<p>Okay, here's my deal. I KNOW I CAN GET A 2300. I am taking the SAT in less than a week.</p>
<p>I need to get a 12 essay. NEED. It's an absolute NECESSITY.</p>
<p>Now, here are some examples that I am familiar with. I just need two things from you guys here on CC.
1) For those of you who are familiar with the works I am about to list, how can these apply to SAT essay kind of prompts? Can you give me certain instances that show things such as leadership, courage, individuality, etc. in the books I am gonna list???
2) Can you PLEASE provide me with some generic examples??? Generic meaning univerally applicable, NOT common and ordinary. I have 6 days left to do some research so I can have stuff to write down for supporting material.</p>
<p>Stuff I know:</p>
<p>Scarlet Letter
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
1984 - Orwell
The Stranger - Albert Camus
Moby-Dick
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Hardy
Gulliver's Travels
The Great Gatsby
Lord of the Flies - Golding
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
all Dan Brown books (are these applicable at all??)
All Quiet on the Western Front</p>
<p>Should I research some current events? Some facts in history? Some revolutions/wars?</p>
<p>Guys, I am really in dire need of assistance here. The essay has been haunting me. I know it is relatively simple to receive a 12, it's just that I keep thinking of what CAN go wrong. Some crazy prompt that I can't apply the above literary works to... or something along those lines.</p>
<p>Please, if you are reading this, take 30 seconds out of your time to help me out. Any examples with applications OR how to apply the works I already know to a prompt. I know prompts are unpredictable. But still. Just try to help!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>i am already using AcademicHacker’s approach.</p>
<p>my only problem is that if i simply research a topic one day, how am i supposed to be familiar enough with that topic so that i can use specifics from it in a prompt??</p>
<p>I think it’s about following the format rather than substance. I know this sounds absurd, but just reading the “sample 6” essays from the blue book, which I believe to be downright terrible, supports this. I also noticed they only have one example, developed slightly better than it would if it were restricted to 1 paragraph–which somehow gives them a 6 for “very insightful.”</p>
<p>^That has always confused me. Most of the 12 essays from Collegeboard (that I have seen) have one example, maybe 2, that are just fleshed out. And the examples themselves are like personal anecdotes and stories that seem like they were made up. Yet on this website everyone preaches about having 3 examples and using literary/historical facts to support their argument.</p>
<p>there are a variety of essay formats and some prefer different kinds. The one cc talks about (lockdown’s comment) is known as the 5 paragraph essay which follows a format of intro, 3 examples, and conclusion. It is a simple and formulaic essay. To some, this is easy to follow because it IS formulaic. Others add a twist to it. For instance, some people use 2 examples instead of 3. Using 2 examples gives you more time to give MORE specific examples and further strengthen your point. However, if you are a fast writer and knowledgeable in 3 specific examples go for it. </p>
<p>Then there is something known as the organic essay which is almost always seen in collegeboard’s 12 essays. The problem with the 5 paragraph essay is that it limits you to only 3 examples. The organic essay develops as you write your essay. The hard thing about this essay is making it flow. However, if you are a great writer, and you are able to make it flow, you will have a very strong essay. In the 5-paragraph essay you usually state in the last sentence of the first pargraph: In Gary Soto’s essay, Soto utilizes hyperbole, imagery, and guilt to satire his childhood. AS you can see, you have limited yourself to three specific examples.
