Is the ACT Curved Expert Guide to the ACT Curve

Is the ACT Curved Expert Guide to the ACT Curve SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Whether you've already taken the ACT or are busy preparing for it now,you've likelywondered at some point: isthe ACT curved? Does a 32 on one ACTequal a 32 on another? In this article, we’ll investigate the rumor of the ACT curve andexplain what it really means. Then we'll examine the function of this curve as well as how it's changedover time, before finally explaining what the ACT curve means for test takersand how you can use it to your advantage. Is the ACT Curved? Contrary to popular belief, there is no ACT curve. This means that how well other test takersdo on the ACT willnot affect your ACT score. Even if everyone who took the ACT on a particulartest date were to receive lowscores, none of these scores would be raised or redistributed to establish a more balanced ACT bell curve. In short,your ACT score will always be the exact score you earn on the test- itwill never increase nor decrease as a result ofother test takers' performances. So how does ACT scoring actually work, then? The test's creators,ACT, Inc.,account for variations in difficulty across test dates througha special processcalled equating. This process ensures that scale ACT scores from different administrations of the test always indicate the same level of ability, regardless of when or with whom you take the ACT. Here's howACT, Inc., describesequating: â€Å"Statistical processes, referred to as ‘equating,’ are used to ensure that scores from the same test (e.g., ACT math, ACT English) are comparable across administrations and students, so there is no advantage in taking a test in one administration (e.g., October 2015) over another administration* (e.g., May 2013).† *Emphasis mine. Basically,there's no such thing as an easier or harder ACT test date. ACTs are equated so that your chance of getting a certain scale score is the same for all administrations. This means thata Math score of 28 on one ACT will always equal a Math score of 28 on anotherACT, even if one test contains hardermath questions. So despite what the rumors may claim, there is no "best" time to take the ACTbecause when and with whom you take the ACTis ultimately irrelevant. In truth, neither factoraffectsyour chance of hitting your ACT goal scoreon test day! Even if you were surrounded by Albert Einsteins, their ACT scores still wouldn't affect yours! How Does the ACT â€Å"Curve† Work? Before we delve into the ACT curve,let's take a moment to review the ACT scoring system. The ACT comprises four subject areas: English, Math, Reading, and Science. (There is also a fifth optional Writing section.) Each of the four major sections is assigned a scale score on a scale of 1-36. These four scale scores are then averaged together to give you a composite ACT score out of 36. (This composite score does not include the ACT Writing score.) So how does ACT, Inc.,calculate these scale scores? For each section, you’ll begin with a raw score, which isequivalent to the number of questions you answered correctly. (Note that there are no penalties for incorrect or blank answers.) So ifyou answered 60 out of 75 questions correctly on the English section, your raw English score would be 60. Afterward, each raw score is then converted into a scale score out of 36. But here’s the kicker: how a raw score converts into a scale score varies with each administration of the ACT. This is because each ACT differs slightly in content and difficulty; thus, each test must use a unique equating formula to determinehow its raw scores will translate into scale scores. Unfortunately, this means there's no way for us to know for sure how a raw score will convert into a scale score on an upcoming ACT. That being said, we canestimatehow raw scores may convert into scale scores using score conversion charts fromofficial ACT practice tests. All of these practice tests are based on former ACTs that were actually administered, so the equating processes they employ are guaranteed to be most similar to those used for upcoming administrations. Below are the scoring tables for the2014-15and2016-17ACT practice tests. These tables will show us how raw scores vary in the scale scores into which they convert. 