menus. Before intelligent machines made automatic telephone menus possible, every customer service call ate up valuable employee time. Now, menus allow callers to choose the number that best suits their needs, routing calls to appropriate destinations without the need for human employees to waste time explaining for the hundredth time that "our business hours are 10am-6pm." On the other hand, no mechanized system of this kind is perfect, because it can't predict all future outcomes. In terms of automated telephone menus, this means that sometimes, no menu options are correct. While automated systems may take the burden off of human workers, it is a mistake to think that they can replace humans entirely. Why else would the last line of resort for most automated phone menus be "Dial "0" to speak to an operator/customer service representative?" Perspective Two is true, but it only goes so far.     A final example will demonstrate how intelligent machines challenge longstanding ideas and push us towards new, unimagined possibilities (perspective three). At my high school, all students had to take diagnostic tests in every main subject to figure out our strengths and weaknesses, and we were then sorted into class by skill level. A truly remarkable pattern emerged as a result of this sorting: it turned out that every kid in my medium-level physics class was also a talented musician. The system that sorted us allowed us to find this underlying pattern, which changed the way our teachers taught us; we learned about mechanics through examples that were more relevant to our lives (answering questions like "how many pulleys are needed to lift a piano?"), which in turn made our classes both more enjoyable and also more effective. When before I had struggled with physics and simply assumed it was a subject I "wasn't good at," the intelligent, automated sorting system allowed me to discover that I could in fact understand mechanics if taught in the right way. This discovery pushed me toward previously unimagined academic possibilities.     In conclusion, intelligent machines help us to move forward as a species to greater heights. While machines can cause problems and may in some cases need human input to function optimally, it is how we react and adapt to the machines that is the real takeaway.

This was a real essay written by me within the time limit. What do you think?

Now let's look at an annotated version of this ACT essay example that points out the essay's features.

What Makes This ACT Essay a 12, Rather Than an 8 or 10?

Considerations That Aren't Included in the ACT's Published Guidelines

The essay is long enough to analyze and compare the author's perspective to other perspectives in a nuanced way (one positive example for each perspective with an addition negative example comparing two perspectives the author disagreed with to her own perspective) and include an introductory paragraph and a conclusion.

While ACT, Inc. doesn't acknowledge that length is a factor in scoring ACT essays , most experts agree that it is. But length means nothing if there isn't valuable information filling the space, so long ACT essays also need to be detailed—this author uses the space to give lots of analysis of and context for her examples.

Paragraph Breaks

You may have noticed that the essay is broken up into multiple paragraphs (into the standard five-paragraph format, in fact). This makes the essay easier to read, especially for the ACT readers who have about two to three minutes to read (and score!) each essay. If your points can easily be split up into small parts, then it makes sense to split it up into even more paragraphs, as long as your essay's organization and logical progression remains clear.

Content and Examples

This essay uses a personal example, which may or may not be made up (spoiler alert: it is). But the point is that it could be made up, as can anything you use in your essay. Being able to think of examples (that are not too obviously made up) can give you a huge advantage on the ACT essay.

Do's and Don'ts for a 12 ACT Essay

The key to a perfect score on the ACT essay is to use every second of your time wisely. To this end, here are a few tips to avoid common time-wasters and put your energy where it will get you the most points.

Do spend time:

#1: Writing as much as you can without including repetitive or irrelevant information.

#2: Revising the first and last paragraphs (they stand out in readers' minds).

#3: Making sure you have transitions.

Don't spend time:

#1: Thinking of 'smart' sounding evidence— examples from your own life (or made up about your own life) are just as viable as current events, as long as you keep your example focused and concise.

#2: Trying to correct every error—the grammar and spelling do not have to be perfect to score a 12 in the Language Use domain.

#3: Adding as many vocabulary words as you can—you only need enough to avoid repeating the same basic words or phrases multiple times; you'll max out fancy vocab's potential at two words per paragraph.

