ACT Writing common mistakes
ACT Writing · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Writing an essay that summarizes the three provided perspectives one after another without ever stating and defending a position of your own.
The prompt hands you three ready-made viewpoints, so it feels safe to describe them; students confuse 'discussing the issue' with 'arguing a thesis', and the timed format rewards the path of least resistance.
What to do instead
Before drafting, write a one-sentence claim that takes a side (either adopting one perspective, blending two, or rejecting all three), then open the essay by stating it. Check every body paragraph: it must advance that claim, not just describe a perspective.
Ignoring one of the three perspectives entirely, or mentioning all three only in a list in the introduction and never engaging with them again.
Under time pressure students latch onto the perspective they find easiest and treat the others as background; they also assume the grader only cares about their own argument.
What to do instead
Allocate roughly one body paragraph to analyzing at least two perspectives (naming the tension between them), and explicitly acknowledge and rebut or qualify the remaining one. Use a pre-writing grid: Perspective A / B / C, and note your stance toward each.
Supporting claims only with vague generalities ('society benefits', 'people have always done this') instead of a specific example, scenario, or piece of reasoning.
Students worry they lack factual knowledge, so they retreat to broad statements that feel safe; the timed setting discourages the pause needed to invent a concrete illustration.
What to do instead
For each body paragraph, plan one specific support: a named historical or current event, a hypothetical scenario with concrete details, or a step-by-step logical consequence. If you lack a real example, build a detailed hypothetical rather than a platitude.
Stating a claim and then simply restating it in different words as the 'explanation', so the paragraph never shows why the claim is true.
Writers equate length with development and pad with synonyms; the causal link between evidence and claim stays in their head and never reaches the page.
What to do instead
After each piece of evidence, write an explicit 'because' or 'this shows that' sentence connecting the evidence to the thesis. If you cannot complete that sentence, the evidence does not belong.
Producing an essay with no discernible structure: ideas introduced in the order they occur to the writer, transitions missing, and the conclusion introducing a brand-new argument.
Students draft by free-association and skip outlining to save time, then run out of minutes before they can reorganize.
What to do instead
Spend 5-8 minutes planning a skeleton (thesis, 2-3 body claims, evidence per claim, conclusion point) before writing. Open each paragraph with a topic sentence tied to the thesis and end the conclusion by reinforcing the thesis, not adding new claims.
Writing paragraphs that are single sentences long, or one giant block covering two or three separate ideas.
Writers don't have a working definition of a paragraph and let sentence boundaries dictate structure rather than idea boundaries.
What to do instead
Enforce one controlling idea per paragraph: a topic sentence, supporting evidence, explanation, and a closing link. If a paragraph covers two ideas, split it; if it is one sentence, it is probably a claim that needs support.
Using transitions mechanically or incorrectly ('Firstly... Secondly... In conclusion' regardless of the logical relationship), or omitting them so the argument jumps between unrelated points.
Students memorize transition lists without matching them to the relationship (contrast, cause, concession) and treat them as decoration.
What to do instead
Choose transitions by asking what the next sentence does relative to the last: does it contrast, give a reason, or give an example? Use 'however' only for genuine contrast, 'therefore' only for genuine consequence, and vary phrasing rather than repeating a template.
Committing sentence-boundary errors under time pressure: comma splices, run-ons, and fragments, especially in long sentences where the writer loses track of the main clause.
Writers compose complex sentences orally and punctuate by feel; the pressure to keep moving prevents re-reading for a subject and finite verb in each clause.
What to do instead
Reserve 3-5 minutes to proofread specifically for boundaries: for each long sentence, locate the main subject and verb and confirm each clause is joined by a conjunction, semicolon, or period. When unsure, split the sentence.
Shifting pronoun person and verb tense mid-essay ('one should... you can... we must'), or mismatching subjects and verbs in complex sentences.
Conversational drafting habits leak in, and revisions add sentences in a different voice without reconciling them with earlier ones.
What to do instead
Pick a consistent stance (usually third person, present tense for argument) during planning and check the first sentence of each paragraph against it. During proofreading, circle every pronoun and confirm its antecedent and person.
Running out of time with an unfinished essay, or spending so long planning and polishing the opening that the conclusion is one rushed sentence or missing.
Students over-invest in the introduction, underestimate how long drafting takes, and have no time budget; an incomplete essay is penalized across every domain.
What to do instead
Set a fixed budget (e.g., 8 minutes planning, 25 drafting, 7 revising) and write the conclusion even if it is brief. If time runs short, finish the current paragraph and write a short conclusion rather than perfecting earlier prose.