2014-15 ACT Score Conversion Table Scale Score Raw Scores Scale Score English Math Reading Science 36 75 59-60 40 40 36 35 73-74 57-58 39 39 35 34 71-72 55-56 38 38 34 33 70 54 - 37 33 32 69 53 37 - 32 31 68 52 36 36 31 30 67 50-51 35 35 30 29 66 49 34 34 29 28 64-65 47-48 33 33 28 27 62-63 45-46 32 31-32 27 26 60-61 43-44 31 30 26 25 58-59 41-42 30 28-29 25 24 56-57 38-40 29 26-27 24 23 53-55 36-37 27-28 24-25 23 22 51-52 34-35 26 23 22 21 48-50 33 25 21-22 21 20 45-47 31-32 23-24 19-20 20 19 42-44 29-30 22 17-18 19 18 40-41 27-28 20-21 16 18 17 38-39 24-26 19 14-15 17 16 35-37 19-23 18 13 16 15 33-34 15-18 16-17 12 15 14 30-32 12-14 14-15 11 14 13 29 10-11 13 10 13 12 27-28 8-9 11-12 9 12 11 25-26 6-7 9-10 8 11 10 23-24 5 8 7 10 9 20-22 4 7 6 9 8 17-19 - 6 5 8 7 14-16 3 5 4 7 6 11-13 - 4 3 6 5 9-10 2 3 - 5 4 6-8 - - 2 4 3 5 1 2 1 3 2 3-4 - 1 - 2 1 0-2 0 0 0 1 Now how did THIS table get in here? 2016-17 ACT Score Conversion Table Scale Score Raw Scores Scale Score English Math Reading Science 36 75 60 40 40 36 35 72-74 58-59 39 39 35 34 71 57 38 38 34 33 70 55-56 37 37 33 32 68-69 54 35-36 - 32 31 67 52-53 34 36 31 30 66 50-51 33 35 30 29 65 48-49 32 34 29 28 63-64 45-47 31 33 28 27 62 43-44 30 32 27 26 60-61 40-42 29 30-31 26 25 58-59 38-39 28 28-29 25 24 56-57 36-37 27 26-27 24 23 53-55 34-35 25-26 24-25 23 22 51-52 32-33 24 22-23 22 21 48-50 30-31 22-23 21 21 20 45-47 29 21 19-20 20 19 43-44 27-28 19-20 17-18 19 18 41-42 24-26 18 16 18 17 39-40 21-23 17 14-15 17 16 36-38 17-20 15-16 13 16 15 32-35 13-16 14 12 15 14 29-31 11-12 12-13 11 14 13 27-28 8-10 11 10 13 12 25-26 7 9-10 9 12 11 23-24 5-6 8 8 11 10 20-22 4 6-7 7 10 9 18-19 - - 5-6 9 8 15-17 3 5 - 8 7 12-14 - 4 4 7 6 10-11 2 3 3 6 5 8-9 - - 2 5 4 6-7 1 2 - 4 3 4-5 - - 1 3 2 2-3 - 1 - 2 1 0-1 0 0 0 1 Based onthe charts above, we can see that there are several variations inscore conversions. To get a scale score of 20 on Math, you’d need to answer at least 31 questions correctly on the 2014-15 test but only 29 on the 2016-17 test. This difference hintsthat the Math on the 2014-15 testisof a slightly easier difficulty than that on the 2016-17 test. Why? Becauseyou'd need to score more raw points on the 2014-15 Math section to get the same scale score on the 2016-17 Math section. We can also see that if you were to get a raw Readingscore of 28on the 2014-15 test, you’d get a scale score of 23. Buton the 2016-17 test, this same raw score would net you a noticeably higher score of 25. Once again, this relationship indicates that the 2014-15Reading section is slightly easier than the2016-17 Reading section. So what do these findings ultimatelymean for us? First off, score conversions for the ACT don't seem to vary significantly. On these two tests, most differences are fairly nominal - around two or three points at most - indicating that there likely won't beany giant discrepancies in raw score conversionsfor upcoming ACTs. Perhaps more importantly, though, we seethatyou can never knowexactly how many questions you'll need to answer correctly to geta certain scale score on the ACT. All you can do is estimate the number of correct answers you'll need using patterns in conversions for previous tests. Now, try estimating the number of books in this insanely cool book spiral. Has the ACT Curve Changed Over Time? We know that eachACT uses a different equating formula to convert raw scores into scale scores. But hasthis pattern in conversions changedover time? To answer this question, we’re going to look at the oldest and newest ACT practice tests currently available online: the 2005-06 test and the 2016-17 test. (Remember, these practice tests are based on real ACTs, so their score conversion tables should give us a general sense of how the ACT curve haschanged, if at all, over the years.) 2005-06 and 2016-17 ACT Score Conversions Scale Score Raw Scores (2005-06) Raw Scores (2016-17) Scale Score Eng Math Read Sci Eng Math Read Sci 36 75 60 40 40 75 60 40 40 36 35 74 59 39 - 72-74 58-59 39 39 35 34 73 58 38 39 71 57 38 38 34 33 72 57 - - 70 55-56 37 37 33 32 71 55-56 37 38 68-69 54 35-36 - 32 31 70 54 36 - 67 52-53 34 36 31 30 68-69 52-53 35 37 66 50-51 33 35 30 29 67 50-51 34 36 65 48-49 32 34 29 28 65-66 48-49 32-33 35 63-64 45-47 31 33 28 27 63-64 45-47 31 34 62 43-44 30 32 27 26 61-62 43-44 30 33 60-61 40-42 29 30-31 26 25 58-60 41-42 28-29 31-32 58-59 38-39 28 28-29 25 24 56-57 38-40 27 30 56-57 36-37 27 26-27 24 23 54-55 36-37 25-26 28-29 53-55 34-35 25-26 24-25 23 22 52-53 34-35 24 27 51-52 32-33 24 22-23 22 21 49-51 32-33 23 25-26 48-50 30-31 22-23 21 21 20 46-48 30-31 21-22 23-24 45-47 29 21 19-20 20 19 43-45 28-29 20 21-22 43-44 27-28 19-20 17-18 19 18 40-42 25-27 19 19-20 41-42 24-26 18 16 18 17 38-39 21-24 18 17-18 39-40 21-23 17 14-15 17 16 36-37 18-20 17 15-16 36-38 17-20 15-16 13 16 15 33-35 15-17 15-16 14 32-35 13-16 14 12 15 14 30-32 12-14 14 13 29-31 11-12 12-13 11 14 13 28-29 9-11 12-13 11-12 27-28 8-10 11 10 13 12 26-27 7-8 10-11 10 25-26 7 9-10 9 12 11 24-25 6 8-9 9 23-24 5-6 8 8 11 10 21-23 5 7 7-8 20-22 4 6-7 7 10 9 18-20 4 6 6 18-19 - - 5-6 9 8 15-17 3 5 5 15-17 3 5 - 8 7 12-14 - 4 4 12-14 - 4 4 7 6 10-11 2 - 3 10-11 2 3 3 6 5 8-9 - 3 2 8-9 - - 2 5 4 6-7 1 2 - 6-7 1 2 - 4 3 4-5 - - 1 4-5 - - 1 3 2 2-3 - 1 - 2-3 - 1 - 2 1 0-1 0 0 0 0-1 0 0 0 1 Glancing at each section, you can probably already see that there are some key