How To Practice Your Writing To Get A Perfect 12 In Each Domain

• Start with our list of ACT essay prompts.
• Create a list of evidence examples—from literature, history, or personal experience—that you can use for many or most prompt arguments.
• Practice first with extended time—50 minutes—so you can get an idea of what it takes to get a top-scoring essay.
• Find a way to grade your essay, using the ACT Writing Rubric . If you can be objective about your writing, you can notice weak spots, especially if you ran out of time but know what to do. Otherwise, try to get help from an English teacher or a friend who's a better writer than you are.
• Start narrowing the time down to 40 minutes to mirror the actual test.
• Stay confident! The ACT essay is just like a puzzle—every time you do one, you get better at doing it.

What's Next?

Find out more about how to write an ACT essay with this step-by-step example .

Use our analysis of the ACT Writing Rubric to learn about how your essay will be scored—and discover strategies you can use to get the score you want.

Want to aim for perfection on the ACT with a 36? Read our guide on how to score a perfect ACT score, written by our resident 36 scorer.

Make sure your ACT score is high enough for the schools you want to apply to. Find out how to find your ACT target score .

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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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What is the ACT?

Understanding the american college testing exam.

The ACT , formerly known as the American College Testing exam, is one of two standardized tests used by American colleges and universities to evaluate each applicant’s readiness for their curriculums and academic demands. Recently, it has been adopted by numerous universities abroad.

The ACT as it stands is also used as an academic-readiness indicator in high schools. Many states are now using the ACT as an academic quality indicator among their public high schools , and students in these states are forced to take the ACT as part of widespread federal and state academic readiness testing initiatives.

The ACT tests students’ aptitude in reading comprehension, English grammar and writing, basic scientific principles, high school-level mathematics, and essay writing.

The other standardized test used by American colleges is the SAT . Since 1926, the SAT was the test of choice for American applicants. However, as of 2011, the ACT has surpassed the SAT as the most popular American college entrance exam.

The ACT is published and administered by ACT Inc. , an American non-profit organization. It was first administered in 1959.

Nearly 1.7 million students take the ACT each year, and it is accepted by all American four-year colleges. Recently, a number of international universities have also begun to accept the ACT in place of their previous or still-extant exams.

Though it is a newer exam, the ACT has recently become more popular than the SAT in the United States.

Though a number of American schools are becoming test-optional because of the ACT’s dubious quality as an indicator of student readiness, it is still seen as a requirement to get into the nation’s best schools.

The History of the ACT

The ACT was first administered in the United States in 1959 as a competitor and alternative to the College Board’s SAT, which, at the time, was the only widely-accepted standardized test for college admissions in the United States, and thus had a virtually monopoly on the market.

The first round of the ACT was offered by Everett Franklin Lindquist , a professor of education at the University of Iowa.

The original version of the ACT was quite similar to the version offered now. It consisted of four major sections: English, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Studies. The first major change to the test came in 1989, when the Social Studies portion of the test was changed to a Critical Reading section, which more closely matched the curriculum of the SAT.

In 2005, the next major revision took place: the ACT added an optional Writing test, which gauges student essay-writing ability. This mirrored the 2005 change to the SAT, which added a required essay during that time.

Many of the changes to the ACT have reflected changes to the SAT (and vice versa), as both tests are in constant competition for status as the primary college application exam utilized by admissions committees in the United States. The SAT was the more popular exam until 2012, when the number of students taking the ACT surpassed the number taking the SAT.

The final major change in the ACT is coming in 2016, when the ACT plans to offer computerized versions of its exam . However, students should not plan on immediately altering their plans. Many schools are not ready to implement the change, and many studies have found that students perform better at on-paper exams .

What is the function of the ACT?

According to the makers of the ACT , the primary purpose of the exam is to gauge students’ “general academic development and capability to complete college-level work.”

Recently, certain states in the United States have also required that all students in their junior year take the ACT. These states’ education boards are using student test scores as a quality-control measure pertaining to their public schools.

