<p>I know that once your score is above 10 it gets pretty subjective, but what should I look out for to improve my chances of getting a 12 or 11 and not a 10</p>
<p>Although I haven’t given the SAT essay using these strategies, yet, I have researched on various forums and websites to conclude that the following should help you improve your score:</p>
<ol>
<li>Better vocabulary (especially in the first para)</li>
<li>Varied usage of punctuation (like colon, semicolon, em dash, en dash etc)</li>
<li>Transition words (thus, finally, in conclusion)</li>
<li>Relevant examples (if the q is about ‘heroes’ dont cite the example of tom cruise, no matter what)</li>
</ol>
<p>Best of Luck!</p>
<p>Agree with @determined2300 about those tips. Although the first two tips are helpful for a high score, I didn’t have those when I got my 12.</p>
<p>For my essay, I had four paragraphs. One intro, two bodies, one conclusion. I would have two real life examples (emphasis on real life, and by real life I mean mainly historical - personal recounts don’t really resonate with the author), one for each body paragraph. I would do a brainstorm beforehand, such as writing on the page with the essay.</p>
<p>Structure and the relevance of your examples are hugely important. Mastering structure allows you to take advantage of a format designed specifically to present an argument convincingly. Choosing and best utilizing your examples makes an essay strong. I would recommend reading lots of example essays and practicing as much as possible. Writing really only improves through practice.</p>
<p>+1 to spending a few minutes at the top to plan before you jump into writing. In addition, having a clear flow that carries throughout the essay without any unnecessary tangents or sudden shifts in style. </p>
<p>The latter is of course much easier to achieve if you do the former. In fact, your planning session should not only answer the question “What am I going to say, and in what order?” but also “What tone will I adopt for this essay?” and “What extraneous BS that is not crucial to the argument will I throw away?”</p>