differences in how raw scores convert into scale scores. On the Science section, missing three questions gives you a scale score of 33 on the 2016-17 test but only a 30 on the 2005-06 test. This trend applies to the other scores in Science, too:you’d generally have to score more raw points in Science on the 2005-06 test to get the same scale scores in Science on the 2016-17 test. Thus,we can infer thatthe2005-06 Science questions were slightly easier than the 2016-17 Science questions. But do the other sections follow similar patterns? Yep!On Reading, a raw score of 35 translates to a scale score of 32 on the 2016-17 test but only a 30 on the 2005-06 test. Once again, this points to a slight difference in difficulty, with the 2005-06 Reading section being a little easier than the 2016-17 section. Likewise, on Math and English, the 2016-17 test tends to require fewer raw points to get certain scale scores than the 2005-06 test. Even withthe presence of these patterns, however, most differences in score conversions for the two tests are minimal.In fact, the vast majority of raw scores convert intoscale scores only one to two points lower or higher. So despite the fact there are clearly differencesin the equating formulasfor the two tests, we can conclude that the number of questions you must answer correctly to get certain scale scores on the ACT has remained relatively consistent throughout the years. Additionally,by taking into account the consistency of ACT percentiles, we seethat the overall difficulty of the ACT hasn’t experienced any drastic shifts, either, further supporting our conclusion. The number of sprinkles on these cookies is definitely NOT consistent. What Does the ACT Curve Mean for YOU? As I've mentioned before, theACT curve is extraordinarily useful for estimating the number of correct answers you'll need to get the scale score you want on test day. Before you start prepping for the ACT, find your target score. Then, use official ACT score conversion charts from practice tests to estimate the number of questions you'll need to get rightin order to reach your target scores for the English, Math, Reading, and Science sections. Just remember the caveat: noscore conversion chart will apply exactly to your upcoming ACT administration, as each of these charts showcasesthe equating process forone specific test.But by usingseveral charts together, you can give yourself a fairly accuraterange of raw-score-to-scale-score conversions. Additionally, it's important you understandthe following key pointsabout the ACT curve: When you take the ACT does not affectyour scale score.The equating process ensures that test takers on one test date will not have an advantage over test takers on a different test date, and this goes for state-sponsored administrations, as well. So don't believe the rumors - there's no easier or harder test date! (This is why raw scoresconvert differently intoscale scores!) Who takes the ACT does not affect your scale score.Scale scores are not like ACT percentilesin thatthey're not determined by how well other test takers perform. So, really, it doesn’t matter at all who you take the test with. Even if you were to take the ACT with all certified geniuses, their scores still wouldn't affect yours in the slightest! You can'tuse the ACT curve to game the system.Because you'llnever know beforehand how a specific ACTwill convert raw scores into scale scores, youcan't everguarantee yourself a higher score by taking the ACT on a certain date or with a specific group of people. Absolutely none of these factors affects the ACT curve, and anyone who claims otherwise is wrong! Unfortunately, you can't Houdini your way to a high ACT score. Recap: Is the ACT Curved? Despite what's often rumored, there is no ACT curve - at least not a traditional one. The ACT accounts for differences in difficulty among various administrations of the exam through a complex equating process. But because we don't know what the exact equating formula is for each test, we'll never be able to predict with certainty how raw scores on an upcoming ACT will convert into scale scores. Nevertheless, you can use score conversion tables from official ACT practice tests to estimate the number of correct answers you’ll need to reach your goal scores on test day. All official practice tests are based on past ACTs and thusoffer a realistic glimpse intohow raw scores typically convert into scale scores. Overall, the essential facts to remember about the ACT curve are the following: The ACT curve is actually an equating process that accounts for variances in difficulty among different test dates. Therefore,it doesn’t matter when or with whom you take thetest. The ACT curve has remained relatively stable over time, meaning the number of correct answers you need to get certain scale scores varies only minimallywith each test. You can't use the ACT curve to cheat the systemor secure yourself a higher ACT score, so don’t even bother trying! What’s Next? Want to learn more about ACT scoring?Get the rundown onhow the ACT is scoredand check out our guide for detailed tips on what the ACT score range means for you. Need ACT tips and resources?We've got a huge selection here at PrepScholar, whether you're looking for the best ACT prep books or our expert strategies for getting a perfect 36. What about the SAT? Does it have a curve, too? Hop on over tomy in-depth analysis of theSAT curve (coming soon) tolearn more about the SAT equating processand how raw SAT scores convert into scaled scores. