ACT Writing prompts

1. ACT Writing prompts 30 Minutes, featuring ONE essay question

2. Format & Directions • Asks students to take a position on an issue and support it with evidence in a persuasive essay • Graded on a 1-6 holistic scale • Skills tested on the writing test • Stating a clear perspective on an issue – the question being asked in the prompt • Providing supporting evidence and logical reasoning • Maintaining focus and organizing your ideas logically • Writing clearly

3. Four-Step Method • STEP 1: PAUSE TO KNOW THE PROMPT • There is no right or wrong answer to the essay. Just choose your position and then support your opinion with examples.

4. Four-Step Method • STEP 2: PLAN • Take FIVE minutes or less to build a plan for your essay. • Controlled brainstorming • Create a quick pro/con graphic organizer – decide your position – make sure that you can come up with arguments to support them • Subject matter • Avoid emotional and offensive examples • Information banks • Refresh your memory about your favorite books, school subjects, historical events, personal experiences, etc. so that you can use them as examples in your essays • Structure your essay • Create a clear introduction with a hook, a body with transitions and a conclusion that ends with a bang. PLAN ON WRITING NUMEROUS PARAGRAPHS – and make them LOOK like paragraphs!

5. Four-Step Method • STEP 3: PRODUCE • Appearances count. Write 4-6 paragraphs and write NEATLY using INDENTATIONS for each new paragraph. • Stick with the plan.Don’t introduce any new ideas other than the ones from your outline. • Write carefully. Low scores can result from misspellings and grammatical errors. • Stay on task. Make your writing direct and persuasive. USE ACTIVE VOICE. • Use transitions.Think about the relationship between your ideas and make sure they follow each other logically.

6. Four-Step Method • STEP 4: Proofread • Leave yourself at least two minutes to review your work.

7. How is it scored? • On a holistic scale of 1-6 (6 being the best) • TWO readers read and score each essay, then those scores are added together. • If there’s a difference of more than a point, your essay will be read by a third reader. • Statistically speaking, there will be few 6 essays. If each grader gives you a 4 or 5, that will place you at the upper range of those taking the exam.

8. Skills Tested in the Writing Portion • Stating a clear perspective on an issue • Answer the question in the prompt. BE SURE YOU ARE ANSWERING THE QUESTION ASKED. • Double-check your UNDERSTANDING of the prompt by UNDERLINING the actual position question. • Providing supporting evidence and logical reasoning • Building an argument and BACKING it up • Maintaining focus and organizing ideas logically • Writing clearly

9. FOUR-STEP METHOD RECAP

10. To Score a 4 or higher • To score a 4: • Answer the question • Support ideas with examples • Show logical thought and organization • Avoid major or frequent errors that make your writing unclear • To score a 5: • Address the topic in depth • To score a 6: • Make transitions smoother and show variety in syntax and vocabulary (vary your word choice and sentence structure)

11. Practice Prompt(We’ll do this one together…) While some high schools offer art and music courses to their students, these courses are not always mandatory. Some teachers, students and parents think that schools should emphasize traditional academic subjects like math and science, as those skills will help students more in the future when they join the workforce. Others feels that requiring all high school students to take classes in music or the visual arts would teach equally valuable skills that the students may not learn otherwise, and would also help them do better in traditional academic subject areas. In your opinion, should art or music classes be mandatory for all high school students?

12. BY THE WAY… ALL essay prompts end with this paragraph: “In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write about one of the points of view mentioned above, or you may give another point of view on this issue. Use specific examples and reasons for your position.”

13. PLAN • WHAT IS BEING ASKED IN THIS PROMPT? • “…should art or music classes be mandatory for all high school students?” • DO SOME CONTROLLED BRAINSTORMING: A simple YES/NO column will help; YES NO (demonstrate on board) WHAT DO YOU KNOW PERSONALLY ABOUT THIS?

14. PLAN your POSITION with a THESIS • Once you’ve quickly weighed both sides, TAKE A SIDE. Your THESIS statement will be the words that follow “I believe…” • But be sure to OMIT the words I BELIEVE – make it about your argument – not about YOU. Write down your THESIS statement NOW…

15. PLAN to SUPPORT your THESIS with ARGUMENTS • Shoot for 3-4 solid, different points to support your thesis. • Point 1: • Point 2: • Point 3: • Point 4: Take a minute to write YOUR points (work with a partner if you’d like) NEXT – place these points IN A LOGICAL ORDER

16. PLAN your WRITING • You have a THESIS and SUPPORTIVE POINTS • You’ve placed them in logical order • A STRONG essay follows these THREE simple RULES: • Say what you’re going to say (intro paragraph) • Say it (body paragraphs) • Say what you just said (conclusion paragraph)

17. HOOK, LINE AND SINKER • HOOK your reader- grab the reader’s attention WITHOUT using “In my opinion…” Try a more general statement that introduces one or more of the key words you will use from your prompt. • LINE up your supporting arguments – using your strongest argument FIRST…you don’t have TIME to save your best for last. (Try coming up with ONE example per paragraph for each argument) • SINK the essay by having a strong conclusion that ends with a BANG. Come full circle – restate your thesis or a specific example from your intro. DON’T introduce NEW evidence.

