Most students struggle to plan their essay effectively within the 40-minute window while still leaving time to write and review. Many rush into writing without outlining, which leads to disorganized arguments and lower scores. Tutors work with you to develop a realistic pacing strategy—typically 5 minutes to read and plan, 30 minutes to write, and 5 minutes to proofread—so you can produce a coherent, well-supported essay under pressure.

Your first session focuses on understanding where you stand. You'll likely take a practice ACT Writing prompt under timed conditions, and your tutor will review it to identify patterns in your writing—areas like thesis clarity, evidence use, grammar, and organization. From there, you'll develop a personalized study plan that prioritizes your biggest opportunities for improvement and establishes a timeline based on your test date.

Yes. The ACT Writing rubric rewards clear arguments supported by specific evidence, so tutors teach you to structure essays around a strong thesis and use concrete examples rather than vague generalizations. Other high-impact strategies include reading the prompt multiple times to catch nuance, using transition words to guide readers through your logic, and leaving time to catch grammar and spelling errors. Practice with real ACT prompts under timed conditions is essential—it builds both skill and confidence.

Most students benefit from completing 4-6 full practice ACT Writing sections under timed conditions, spaced out over several weeks. This gives you enough repetition to internalize strategies and identify patterns in your mistakes, without overwhelming yourself. Your tutor can recommend a study schedule based on how much time you have before your test date and can review each practice essay to help you track improvement and adjust your approach.

The biggest mistakes are weak thesis statements that don't clearly answer the prompt, supporting paragraphs that lack specific evidence, and essays that run out of time before finishing. Students also often struggle with grammar mechanics under pressure and miss the nuance in prompts that ask them to evaluate multiple perspectives. A tutor helps you slow down enough to catch these patterns and build habits that prevent them—like underlining key words in the prompt and outlining before you write.

Look for someone with strong ACT expertise who understands the specific rubric and scoring criteria—not just general writing instruction. Ideally, they've helped multiple students improve their Writing scores and can teach you both the strategic and mechanical skills the test rewards. For students in Albuquerque, Varsity Tutors connects you with tutors who have proven track records on the ACT and can adapt their teaching to your learning style and timeline.

Test anxiety often stems from feeling unprepared or uncertain about what to do under time pressure. The best antidote is practice—the more you write practice essays under timed conditions, the more automatic the process becomes, which reduces anxiety significantly. Your tutor can also teach you breathing techniques and mental strategies to use during the test, and help you reframe nervousness as energy that helps you focus rather than something that derails you.