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

The Writing Process

The Writing Process The Writing Process The Writing Process By Ali Hale Whether you know it or not, there’s a process to writing – which many writers follow naturally. If you’re just getting started as a writer, though, or if you always find it a struggle to produce an essay, short story or blog, following the writing process will help. I’m going to explain what each stage of the writing process involves, and I’ll offer some tips for each section that will help out if you’re still feeling stuck! 1. Prewriting Have you ever sat staring at a blank piece of paper or a blank document on your computer screen? You might have skipped the vital first stage of the writing process: prewriting. This covers everything you do before starting your rough draft. As a minimum, prewriting means coming up with an idea! Ideas and Inspiration Ideas are all around you. If you want to write but you don’t have any ideas, try: Using a writing prompt to get you started. Writing about incidents from your daily life, or childhood. Keeping a notebook of ideas – jotting down those thoughts that occur throughout the day. Creating a vivid character, and then writing about him/her. See also How to Generate Hundreds of Writing Ideas. Tip: Once you have an idea, you need to expand on it. Don’t make the mistake of jumping straight into your writing – you’ll end up with a badly structured piece. Building on Your Idea These are a couple of popular methods you can use to add flesh to the bones of your idea: Free writing: Open a new document or start a new page, and write everything that comes into your head about your chosen topic. Don’t stop to edit, even if you make mistakes. Brainstorming: Write the idea or topic in the center of your page. Jot down ideas that arise from it – sub-topics or directions you could take with the article. Once you’ve done one or both of these, you need to select what’s going into your first draft. Planning and Structure Some pieces of writing will require more planning than others. Typically, longer pieces and academic papers need a lot of thought at this stage. First, decide which ideas you’ll use. During your free writing and brainstorming, you’ll have come up with lots of thoughts. Some belong in this piece of writing: others can be kept for another time. Then, decide how to order those ideas. Try to have a logical progression. Sometimes, your topic will make this easy: in this article, for instance, it made sense to take each step of the writing process in order. For a short story, try the eight-point story arc. 2. Writing Sit down with your plan beside you, and start your first draft (also known as the rough draft or rough copy). At this stage, don’t think about word-count, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Don’t worry if you’ve gone off-topic, or if some sections of your plan don’t fit too well. Just keep writing! If you’re a new writer, you might be surprised that professional authors go through multiple drafts before they’re happy with their work. This is a normal part of the writing process – no-one gets it right first time. Some things that many writers find helpful when working on the first draft include: Setting aside at least thirty minutes to concentrate: it’s hard to establish a writing flow if you’re just snatching a few minutes here and there. Going somewhere without interruptions: a library or coffee shop can work well, if you don’t have anywhere quiet to write at home. Switching off distracting programs: if you write your first draft onto a computer, you might find that turning off your Internet connection does wonders for your concentration levels! When I’m writing fiction, I like to use the free program Dark Room (you can find more about it on our collection of writing software). You might write several drafts, especially if you’re working on fiction. Your subsequent drafts will probably merge elements of the writing stage and the revising stage. Tip: Writing requires concentration and energy. If you’re a new writer, don’t try to write for hours without stopping. Instead, give yourself a time limit (like thirty minutes) to really focus – without checking your email! 