Back to: ACT English
This category of the ACT English addresses the big-picture decisions we make as we craft a piece of writing. For example, when writing an essay, we need to select a topic; determine whether our purpose is to inform, entertain, persuade, or something else; formulate a main idea, thesis, or argument; consider who our audience is and how best to communicate with them; and establish an effective organizational structure for the essay. In your English classes, you might have heard these referred to as the rhetorical context or rhetorical situation. The ACT assesses the extent to which you can identify how a writer’s rhetorical choices affect their writing.
The following sections focus on the two primary aspects of the production of writing that the ACT English has identified: topic development and organization, unity, and cohesion.