Apart from the basic sections, the SAT and ACT underwent some major revisions in 2016, and one of the biggest changes is that its previously required essay has now become optional. This can be confusing for some students and parents who are guiding their kids. Here are some points you can go through before deciding whether to opt this option or not.

The SAT Essay

To determine whether you need to take a test, first find out if there is a college or postgraduate institution you wish to apply for that will require a SAT essay. If this is not the case, you can still complete this section because it shows your analytical and writing skills.

We encourage you to read the essay. The task you must do in the essay to analyze how an argument works is interesting and pretty involving, and gives you an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your reading, analysis and writing skills. These skills are essential for the success of your college and career – and the results you receive give you an idea of ​​your strengths and weaknesses in these areas.

Each SAT essay consists of parts between 650 and 750 words that you read and then answer. You have with you around 50 minutes to complete the SAT essay. If you decide on an essay, it’s a separate SAT section. The grades you receive in the essay are separated from your score for the remainder of the exam. Your primary SAT score is 1600 while your essay is divided into three different categories: reading, parsing, and writing.

The ACT Essay

In the ACt exam The Essay Writing Section is the only optional part of ACT. However, optional does not mean unnecessary. Many colleges require it to be included in your other ACT scores as part of the application process.

The ACT Essay was rated 1-6 by two participants in four categories. This gives you four results from 2-12. You will then receive an ACT Essay final score of 2-12, which is an average of these four points. These are the results that you will report to the college. You have 40 minutes to complete the ACT essay.

Does you “dream institute” require the Essay to be written?

The most important factor, more important than anything else in this guide, is whether one of the schools that you want to enroll for requires a SAT/ACT essay. This obviously is the most important consideration given that every minute of both exam, and preparing for it is precious. If you are not very good at analytical writing and the essay is going to be real tedious task, there is no point appearing for it if the institute does not wants it.