The ACT is seen as a reflection of a student’s ability to handle the basic concepts of mathematics, grammar, sentence composition, reading comprehension, and scientific thinking – skills that American universities view as prerequisites to beginning their curriculums.

ACT scores are primarily used by colleges to accept or reject applicants. These scores are used as an objective metric of student achievement and aptitude. Because GPAs and academic standards vary so widely from state to state and school to school, admissions officers use ACT scores as an objective way of evaluating a student’s base-level abilities in the four disciplines it tests.

Student GPA, SAT or ACT scores, along with extracurricular activities, essays, and recommendations, make up the primary criteria by which schools accept or reject students. The ACT represents the only one of these metrics that has “absolute value” in the eyes of admissions committees. Because American admissions officers are overwhelmed with an increasing number of applications, the ACT offers an essential heuristic necessary for admissions officers to make unbiased decisions.

What’s on the ACT (structure and timing)?

The ACT is scored out of 36 points .

It is offered in four discrete sections plus an optional essay section at the end of the exam.

These sections always appear in the same order. These sections (and their time restraints) are as follows:

• English – 75 multiple choice questions – 45 minutes.
• Math – 60 multiple choice questions – 60 minutes.
• Reading – 40 multiple choice questions – 35 minutes.
• Science – 40 multiple choice questions – 35 minutes.
• Essay / Writing (optional) – 40 minutes – one essay on 4 lines pages.

Notice that with the exception of the essay, every question on the ACT is multiple choice.

Students receive discrete out-of-36 scores on the English, math, reading, and science sections. Schools see all of these scores individually.

These scores are then added together and averages to give a student’s “composite score,” generally seen as the most important overall metric in the application process.

The essay is graded separately from the rest of the exam. If students request to do so, they can also take a “with Writing” exam that provides a combinatory score of the English and essay/Writing portion of the test. Most schools do not pay close attention to this score.

The ACT is known as an extremely time-intensive test. The strict time limitations of each problem (one minute or less per problem, including the time required to read and digest passages and information) make it especially challenging for students who need special accommodations .

The intricacies of each section are highlighted below:

What does ACT English test?

The ACT English section pushes students through  series of passages containing underlined errors and portions of interest. Students are asked to correct or improve these passages based on their grammar, order, composition, sentence structure, and overall writing style.

Students who have mastered high-school-level English grammar should have a relatively easy time getting a perfect score on the ACT English section, and no ACT-specific information is required. That being said, the ACT is infamous for including many esoteric and rarely-used grammar rules that often frustrate students. Spending the time to study a few recent ACTs and get a feel for these sorts of rules is essential for students who want to score well.

The primary focus of the ACT English section is on English grammar, covering such topics as:

-Comma and semicolon use

-Use of apostrophes

-Subject-verb agreement

-Adjective vs. adverbs

-Verb tense

However, it also covers more advanced subjects such as:

-Sentence composition

-Writing style

-Repetition

Any fluent English speaker will be able to get a relatively good score on this exam. However, because the majority of students taking the exam are fluent English speakers, and because the exam is graded on a curve, students looking for a high score are advised to spend significant time studying the intricacies of the section.

What does ACT math test?

The ACT math section tests the American high school-level math subjects deemed essential for success in American colleges and universities.

These subjects include the following:

-Pre-algebra

-Elementary algebra

-Intermediate algebra

-Coordinate geometry

-Plane geometry

-Trigonometry

Here, you can find a detailed list of all the math covered by the ACT math section

Students are permitted to use a calculator on all 60 math problems within the ACT math section. Because the test is more concerned with whether or not students know how to solve these problems than it is with arithmetic, the use of a calculator is actively encouraged.

What does ACT reading test?

The ACT reading section tests a student’s ability to read, digest, and analyze a passage.

In total, students will read four passages of roughly 750 words each, followed by ten multiple-choice problems covering each passage.

Students will need to answer questions such as the following:

-What was the main idea of the passage?

-What was the tone of the passage?

-What was the purpose of the passage?

