<p>I haven't taken the SAT yet but I'm signed up for the May test date. I'm a little worried about the essay, as I've always had trouble with writing time constraints. My question is this: does the essay score contribute to the total score of the writing section? Or is the essay score completely independent of the other three sections? I just don't know how it's scored.</p>
<p>The essay score counts for 30% of the overall writing score. Colleges can also see your essay score separately.</p>
<p>I would try a few practice essays and see how you do with the time constraint.</p>
<p>Thanks! It’s just something that has been nagging me for a few days now as I prepare to take the May SAT.</p>
<p>With practice, you should get more comfortable whipping out essays in a short amount of time. I would try practicing with just 20 minutes so you feel like you have a lot of time on test day. If absolutely necessary, be willing to sacrifice quality for quantity - it’s imperative that you get at least halfway through the second page.</p>
<p>talk to your english teacher and see if they’d be willing to grade some practice essays. find a list of prompts online and time yourself while responding; mimic the test situation. then have your teacher grade them and give advice on how to approve.</p>
<p>Yes. I got ALL of the Writing questions right, so it would have been an 800, but my essay was only an 8 so I got a 790.</p>
<p>Sucks.</p>
<p>Usually, I start writing straight-away as soon as I’ve read the title so that I get the time to finish. I noticed that writing more (and well) increases your chances to get a better score.</p>