Essay: Personal Experience vs Historical/Literary Examples?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>I have been using Grammatix for test prep and it has given very good advice. For the essay, it states that three personal experiences should be made up. I am unsure of this strategy, since it seems as though most who do well seem to use examples from literature (eg Hamlet, Huck Finn) and history (eg Newton, Einstein, Napoleon). I am afraid that if I just use personal experiences my essay will sound too homogenous. Should I use a mixture of personal experiences and literature/history or will it be a disadvantage if I spend too much time thinking about what literary and historical examples I could use?</p>

<p>How should I decide which types of examples to use? Thanks.</p>

2

<p>HON YOU NEED HISTORY AND LITERARY ALSO...it is all about beling able to analyse historical and literary issues...GOOD LUCK</p>

3

<p>Yeah, historical and literary examples are the way to go, I think.</p>

<p>I tried the "personal thing" on the Jan SAT and I THOUGHT it was a really good, solid essay. But, I guess not--I ended up with an 8. =/</p>

4

<p>i find that so ridiculous. history and literary, who gives a flying f$$$</p>

5

<p>I've talked a few friends who've gotten amazing scores on their SATs & they've said to avoid personal experiences unless as a final resort. If you can't think of examples in history or literature, try things happening in current events right now.</p>

<p>Of course, don't put much weight into my comment-I haven't even taken PSAT yet.</p>

6

<p>Before I took the test, I'd read in several places that two literary examples and one historical example is a good combination, that's what I did and ended up with a pretty decent essay score (10).</p>

7

<p>haha clclass I took your name :-P</p>

8

<p>Know two or three historical/literary examples well before you take the test. It helps to review a certain topic because it might be of good use during the essay portion.</p>