-Where is certain evidence contained?

-Where are certain contradictions apparent?

-What is the motivation of a certain character?

-What is the effect of a certain action?

-What is NOT present within the passage?

While the exact questions on this section vary from passage to passage, their general nature is usually the same. Students need to attain a firm grasp of the passages that they read and then answer questions about them under rapid-fire conditions.

Studies have shown that stronger readers and students who read more often in general usually score higher on the ACT reading section. However, certain tutors and programs have shown success in improving the ACT reading scores of non-fluents speakers and non-frequent readers.

What does ACT science test?

The ACT science section purportedly tests students’ “scientific aptitude and reasoning ability.” However, the section itself has very little to do with scientific knowledge.

No pre-existing knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, or any other scientific principle is necessary in order to get a perfect score on the ACT science section, though in certain cases, this knowledge can prove helpful.

Rather than testing students’ scientific knowledge , this section tests students’ scientific reasoning capacity.

The ACT science section presents students with 6-7 passages, followed by 4-7 problems per passage, testing student comprehension of charts, graphs, non-linear information, and scientific stories and principles laid out within each passage.

As an example: a student might be shown a graph correlating earthquakes on the Y axis with bird migration patterns on the X axis. He or she would then be asked to explain what the graph means or says. Note that no knowledge of birds or earthquakes is necessary to answer this question – just an understanding of how graphs and tables function.

In rare instances, the section will ask “pure knowledge” questions or “scientific method” questions, which may ask things such as:

“What process do plants use to create sugars?”

• Photosynthesis

“What might John have done to make the experiment more accurate?”

• Cleaned the facility before the experiment
• Timed the experiment
• Cleaned the facility after the experiment
• Paid his researchers more

In almost all cases, while these cannot be studied, they are seen as “common sense” – no amount of study or preparation can ready students for these questions, which usually make up 2-3 questions per passage.

Because the ACT science section is so peculiar, students are urged to spend some time reviewing previous ACTs and finding examples of problem types so that they can study the most frequent question formats and adequately prepare themselves.

What does the ACT Writing section / essay test?

The ACT offers an optional essay at the end of each exam as a “fifth section.”

In 2015, the ACT switched their long-standing format to a new format that they will be using for the foreseeable future. An example of this new format can be found here:

https://www.actstudent.org/writing/sample/

The writing test is scored on a 2-12 scale separately from the rest of the exam. A full guide on how the ACT writing test is scored can be found here:

https://www.actstudent.org/writing/writing-scores.html

The ACT writing test / essay gives students forty minutes to read an argument, followed by three perspectives on that argument, and then pick the perspective which they most agree with and support it.

Students are judged on their essay structure, sentence structure, use of evidence, use of topic sentences, mastery of relevance, use of language, mastery of English vocabulary and grammar, and multiple other concepts to produce their grades.

Two graders come up with the 2-12 essay score, which is graded objectively based upon the absence of required elements (clear thesis, topic sentences, relevant evidence, etc.). Opinion is not a part of the grading process.

When can I take the ACT and where is the ACT offered?

The ACT is offered six times a year at high schools all around the United States.

The ACT is usually offered on Saturdays in February, April, June, September, October, and December.

Students with religious conflicts or obligations can request to take the ACT on Sundays instead of Saturdays when necessary.

The ACT is now being offered in other countries around the world. However, there are few locations available, and there are usually fewer than six offerings in any particular location. Students planning on taking the ACT are advised to research testing locations and availability as far in advance as possible.

The ACT costs $38 without the writing / essay section, and $54.50 with it.

Students can find available ACT testing dates and registration information here:

https://www.actstudent.org/regist/dates.html

They can find out testing locations here:

https://www.actstudent.org/regist/centers/

ACT raw scores, ACT scaled scores, and percentiles

The ACT is scored out of 36 points. Each of the four sections (not including the writing / essay portion) provides students with an out-of-36 score. All scores are rounded up to a whole number. Additionally, these scores are added together and divided by four, then rounded up to create the “composite score,” which is generally the most important number of all when it comes to college admissions.

