Know your audience

Before you start writing anything, take a moment to think about who will read it. The same idea applies to the ACT essay. Your choices - what you explain, how you explain it, and what tone you use - should fit your audience.

Who is your audience?

In most cases, your audience is two professional ACT readers. If the two readers’ scores differ by more than a point, a third reader is brought in.

Beyond that, you can’t know exactly who will read your essay. Here’s a realistic picture of who that reader might be:

• A young or middle-aged woman
• Has a humanities or social science degree
• Has the part-time job of grading your essay on top of another full-time job. Not exactly ideal, right?

So why does any of this matter? And how should it shape the way you write?

How to write for your audience

Grading ACT essays isn’t anyone’s dream job. Your reader is likely working through a large stack of essays, often after a full day of other work. That doesn’t mean the situation is stacked against you. It means you should write in a way that’s easy to read and easy to connect with.

Strategy: Make the audience forget they are at work, grading stacks of essays.

If your essay pulls the reader in, they’re more likely to stay engaged and respond positively to your writing. One of the simplest ways to do that is by telling stories.

Stories give the reader a brief mental break from the stack of essays. They also make your writing feel more human and specific. Instead of reading “words on a paper,” the reader starts to connect the essay with you.

Keep in mind:

Including stories may feel different from what you’re used to in school. In many assignments, you’re trained to support claims with formal evidence and citations, and you may have days or weeks to revise. On the ACT, you have about 40 minutes. In that time limit, a short, well-chosen story can quickly add credibility and make your point feel real.

In future chapters, you will get practice writing your own stories, which will help you create an effective essay for your audience.

Pro Tips:

• Always use names in your stories. For example, if you are telling a story about your Aunt Kathryn, call her Aunt Kathryn rather than “my aunt.” This helps your story feel specific and real. If you don’t feel comfortable using real names, make up fake ones.
• Use short sentences. You can’t control how brilliant you sound to the audience, but you can control how clear you sound. Focus on clarity, not on sounding smart. Short sentences help.
• Don’t skip out on story details that will help the audience connect with your writing. Not giving enough information in the stories is a common problem test-takers have when writing the ACT essay.