<p>I am just really confused with my SAT essay score. I honestly thought I would get an 11 or 12, but no lower than a 10. My scanned essay available with my score report has some strange marks on it and seems much messier than the hand written one. Is there any possibility that it could have been a technical error? If not any insight into my score/how I can improve would be much appreciated! Thank you!</p>
<p>The prompt was: Should leaders stick to their convictions or submit to public opinion?
The excerpt dealt with the assertion that politicians should stick to their convictions. My essay is as follows:</p>
<p>What makes an effective leader? Is it a decisive and resolute will, or the ability to acquiesce and conform to the will of the people? Good leaders must submit to public opinion, even if it stands in contrast to their personal doctrine. Historical and literary precedent serves to corroborate this notion.</p>
<p>French political thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau perpetuated the notion that the government should be an articulation of the general will of the people. To zealously assert that one's own convictions should supersede the wishes of the masses is an authoritarian quality. The most equitable form of government is a democracy, a word that translates into the term "the rule of the people." Governments in which leaders give precedence to their own beliefs find themselves at the upper reaches of the political compass. Such contemporary leaders as Kim Jong-Il are guilty of such practices and their rule is reflected in the disparity that plagues their nations. North Korea operates like a large scale military compound, with the will of virtually every citizen suppressed, living in the subjugation and squalor of an autocratic regime. This stands in stark contrast to the relatively high quality of life experienced by those in democratic nations such as Canada or the USA. It is no surprise that conditions are more favourable in democratic nations.</p>
<p>Another prominent thinker in the enlightenment, John Locke, advocated for the maintenance of a social contract. If the government does not uphold the sentiments of the people, then they have the right to revolt. Leaders that abide by their convictions and ignore the wishes of the people will find the stability of their rule tenuous at best. In the French Revolution, the masses spurred on a large scale revolt against the monarchy; an institution that they felt was obsolete and unresponsive to the needs of the people. Members of the ruling class, including such eminent figures as Marie Antoinette, were publicly executed. This theme of revolt against an unwavering regime is a common one, and can be examined through the ancient slave revolts of Rome to the American revolution in the 18th century. It is in the best interests of leaders to adhere to public opinion.</p>
<p>Effective leaders should have their own convictions but should give precedence to the general will; in essence they should function as a mouthpiece for the people. Failure to do so could result in national woe, or violent upheaval.</p>
<p>I received a score of eight. Thank you for your comments! :) </p>
<p>There are a few errors of language and such, but that isn’t too bad. It is well-structured with some decent historical references. </p>
<p>The one thing I noticed is that it seemed slightly off topic. Equating leaders not following the will of the people with repressive dictatorships was taking it a little far.</p>
<p>I agree it appears like it should be at least a 10. I guess try taking the test again. I think you should get a better essay score next time.</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies! I was just a bit confused with my score, I was hoping for a 12 but would not have been upset per se with a 10. I filled up two pages right to the last line. </p>
<p>I don’t understand the score at all. However, I would be more concerned with quality than quantity. Trying to fill up every line is not a good idea.</p>
<p>If you read the scoring guide, perhaps you can see that your essay did not merit a 6 from an individual reader. I would have expected examples for this topic such as when a member of congress/state government is elected on a certain platform and votes otherwise. This behavior comes up quite a bit with recent examples being voting on the affordable health care act, increases in taxes or even abortion rights. Maybe you don’t remember George Bush (41 not 43) who promised not to raise taxes, and then he did anyway. When you use tyrannical governments as an example of those that do not submit to the opinion of the people, you get a bit off course. In terms of grammar, you have a number of awkward sentences. “To zealously assert” - that sentence is in the passive voice. I also don’t really understand what you mean by “the upper reaches of the political compass”. Most people think in terms of right, center and left in this context. Additionally, The extreme examples are not examples of elected representatives following their own view and not that of the electorate. You mention a reading about politicians - were these just dictators or were they elected by the people? </p>
<p>I thought that an eight is above average. From what I understand a very low percentage of people score 12. </p>
<p>Anothermom2, I appreciate the thorough response! While I understand that using the example of an autocratic regime may be a little extreme, I wouldn’t deem it irrelevant because there was nothing in the question as to whether the leaders were elected or appointed, it just dealt with whether they should stick to their guns or listen to the people. I also recognise that there were some awkwardly phrased sentences but I thought that a degree of grammatical error is expected given the very limited amount of time allotted for writing the essay. As for the political compass, the contemporary political compass has four directions, not just the right wing left spectrum, as you can have authoritarian dictators at both end. I just felt like I deserved a higher score, maybe not a twelve, but perhaps an eleven or ten. I think that eight is roughly average, and I would like to think that I am aabove average. Again, please don’t view this as me being sour grapes and having an inflated ego, I was just taken aback by what I felt was an unjustifiably low score and was wonderingif they could have made a mistake. Thanks to all!</p>
<p>There are a lot of strengths to the essay, and I think it shouldn’t have been an 8. However, as I and the other poster mentioned, you need to work on staying on topic and on the use of language. I would focus more on quality rather than on trying to write the full two pages.</p>