Students receive both a raw and a scaled score on the ACT. The raw score is simply the number of correct answers that a student achieves on each section of the test.

For instance, if a student gets 32/40 reading problems right, then his raw reading score is a 32. There is no penalty for wrong answers on the ACT.

These raw scores are then converted to “scaled scores” for each section. These scores depend on the performance of the other students who took the ACT. Because the ACT is a comparative mechanism, each missed point can have more or less of an effect on a student’s score based on how many other students got that problem right or wrong, along with multiple other factors.

It is the scaled score, not the raw score, that colleges use in order to evaluate student applications.

ACT scores also come with certain percentile correlations. Your ACT “percentile” is simply the percentage of students whose scores you beat when you attain a certain score. For instance, if you’re a 78th percentile scorer, it means that you outscored 78% of students who took the test.

Only 99.7% of students achieve a 35 or above on the ACT.

A 33 and above is a 99th percentile score.

A full list of percentiles correlated to scores can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACT_(test)

In general, the expected scores of any particular college or university indicate the percentage ranking of that school itself. For instance, if a school expects 95th percentile scores as a minimum, it is most likely in the top 5% of American colleges.

ACT Extra Time and Special Accommodations

The ACT’s strict time limitations make it an extremely challenging test – much more so for students who have certain learning and processing difficulties.

Fortunately, the ACT does allow for special accommodations for students with certain disabilities. Students can receive extra time, private testing rooms, computerized exams, and more.

By far the most common of these accommodations is extra time – students can receive up to 50% extra time depending on the severity and number of their impairments.

While the SAT and ACT both provide special accommodations for their students, the ACT is notoriously difficult when it comes to allowing them. For this reason, many students with special needs opt for the SAT.

You can read our full guide on learning disabilities and extra time here:

https://greentestprep.com/resources/for-parents/learning-disabilities-and-extra-time/

For a full guide on what’s provided and which forms of disabilities quality for special accommodations on the ACT:

https://www.actstudent.org/regist/disab/

You can also find a useful chart on what to request, when, where, and how, here:

https://www.act.org/aap/pdf/ACT-TestAccommodationsChart.pdf

Comparison Between the ACT and SAT

For a full guide to the differences between the SAT and ACT, we recommended viewing this article:

The ACT vs. the SAT

Colleges do not prefer the ACT to the SAT. For a full discussion on this topic and how the scores compared, you can examine a very simple tool, the SAT ACT concordance table, here:

The ACT SAT Concordance Table

You can also view a full conversation on the topic in the “Comparison Between Scores” section of our full guide to the SAT .

How can one prepare for the ACT? Is it possible?

The ACT is neither an intelligence test nor an IQ test . Because it does not test innate ability, it is inherently studyable.

Students looking to improve their ACT scores are strongly advised to start studying early and consistently, as crash courses and other short-term prep methods and “cramming” techniques have been prove to fail repeatedly.

Students need three things in order to achieve higher ACT scores:

-Mastery of material

-Mastery of approach and strategy

-Experience

Students must find, document, and memorize all of the math facts, grammar rules, and other material elements necessary for a high score.

Next, they must gain familiarity with the exam and understand the best ways to approach each section, question-type, etc.

Experience with the exam with support both of the elements above. Additionally, students need testing experience. Students who take multiple full-length, timed, graded, realistic practice exams generally outperform students who go in “cold,” regardless of length of study.

You can find a full, free guide on taking practice tests here:

https://greentestprep.com/resources/sat-prep/how-to-take-full-length-sat-act-practice-tests/

While score improvements are achievable, picking the correct prep method for your needs is essential. Most prep methods fail , though some tutors and programs have been able to achieve remarkably high score improvements.

If interested, we recommend that you view our guide on how to select a good test prep program:

https://greentestprep.com/resources/sat-prep/choosing-sat-prep-system/