18. Now YOU Try… • On each of the following slides, you will find an ACTUAL ACT Writing prompt that has been recently retired from the active prompt rotation. However, there are still active prompts that could be very similar, so it’s important that you understand these. • With a partner, follow the five steps below… • Step 1 – Pick a prompt • Step 2 – Pro / con chart • Step 3 – Choose your position • Step 4 – Write a thesis • Step 5 – Bullet point your main ideas

19. “Foreign Language Instruction” Foreign-language instruction is declining in public high schools in the US. Some people think this reflects the rise of English as the accepted language of commerce around the world, and that knowledge of foreign languages is of lessening importance. Other people see the reduction in language study as a sign of the United States’ failure to integrate with the rest of the world and a threat to the nation’s vitality in an increasingly cross-cultural marketplace. In your opinion, should greater support be given to foreign language programs in high schools in the United States?

20. Enforcing Bus Usage Some high schools ban students from driving to and from school if they live in an area with bus service. Administrators think this will reduce morning and afternoon traffic accidents and congestion as well as alleviate morning tardiness. Opponents say that a student with a driver’s license should have the same right to drive to school as do faculty and staff with licenses. Some students say that while they are technically inside the boundary for bus service, walking to and from the bus stop every day is a major inconvenience. In your opinion, should high schools ban students’ commuting to reduce traffic and tardiness problems?

21. School IDs Some high schools require students and staff to wear name badges any time they are on school property. Some people feel this is an effective measure to take against unauthorized school visitors. Opponents say that so many students will refuse to wear the badge or simply leave it at home that identifying unwanted visitors will be made no easier. In your opinion, should schools mandate that all students and staff wear a name badge to aid in identifying unaffiliated visitors?

22. School Resource Officers Many high schools have a police liaison officer who works full-time with the student body and the administration to combat drubs, violence, and other criminal issues within the school buildings. Supporters of the liaison program feel that the officers are beneficial as an active crime deterrent and first response to incidents within the schools. Opponents say a single officer in each building cannot effectively manage crime in the schools and that police resources are better spent in neighborhoods with more pressing needs. In your opinion, should a police liaison officer be assigned to every public high school?

23. Radio Transmissions Presently in the US, it is illegal to intentionally disrupt many kinds of radio transmissions, including those for cellular telephone service. Organizations such as places of worship, public schools, and movie theatres, are calling for exceptions to be made to the law in cases where placing and receiving telephone calls has proven annoying to others. However, some people argue that they are entitled to the cellular service they pay for no matter where they may be, that telephone courtesy should remain a personal responsibility, and that cellular users rely on uninterrupted service in case of emergencies at work or at home. In your opinion, should cellular signal disruptors be allowed in places where phone calls are perceived as annoying?

24. Security Cameras Some high schools in the US have installed security cameras in various locations throughout the school, including the classrooms. Some educators and parents and parents think that student behavior must be constantly monitored in order to ensure the safety of both teachers and students. Others think that security cameras can create distractions during class and even promote bad behavior in some students. In your opinion, should high schools install security cameras in the classroom?

25. Same-Sex Schools Some high schools admit only female or only male students. Some parents and teachers think that this requirement is beneficial, because students in this situation are not distracted by social pressures brought on by the presence of members of the opposite sex. Other educators and parents think that students should be preparing for the real world where men and women usually work together. In your opinion, should high schools educate the sexes together or separately?

26. Cell phones in school Some high schools in the US have banned cellular telephones from their classrooms. Some educators believe that the presence of cell phones create a distraction that prevents from students from learning. Other teachers believe that most students are responsible in their cell phone use and may need the phones in case of emergency. In your opinion, should high schools ban cellular telephones?

27. Random locker Searches Some high schools in the US have a policy of random searches of student lockers for illegal items such as drugs and weapons. Some faculty and staff believe that the searches are necessary in order to protect student’s safety. Other teachers and administrators believe that the searches infringe on students’ privacy and that searches should only be conducted when there is a reason to suspect that an individual student may have something illegal in his or her locker. In your opinion, should high schools conduct random searches of student lockers to search for illegal items?