<p>This is from my daughter who is taking the SAT this weekend... she's busy doing a practice test in the other room, so she's asked me to ask you good people on CC! :D
If one writes an impressive essay - uses good examples, quotes, vocabulary, good transitions, etc - yet does not finish, will that still be a score-killer? She physically just can't write fast. She gets about to the last couple of sentences and no matter what, she can't finish. She is so frustrated because she's such an excellent writer - has had some things published even. But she's fearful that not finishing, no matter how good the intro/body, will get her a bad score.
Thanks for input!</p>
<p>If she is trying to use three or more examples, tell her to cut down to two. It helped slower writers, like myself, considerably. If she can just elaborate more on those examples than she’ll do great. The Essay is really graded on how much space it takes up. If you fill up nearly every line provided you will get a 10 or above. The graders only have about a minute to read it and the longer it is, generally the more developed your argument appears to be. Also try to limit the conclusion to just two or three sentences. Start the conclusion with " After analyzing examples A and B, it becomes apparent that…(modified thesis). (Elaborate a bit in one sentence) (Finish with hook)." This template works well and helps to coalesce the conclusion into a focused and quick bit of writing. Hope this helps and good luck! :)</p>
<p>She should fill two pages, and she should be able to do so. If she is having trouble, maybe her handwriting is too small :)</p>