<p>RE: SAT ESSAY: What part do you think legibility plays? I wonder about this because while someone can get tutored/coached/ and also practice as a teen (or even adult) to improve on a multiple choice test like the SAT, it seems virtually IMPOSSIBLE (in my opinion) to "train" a person who has been writing one way for over a decade to completely change their handwriting style. If fact, based on professionals who claim they analyze individual styles, is it even possible? </p>
<p>And in a world in which most business or school reports can be easily typed up, should this even be a skill that has any place in even being judged (albeit indirectly via the essays) on a College Admission Test? Is it fair that a students 10 point essay would likely be given a 12 by most objective peoples opinions IF it had been typed rather than roughly written?</p>
<p>I doubt the College Board professionals have ever even taken this to account, have they? Not EVERYONE who is an exemplary student has perfect handwriting. In fact, some students have no choice but to sacrifice neatness for speed when racing to complete a test! (If you can write both fast and neatly, kudos to you!) :-) </p>
<p>Does anyone else feel their SAT Essay scores were negative impacted based largely or solely on their handwriting? </p>
<p>And finally, if anyone out there believes it IS possible to improve this skill, PLEASE DIRECT ME AS TO HOW. Most teachers/schools only work with 4 to 6 year olds and the idea of trying to RETRAIN a teen or an adult is daunting at best and unheard of or unthinkable (impossible???) at worst! (Thanks for any feedback or advice - I can't think of any other place or site to go to in order to ask this type of question).</p>
<p>To fix the way someone writes, i think you need to give them sheets of paper with faint outlines of the alphabet and have them trace them over and over and over again.</p>
<p>Not sure how SirWanksAlot can make that statement with such certainty. Common sense says that it probably does impact your score. Unlike the AP test, SAT essays are scanned to the computer which decreases the readability. A very smart kid I know got 9’s on his practice AP essays in class and all 5’s on AP tests but on the SAT he got a 6 on the essay most likely because of his handwriting (he was perfect on the rest of the sat). It is legible (as demonstrated by his in class grades and AP tests) but the computer scanner makes it worse which then probably had an impact on the reader.</p>
<p>My experience so far with the SAT suggests that you should use a regular wooden pencil to make the writing thicker. I missed 2 questions on the writing section but got an 8 on the essay. I used a .5 led pencil but now I realize it is too thin to show up nicely on the scanner.</p>
<p>Of course, if you can get that girly cursive writing, you’re good to go…</p>
<p>Readers will sometimes score essays based on their subconscious impressions or based on trends they notice. Long essays are typically “better” than short ones. Essays using big words are typically “better” than those that use short words. College Board claims that these things are not supposed to impact essay scores, but we all know they do (and College Board must be aware of it).</p>
<p>There are probably some readers who will give up on essays with frustrating handwriting, and they may not give them the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunate and unintended - yes. But that’s the reality.</p>
<p>i completely disagree with the fact that legibility has a role in the essay scores.
i’m known for my bad handwriting (sixth grade teacher called it chicken scratch), but i managed to get a 12 on the Oct SAT.</p>
<p>Perhaps its a matter of how bad your handwriting really is, or really it doesn’t make much of a difference.</p>
<p>My AP World History teacher told me “Your handwriting isn’t chicken scratch. Your handwriting is akin to chicken scratch where the chicken not only has a mental disability, but most likely was on acid at the time as well.”
He wasn’t a very nice teacher.</p>
<p>My son’s handwriting is horrific. He can not write cursive and is diagnosed with a disorder of written expression and dysgraphia. He got a 540 and a 6 on the most recent writing SAT but a 740 on the reading portion. Clearly, his handwriting must have played some part because a 200 point discrepancy can’t be due to his lack of ability.</p>
<p>Really bad handwriting will leave a bad impression for the readers and will most likely make them give you a lower score if they are say debating between a 4 or 5 for example.</p>
<p>I also was told I had (was diagnosed with) dysgraphia, but for some reason all the school system did was give me a semester of extracurricular hand-writing tutoring in elementary school and leave me on my own in middle school and high school.</p>
<p>Perhaps they ended up deciding I didn’t actually have dysgraphia.</p>
<p>Regardless my handwriting is illegible by most anyone. Most of my teachers allow me to type things though, which works out, especially since I can type at ~125 words per minute.</p>