ACT Writing Prompt

Client

Shmoop

Description

Concepted and created a practice ACT writing prompt about natural resource conservation and government regulation. Contextualized the issue with multiple perspectives. Adhered to the academic (read: boring) tone and style of standardized tests.

ACT Writing Practice

Prompt (125-150 words)

Natural Resource Conservation
The population of the world is continually growing, but the natural resources available to us are not. Conservation—responsible management and preservation of the environment, food supplies, and energy resources—involves governmental and regulatory agencies to some extent. Rebates are awarded for buying energy efficient appliances and low emissions vehicles, restrictions are placed on water usage and land development, and resources are invested in renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydroelectric power. However, is this truly enough to lessen the effects of our expanding global footprint? What are the implications of moving toward additional government regulation for the sake of natural resource sustainability? Given the increasing population and the finite nature of the Earth’s resources, it is worth examining the relationship between government regulation and environmental conservation in our lives.

Is it time to consider moving toward more governmentally mandated conservation efforts for the sake of global resource sustainability? Given the increasing population and the finite nature of the Earth’s resources, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of environmental conservation in our lives.

Three Perspectives (50 words each)

Perspective One
People have a moral obligation to care for the environment and its resources and are already making significant strides in terms of responsible management and preservation. Government mandated resource conservation is an unnecessary intrusion into a growing field and is a restriction of personal choice and freedom.

Perspective Two
Offering additional rebates and governmental aid is an efficient way to incentivize greater involvement in natural resource conservation. However, enforcing fines and penalties for non- compliance leads to greater disparities amongst socio-economic classes. Effective governmental conservation efforts reward rather than punish people.

Perspective Three
The best way to a make large-scale, positive environmental impact is to have everybody on the same page with regard to conservation. An increase in efforts driven by the government will initiate more change with a greater proportion of the population and will ultimately provide a better chance for global sustainability.

Essay Task

Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on natural resource conservation. In your essay, be sure to:

analyze and evaluate the perspectives given
state and develop your own perspective on the issue
explain the relationship between your perspective and those given

Your perspective may be in full agreement with any of the others, in partial agreement, or wholly different. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed, persuasive examples.

Planning Guide

Planning Your Essay
Your work on these prewriting pages will not be scored.

Use the space below and on the back cover to generate ideas and plan your essay. You may wish to consider the following as you think critically about the task:

Strengths and weaknesses of the three given perspectives