<p>I'm really worried about this, especially after taking the APUSH exam. My essays generally make sense and are convincing...I use very stylistic and persuasive styles of writing. But they're like a page shorter than everybody else's. My DBQ, for example, was barely over 2 pages. If given 25 minutes, I probably wouldn't reach even 350 words (which looks even shorter given the fact that I write pretty small).</p>
<p>Does anybody think there's even a remote shot of me getting a pretty good score with less than a page and a half? Or do I need to somehow figure out how to write twice as fast as I currently do and remain legible?</p>
<p>Well, if you wrote shorter than others, then you will get somehow lower score than what you expected.</p>
<p>The CB does not look for well-written essay(as it seems to e), it wants you to write longest one with "little" logic. Yet, if you used a lot of similes or metaphors to impress the CB, then you will get high score..</p>
<p>So, no need to worry.</p>
<p>But, if you want to write longer essay, you have to practice.</p>
<p>Just think of yourself writing two pages within 20 minutes..</p>
<p>I just did within 25 minutes easily because I practiced with shorter time period. You will feel relieved when you recognize how fast you could write.</p>
<p>True, what jamesyhr said. Length does matter, and you will see that there is the conviction, albeit fallacious, that length=quality.</p>
<p>I would try to aim for longer than a page and a half. For the SAT, it's better to be slightly repetitive and restate the same argument in different words than to have a short essay. When graders only have a minute or two to read the essay, length does make a good impression.</p>
<p>Fill up all the lines for a high score. Just have the basic 5 paragraph essay. A good example for each body paragraph. Good intro/thesis and conclusion.</p>
<p>YOu have to know this; the graders can not read faster than you do...I mean they are reading 300 words in a minute. That's just the average speed, so you have to know that they are just skipping most of the passages when they are reading. IF you met the wrong graders who read 1000000000000000words in a second, then this trick(longest writing makes the best) will not work...but, it's unrealistic, really =p</p>
<p>Lol, I don't get the whole rationale, but jamesyhr is right....</p>