<p>I am really aiming for a 12 on the essay on Saturday so can everyone who got 12's please give me as much advice is possibly.</p>
<p>I got a 9 or 10 last time around, can't remember. But that was without caring.</p>
<p>THANKS</p>
<p>don't write "give me as much advice is possibly"</p>
<p>Thats my main idea. </p>
<p>Answer the prompt, be focussed, organized, and go somewhere with what you are trying to say. Also, just be a good writer. (thats hard to learn overnight if you haven't already.</p>
<p>Quite a statement of haughtiness. It is obviously a typo.</p>
<p>use concrete examples from history or literature</p>
<p>As everyone has already said in a million other threads, length matters. Fill up both pages.</p>
<p>Make sure your introduction sounds good: first impressions count. </p>
<p>Vary your sentence lengths. Use some short, some long sentences.</p>
<p>also don't write too much about the things. My second paragraph was like most of the essay. That was bad. Also for examples use this acronym to help you, HELP Someone said that this was useful. </p>
<p>Historical
Experience
Literature
Personal</p>
<p>From what I gleaned from reading samples, using a descriptive experience from your own life, or using something from literature is a good idea. Also, using SAT level words is a good idea.</p>
<p>I didn't focus as much about filling up both pages, because for one, I was concerned about my handwriting, and two, I was concerned about what I was actually writing. I would rather right a page and a half that's really good than two pages that's mediocre.</p>
<p>I can't really judge how long what I wrote was comparatively because I also wrote rather small.</p>
<p>I would advise against personal experiences, because then how it comes out in your mind is more descriptive than what your grader reads, resulting in a lower score.</p>
<p>Again,fill up BOTH pages.</p>
<p>My advice that nobody else likes is: use 2 strong examples only. This way you won't feel as rushed and will avoid careless errors. Not to mention you won't have to include a third example which usually detracts a bit from the quality of your essay.</p>
<p>Put an attention-getter in the first paragraph and give your thesis statement in ONE sentence preferably at the end of the first paragraph.</p>
<p>The difference between getting a 5 and a 6 from a reader is usually transitioning well between sentences. Read some professional writing and/or literature to see how people change subjects. Find a list of transition words and study them.</p>
<p>Don't force highly unrelated vocab words in your essay. Don't be afraid to stick in vocab words in either. Don't stress too much about this though. Write your essay, then come back and think "hmm..where would some good vocab fit in well?".</p>
<p>I got an 11 BTW with an essay that was about 1.6 pages long.</p>
<p>I don't know. When I read my own writing, I usually hate it. I just reread my May SAT essay and think it's pretty subpar, but it got an 11. I used allusions to advancements in agricultural and astrophysical sciences to demonstrate how knowledge can be a detriment rather than a benefit.</p>
<p>I still think I have a long way to go, but according to the graders, I did pretty well. It's hard to gauge how well you can write and it's even harder to improve your own writing. Best of luck I suppose.</p>
<p>I used a "proper" essay format with a strong thesis and several supporting body paragraphs as well as a strong conclusion. I also alluded to works of literature and of course, filled up both pages. Just write for the whole time, you will need all of it. Good luck.</p>
<p>if you used only examples from personal experience, how much would you be counted off, or will you be counted off?</p>
<p>Well, I looked at the college board site, and one of the examples of a 6 was entirely relating to one personal experience. So, depending on your logic and how well you write, you could very well get a 12 with a personal response essay.</p>