When registering, students are allowed to choose whether they would like to take the ACT with the essay portion or without. We believe that students should always register for the essay portion. If you apply to a school that requires an essay but you haven’t done an essay, then you will have to retake the WHOLE ACT, not just the essay portion. Similarly, ACT will not “super score” the essay, meaning that each time you retake the ACT you will also need to take the essay portion in order to have a score for it.
Click here to read what act.org has to say about the essay.