以往的ACT寫作測試請求門生在30分鐘內就一個prompt寫一篇論說文。舉個例子， 以往的ACT會像下面如許出一個prompt讓考生作答：
Some high schools are structured like colleges in that each student chooses a focus of study as a freshman or sophomore. Students may choose business, fine arts, medicine, communication, or a host of other topics of study and then receive a specialized diploma reflecting the discipline they have studied. Some educators, parents, and students feel that having a focused area of study gives students an edge over students in a traditional high school setting because students aren’t wasting their time studying information they will not use in their future careers. Others suggest that freshman and sophomores are too young to know which discipline they would like to pursue for the rest of their lives. Some people are also concerned that a narrow academic focus does not make for a well-rounded citizen. In your opinion, should schools offer specialized diplomas based on one focused area of study?
很顯著，以上這個ACT寫作測試prompt給到考生的寫作指導很少。這個prompt只是設置了一個話題，考生或多或少可以說是能寫任何他們想寫的，只要他們的寫的內容扣題而且援用了明白的證據和例子。如許，ACT的寫作測試就缺乏了對文本剖析的考核，而門生的文本剖析才能是大學進修中主要的一環，這就致使了許多黌舍以為ACT寫作成就的參考代價很小。為了辦理這一題目，ACT對其寫作測試做了轉變，以此來更好地立室美國高校招生官們評估申請時所須要權衡的尺度。
讓咱們來看下新ACT 寫作測試的變更吧，如下題為例：
Intelligent Machines
Many of the goods and services we depend on daily are now supplied by intelligent, automated machines rather than human beings. Robots build cars and other goods on assembly lines, where once there were human workers. Many of our phone conversations are now conducted not with people but with sophisticated technologies. We can now buy goods at a variety of stores without the help of a human cashier. Automation is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what is lost when we replace humans with machines? Given the accelerating variety and prevalence of intelligence machines, it is worth examining the implications and meanings of their presence in our lives.
Read carefully and consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about the increasing presence of intelligent machines.
Perspective One: What we lose with the replacement of people by machines is some part of our own humanity. Even our mundane daily encounters no longer require from us basic courtesy, respect, and tolerance for other people.
Perspective Two: Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone.
Perspective Three: Intelligent machines challenge our long-standing ideas about what humans are or can be. This is good because it pushes both humans and machines toward new, unimagined possibilities.
Essay Task
Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the increase presence of intelligent machines. 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.
新的ACT寫作測試請求門生在40分鐘裏完成三個義務：
依據給出的各概念舉行剖析和評價
陳說和睜開本身就這個話題的概念
說明本身的概念和prompt裏給出的概念間的接洽
新的ACT寫作測試經由過程讓考生完成以上三個義務來考核他們的文本剖析才能、引證才能和其他大學進修的必須技巧。如許的話，也便是象征著考生將再也不可以或許僅依據本身想到的論點來睜開寫作，而是必需應用prompt中給出的資料加以剖析以作答，然後再表達本身的概念。
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