A Guide to the SAT Essay
Introduction
Since the redesign of 2005, the ETS (Educational Testing Service) has administered the SAT with a writing section, worth 800 points, in addition to the old Verbal and Mathematics section. Combined, the Critical Reading, Math, and Writing sum to a new score of 2400. Many universities–for instance, Cornell and Georgetown–do not consider the writing portion and admit based on the 1600 point scale. In Spring 2016, the SAT will be revamped once again. Nonetheless, test takers must scramble through the essay at the very beginning of the test day, around 8:30 in the morning.
Prep Time
The first SAT essay you ever try should be untimed. Take your time to read the prompt carefully and come up with examples that don’t seem immediately obvious. Then write a two-page, 750-word essay as you would for school, proofreading and polishing as you go. This could take you forty minutes or longer, but it will get you familiarized with the process.
The next seven prompts should be timed to thirty minutes. You will get used to the time-crunch and the speed with which you have to come up with examples. Try to not use a mechanical pencil or pen; they are quicker than a regular pencil, but you won’t be able to use them on the test.
The last two prompts should be timed to twenty-five minutes, the official time. If you find yourself struggling, consider practicing more prompts. You should take these two a day before the actual test, because the process should be fresh in your mind.
Pacing
You will see a pattern develop as you practice. Some people take five minutes to plan and then go into a speedwriting mode. Some people don’t proofread. Some don’t even have pacing. Ultimately, if you have a practice pace, the actual essay won’t feel so rushed and hectic.
- I would recommend that you spend one minute reading the prompt. You should read it at least twice. If you find yourself mindlessly rereading it, then stop and slap yourself softly. The next two minutes should be spent coming up with examples. Scribble a one or two word phrase for the opposing sides of the argument and write the examples under each heading. The side you can argue more effectively is the side you should choose. In some cases, you could use the examples for the side you are not using to present a counterargument. If you find that you can only come up with two examples and three minutes have already passed, then start writing. With luck, you will think of a third example when you come to it.
- The next 3-4 minutes should be spent writing the introduction. I will explain what you should write in this section later.
- The next 12-13 minutes should be spent writing your body paragraphs and developing the examples. I will explain these sections in detail later
- The next 3-4 minutes should be spent writing the conclusion.
- The last 1-2 minutes should be spent proofreading.
Structure
As bland and unlovable as it is, the five-paragraph essay is the format nearly every student will use on the SAT. You can use a four paragraph essay if you have two exceptionally relevant examples, but only do this if you can’t come up with a third one. Keep in mind, that you are not limited to three examples. If you can come up with more, then combine similar ones into a single body paragraph. Perhaps make a six-paragraph essay. A favorite tactic of mine was to bombard the reader with a series of names, events, books, and other examples in the conclusion. At the very least, this tells the grader that a 25-minute essay did not exhaust your entire knowledge base.
The Introduction. There are several things that need to happen here. The very first sentence should introduce the topic. Often, you can achieve this by repeating the question mentioned in the assignment part of the prompt (below the quote, adage, or concept). The next two sentences should suggest the position you will be taking, and broadly speaking, why you think that way. The next sentence should reference the examples you will be talking about. The final sentence in the introduction should be your thesis.
The Body Paragraphs. These two to four paragraphs also have specific duties. The topic sentence should set the paragraph in relation to the rest of the essay. This is done by using transitional phrases such as similarly and conversely.
The bulk of the paragraph should explain the example. Mention dates and names whenever possible. I will talk later about good examples and avoiding clichés later. The important part of the body paragraphs is that they are succinct but full enough to fill two pages.
Conclusion. The conclusion should be the most poignant and memorable part of your essay. It is often the most rushed part but I would advocate spending the last five minutes on the conclusion, even at the detriment of proofreading. Reiterate the question from the assignment, and then conclude strongly. End on a more poetic overtone or ask a leading question. Regardless, the reader should leave your essay feeling impressive, at least comparatively.
Advice
On being cliché. The first essay I ever wrote had to deal with overcoming adversity and growing from the struggle. I asked my colleagues what they’d written about and they said things like Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, the Wright Brothers, George Washington, Galileo, and Oliver Twist. Almost 3 million students take the SAT a year, and the ETS only has so many essay graders. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them reading thousands of paragraphs about MLK. Even if the examples fit perfectly and the essay seemed easy, most of my classmates received poor scores despite their prose and style. You cannot be cliché. Take some risk. You can invent examples if you must. That is legal.
On your examples. I generally found it healthy to vary my examples from body paragraph to body paragraph. Consider using one example from history, one example from literature, one from science, etc. I would be very fond of using an example from current events or international relations. Stay away from an American dominated essay. Stay away from using three examples from the same genre. Using Star Wars I, II, and III won’t do much good.
On page length. Fill out two pages. That’s the only take away you need. Don’t write with large handwriting because they can see through your plan, but if you fill it out with regular writing, you will almost always get a high score. Consider this excerpt: “In March 2004, Les Perelman analyzed 15 scored sample essays contained in the College Board’s ScoreWrite book along with 30 other training samples and found that in over 90% of cases, the essay’s score could be predicted from simply counting the number of words in the essay."
On handwriting. The essay readers cannot fault you on handwriting. However, if it is illegible you will receive a score of 0. If it is off topic you will receive a score of 0. If it is non-English, you will receive a score of 0. This is not meant to be scary, but realize that the essay graders read thousands of essays a day and will only be frustrated if they can’t understand your cursive. Please write in print. Please practice beforehand. Make sure you’re not typing all of your schoolwork in the week preceding your test date.
On accuracy. Remember that the SAT graders cannot fault you for incorrect facts, so don’t be afraid to guess. If you say that the War of 1812 happened last year, they’ll be a little suspicious, but let yourself run wild.
On stress. If you find yourself ten minutes in and completely lost, don’t fret. Remember that the essay is only a small part of your test. Even if you write a little down you will be fine. If you can’t think of examples, you can use your own personal anecdote, a story from your past, or anything you can invent in your mind. The ETS does not punish you for sources.