Essay.

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>Is the opinion of the majority–in government or in any other circumstances– a poor guide? </p>

<p>The opinion of the majority–in government or in any other circumstances– is a poor guide toward any field of study. Several examples in scientific advancements demonstrates how powerful it is.</p>

<pre><code> Christopher Columbus set sail in the 14th century. During that time, it was believed that Europe was in the center of the flat earth. Wrong on two accounts. When Columbus realized that, he proposed his idea quickly and with certainty. The majority grinned and jeered at his belief that the wold was actually round. In fact, the population threw him into a dungeon for the correct, right belief. Not only was he punished for stating the true facts, but also denounced for the rest of his life.
</code></pre>

<p>Galileo Galilei experienced the exact same "boo"ment. Prior to his discovery, it was believed that everything revolves around the earth. When Galilei saw Jupiter's moons revolve around the gaseous planet, he realized the theory apples to earth as well. When he proposed his discovery, the church thought it was complete nonsense. Persistent on his observations, he continued (or at least tried) to spread the truth. In the end, it didn't work. He was sentenced to house imprisonment for going against the church beliefs. This example also proves how majority prohibits the truth regardless of the facts.</p>

<p>Furthermore for centuries, black slaves were forced to work at the harshest, toughest, and cruelest jobs in the world. Even one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, was guilty of that. Only in the past fifty years have people realized that there is nothing different from one skin color to the next. At that time, the majority believed that white colored skin was superior to a different color. When Rosa Parks stood up for herself on the bus, many people believed it was uncourteous of her to not excuse the seat. This is one instance that government is sometimes a poor guide to follow. </p>

<p>Throughout history, majority have influenced, changed, and hurt cultures, races, discoveries, and facts. If Galileo Galilei, Christopher Columbus, and Rosa Parks did not stand up to their beliefs, we would not live in the same world today. </p>

<p>*Thanks for reading. Please grade and how I can improve? *</p>

2

<p>I would give this an 8 maximum. Here are the guidelines from Collegeboard:

</p>

<ol>
<li>You do have good examples, but continue reading for my reasoning. For now, just know that you need to connect more with the main idea especially in the last paragraph. The only significant connection I find is in your concluding sentence for the stuff on Rosa Parks. </li>
<li>You have some general issues with organization, especially towards the end. You also state only “scientific advancements” at the beginning, but suddenly you stick in “Furthermore for centuries, black slaves were…” I’m not sure how competent SAT graders are at times, but this really threw me in a loop because I only expected to read about scientific examples. Furthermore, you randomly stick in a blurb about slavery which appears irrelevant to your main point. </li>
<li>You use adequate vocabulary, but definitely nothing spectacular. Some words definitely could have been substituted with better alternatives for clearer meanings. In addition:"boo"ment?</li>
<li>Sure, sentence structures vary. Nothing big in this category that you should really concern yourself with. However, I suggest you use more transitions in topic sentences. Your jump from Columbus to Galilei is rather abrupt.</li>
<li>You have fragments which need to be addressed. Ambiguity is also a concern at times. Your grammar and usage definitely can improve, as mentioned before. Example: “When Rosa Parks stood up for herself on the bus, many people believed it was uncourteous of her to not excuse the seat.” You shouldn’t assume people know who Rosa Parks is and what she did. Elaborate a little on the background. Furthermore, “uncourteous of her to not excuse the seat” makes me think that the seat was not excused (i.e. it needed to visit the bathroom or something). :slight_smile: I’m sure you’re trying to say that she refused to vacate the seat for a white person, which was against the law (hence she was arrested), but the wording implies something else.</li>
</ol>

3

<p>Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you for the inputs and advice! :)</p>

<p>And yes it is quite abrupt. But when I was writing it I still had around 7 minutes left? So I wanted to add the third paragraph (later realizing what a big mistake that was -___-). </p>

<p>Thanks again! I’ll definitely try to improve on those!</p>

4

<p>You’re welcome :slight_smile: Two well developed example are more than sufficient for getting a high score on the SAT Essay. Don’t try to cram in another example if you know you can’t based upon practice tests. Try to focus more on developing the first two examples and then wrapping it up with a strong conclusion. Leave ~2 minutes to review your essay and edit small errors such as spelling mistakes, chicken scratch (i.e. if legibility is seriously an issue at some point in the essay), and fragments.</p>