Now in the organic essay you can say something like: In Gary Soto’s essay, uses various techniques; to this end, he satires his childhood. The difference between the 5 paragraph essay and the organic essay is seen through “various techniques”. The thesis is vague, but STRONG. Now you can present any example you want in the first paragraph/2ndparagraph etc.</p>
<p>As for i took the sat’s post, look up some historical events. You seem to lack historical evidence. Its nice to use both a literary and a historical example in the essay. The third can be whatever you wish. (If you choose to use the third). Some common historical events would be, MLK, ghandi, world war II, wwI, french/american revolution, russian/china revolution. Try and look for some historical events that most people wouldn’t know about. Something like the bubblegum alley in san francisco (Wiki it).</p>
<p>I don’t see how using “various techniques” makes the thesis stronger. To me, it only makes the thesis more vague and therefore weaker. Sure you now have the flexibility to now include whatever you want in the essay, but you are essentially going to state the same thing you would if you used the standard “In X, [actions by characters in the novel/events] exemplifies Y” or whatever the standard essay approach is.</p>
<p>it was just a quick example made up from the top of my head. The example was just used to explain and differentiate from the 5 para and the organic essay.</p>
<p>b00, you have described good writing style–one that is not limited by the 5 paragraph essay. HOWEVER, the SAT essay is a formatted essay, meaning good writing that fails to follow the format doesn’t guarentee a 12.</p>
<p>When you try a writing method different from a 3 or 2 body paragraph structure, it can go well or extremely poorly. It really depends on how well you can transition and support your arguments without accidentally going off unneeded tangents or forgetting to delve deeper into the second example. Most people who try not to use a formulaic structure end up doing worse. Those who actually get good scores off non-formatted essays tend to do well on the formatted essays anyways.
There’s only one week left though so it’s better to just master the stereotypical essay. “Mastering” how to weave each component to make a fluent essay is the easiest (in comparison) to get a 12. Some people just find this easier than others.</p>
<p>I got a 12 - I went for two examples, one from literature and one from history. Combined that with elegant prose and a few nice vocabulary words, and got a 12. I think it was mostly my prose that earned the 12 rather than my examples. I mean, sure, literature and history are nice, but my analysis was shallow and not very insightful…it was, however, well-written ;)</p>
<p>i can write essays pretty well in school. i know it has nothing to do with the SAT essay, but i know how to transition well and keep the flow… i am familiar with AcademicHacker’s approach and that’s what i will be using… so that’s settled…</p>
<p>it’s just that i feel like i cant apply the examples i have or the examples i will research to any prompt… which is why i ask any of you to tell me of specifics in certain examples that would answer a prompt… </p>
<p>what im trying to say is i know the basic plot of the books i listed in my first post. i just don’t think that’s good enough to shape into a prompt-supporting example. that’s what i need help with, not the format. thanks</p>
<p>Examples are nice and all, but the essay is a part of the Writing section. The higher quality the writing of the essay, the better score one should receive. Now, not every high school teaches its students good writing skills as early as it probably should–and instead place all focus on literature. I can speak for myself in that case. I haven’t had a formal writing class in English until this year (senior).</p>
<p>The day before the SAT I printed around 7 examples. The majority of them were biography’s but some where current and not so much current events. I read them at my brothers graduation.</p>
<p>I don’t know how to tell you how to apply them, or whatever you are asking. Just use the blue book essays or the online essays and with your examples find some way to use them.</p>
<p>I followed the write a 12 essay in 1 day. I did fine =) Just make sure you follow academichackers guide. Have good thesis and conclusion, and then have length (I went in margin to finish).</p>
<p>SAT graders grade on length and quality of writing, not for factual consistency. I made up 2 examples for my essay and got a 12. Be creative, be interesting.</p>
<p>If you’ve had AP history, just do a DBQ. Use 1 personal example (don’t be show-off-ish. Demean yourself, you piece of crap ), 1 historical/current event example (again, AP history helps), and 1 literary example (any literature goes, just so long as it didn’t appear in Playboy or Cosmo). Make a paragraph of each, and for your sake, DO A CONCLUSION AND OPENING PARAGRAPH!!!.</p>
<p>With that in mind, practice osme prompts and have fun :)</p>
<p>say this situation occurs: i get the prompt and only one or two of my examples truly fit in to answer the prompt. i can use another example and twist the facts a little bit in order to support my thesis. i know the readers can’t take off for factual inconsistencies. however, i have a two-part question concerning this situation:</p>
<ol>
<li>do admissions officers actually have time to read every applicant’s SAT essay?</li>
<li>if so, would they allow factual inconsistencies to affect the admission decision?</li>
</ol>
), 1 historical/current event example (again, AP history helps), and 1 literary example (any literature goes, just so long as it didn’t appear in Playboy or Cosmo). Make a paragraph of each, and for your sake, DO A CONCLUSION AND OPENING PARAGRAPH!!!.</p>