Sometimes writing—especially writing for standardized tests—can feel like something you "get" or "don't get." That's primarily because it's very difficult to explain and teach writing in a mechanical way, especially when you're up against time limits.

In this article, we've broken how to write the ACT essay into eight steps that work for every essay, every time. Then, we show you exactly how to do it with an actual ACT essay example.

The ACT is a standardized test that requires endurance. You're asked to answer 215 multiple-choice questions subject area by subject area—a style of testing that causes fatigue for many students. The normal four-section (English, Math, Reading, Science) ACT is already lengthy, but how much longer does it get when you add on the Writing test?

In this article, you'll find out just how long the ACT with Writing is, along with some actions you can take to deal with its monstrous length.

If you took the ACT with Writing in September, October, or December of 2015, you may have been taken by surprise by the change in the essay prompt (compared to previous ACT Writing tests). And when you got your scores back...well, you may have been even more confused.

While the change in the ACT essay format was announced ahead of time, the full explanation of how the Writing scores would be normalized was not made clear until after the first administration of the new ACT Writing test. Because of this, ACT, Inc. faced a bit of controversy about the scoring of the new Writing test. Now they've returned to a 12-point scoring scale, with a more transparent calculation system. Read on to learn what all this means for you.

Did you know that the ACT Writing Test changed dramatically in Fall 2015? You might not, because people haven't talked about it much, but it changed the ACT and possibly standardized testing in general. It's scored based on all of the old ACT's criteria, but also on a number of new concepts.

We've written the most comprehensive guide available on the new ACT Writing section. Keep reading to find out how you can prepare for and ace this new test.