<p>Recently when I've been writing my essays I've been using 3 examples and I've found myself a little rushed and short on time whereas with 2 examples my examples are more detailed and I'm always able to finish with a good strong conclusion.</p>
<p>How many do you guys usually use? Is 2 acceptable if you're tying to get an 11 or 12?</p>
<p>I highly, highly recommend using two examples. After reading hundreds of SAT essays, I would say that 95% of the time, essays with three examples could have cut one out. This is even more true if you find yourself feeling rushed. Depth > breadth, quality > quantity, etc. In most cases, the third example will not help your score unless it brings a significantly new/interesting perspective (ie counterexample) to the issue. 2 examples is perfectly acceptable for a 11 or 12 as long as other aspects of your essay are strong.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>Richard</p>
<p>If you're only using two examples, though, should they both be historical/literary? I mean, should you definitely not have a personal anecdote then?</p>
<p>Personal examples are usually considered weaker. Details are too easily made up, and they don't demonstrate any kind of worldly knowledge. I wouldn't say you should definitely not have a personal anecdote, but you should only include one if it's very strong.</p>
<p>i usually use 3, either literature or historical. but it's true that 2 very well developed paragraphs are better than 3 average ones.</p>
<p>So if I'm using 2 can I go with 2 historical or does 1 have to be literature?</p>