3. Revising Revising your work is about making â€Å"big picture† changes. You might remove whole sections, rewrite entire paragraphs, and add in information which you’ve realized the reader will need. Everyone needs to revise – even talented writers. The revision stage is sometimes summed up with the A.R.R.R. (Adding, Rearranging, Removing, Replacing) approach: Adding What else does the reader need to know? If you haven’t met the required word-count, what areas could you expand on? This is a good point to go back to your prewriting notes – look for ideas which you didn’t use. Rearranging Even when you’ve planned your piece, sections may need rearranging. Perhaps as you wrote your essay, you found that the argument would flow better if you reordered your paragraphs. Maybe you’ve written a short story that drags in the middle but packs in too much at the end. Removing Sometimes, one of your ideas doesn’t work out. Perhaps you’ve gone over the word count, and you need to take out a few paragraphs. Maybe that funny story doesn’t really fit with the rest of your article. Replacing Would more vivid details help bring your piece to life? Do you need to look for stronger examples and quotations to support your argument? If a particular paragraph isn’t working, try rewriting it. Tip: If you’re not sure what’s working and what isn’t, show your writing to someone else. This might be a writers’ circle, or just a friend who’s good with words. Ask them for feedback. It’s best if you can show your work to several people, so that you can get more than one opinion. 4. Editing The editing stage is distinct from revision, and needs to be done after revising. Editing involves the close-up view of individual sentences and words. It needs to be done after you’ve made revisions on a big scale: or else you could agonize over a perfect sentence, only to end up cutting that whole paragraph from your piece. When editing, go through your piece line by line, and make sure that each sentence, phrase and word is as strong as possible. Some things to check for are: Have you used the same word too many times in one sentence or paragraph? Use a thesaurus to find alternatives. Are any of your sentences hard to understand? Rewrite them to make your thoughts clear. Which words could you cut to make a sentence stronger? Words like â€Å"just† â€Å"quite†, â€Å"very†, â€Å"really† and â€Å"generally† can often be removed. Are your sentences grammatically correct? Keep a careful look out for problems like subject-verb agreement and staying consistent in your use of the past, present or future tense. Is everything spelt correctly? Don’t trust your spell-checker – it won’t pick up every mistake. Proofread as many times as necessary. Have you used punctuation marks correctly? Commas often cause difficulties. You might want to check out the Daily Writing Tips articles on punctuation. Tip: Print out your work and edit on paper. Many writers find it easier to spot mistakes this way. 5. Publishing The final step of the writing process is publishing. This means different things depending on the piece you’re working on. Bloggers need to upload, format and post their piece of completed work. Students need to produce a final copy of their work, in the correct format. This often means adding a bibliography, ensuring that citations are correct, and adding details such as your student reference number. Journalists need to submit their piece (usually called â€Å"copy†) to an editor. Again, there will be a certain format for this. Fiction writers may be sending their story to a magazine or competition. Check guidelines carefully, and make sure you follow them. If you’ve written a novel, look for an agent who represents your genre. (There are books like Writer’s Market, published each year, which can help you with this.) Tip: Your piece of writing might never be published. That’s okay – many bestselling authors wrote lots of stories or articles before they got their first piece published. Nothing that you write is wasted, because it all contributes to your growth as a writer. Conclusion The five stages of the writing process are a framework for writing well and easily. You might want to bookmark this post so that you can come back to it each time you start on a new article, blog post, essay or story: use it as a checklist to help you. If you have any tips about the writing process, or if you want to share your experiences, tell us in the comments! Check Out Other Articles from The Writing 101 Series: The Writing Process Creative Writing 101 Story Writing 101 Letter Writing 101 Business Writing 101 Freelance Writing 101 Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Words for Facial Expressions26 Feel-Good WordsHow Do You Pronounce "Mozart"?