The SAT and ACT essay can be a confusing topic for many students, after all, it is optional for most colleges. Right? Should I do it? Are they the same for both tests? How much do they count? Well there are a lot of things that are confusing about these essays, so I am going to try to simplify for you.
First of all, the two essays are quite different, but if you know what they are looking for, it is not too difficult to get a decent score. The SAT asks the student to analyze; show how an author has assembled his argument, and how he supports his perspective. Many times students ” miss the boat” because they are so accustomed to expressing their opinion or summarizing the authors purpose that they fail to show how the author has supported his argument. When writing the SAT essay, look for evidence (facts) and pay attention when the author uses the word “because.” If you can critically analyze someone else’s work, the SAT might be a good choice for you. Your opinion is not welcome here.
Most students find the ACT essay to be a bit less challenging because it asks for the student’s opinion. You will be given three different perspectives, usually on an issue of today. It is your job to choose a perspective and give strong supporting evidence as to why your perspective is the right perspective. This requires the student to have supporting evidence which may come from a familiar book, a movie or other substantiation. If you are good at convincing others through logic and debate, and you can provide evidence from your knowledge base, the ACT might be a good choice for you.
IvyWise provides a succinct summary: ” …the SAT essay tests for whether a student understands how an argument works, whereas the ACT essay prompt asks for the student to make an argument. ”
There are a few other important questions for us to answer about the essays. Most colleges do not require the essay, with Stanford, Yale, Brown and University of San Diego being some of the most recent to drop the requirement. There are currently only about 25 colleges that require the essay. For students who plan to apply to the University of California, the essay still lingers. This means that each time a student takes the SAT or ACT, he/she should be including the essay.
So how important is the essay? This is a more difficult question to address, since its value may vary between schools and between students. For the most part, the essay will be looked at in combination with other writing submitted, and typically will not be nearly as important as the overall SAT or ACT score. It is a separate score and is not averaged into the total test score. If you are a strong writer, it could give you a little boost if the college will consider the essay. However, if you really bomb the essay, it may suggest that you are not ready for college work. Advice? If you get an average score or a little above, don’t worry too much about the essay score.
