<p>I recieved an 8 the first time i took the SAT and I thought i did much better.
:( I refrenced to a novel, history, and myself which I was told was a great strategy that obviously backfired. Please some one who scored a 10+ help a brother out. What do I need to do.....</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>you need to buy a prep book and follow their advice exactly (me - 12)...</p>
<p>Use large vocabulary words, and keep transitions smooth. Try using two examples and support them well instead of three patchy ones; choose examples beforehand and twist them to fit the prompt. Vary sentence length and structure. Spell things correctly :P. Practice. (12 for me too.)</p>
<p>Did you fill both pages?</p>
<p>In my experience, that's the key.</p>
<p>no i didnt i only wrote 1.5? I did not know length was critical.</p>
<p>Length is pretty critical, yes. :) </p>
<p>Try writing 2 pages and see what happens to your score.</p>
<p>write the full 2 pages and make sure you have a lot of support for your thesis. big words and good handwriting are also important.</p>
<p>Yes, I couldn't agree more!</p>
<p>These tips may sound ridiculous, but they work! I got an 11 on mine.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Introduction: 1st sentence=attention-getter, next few sentences lead from general to specific, then give thesis. Then say something like, "This can be exemplified from two famous figures in history, Blah and Blah."</p></li>
<li><p>Body paragraphs: Topic sentence, example, followed by comments that support your topic sentence and thesis. TRANSITION! Make sure your paragraphs flow well and have lots of support.</p></li>
<li><p>Conclusion: Restate thesis, remind reader of examples, and end with a good, lingering statement.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Also,</p>
<ul>
<li>Use big SAT words like deleterious, inexorable, vaunt, and exonerate.</li>
<li>Try to use examples from literature or even better, history, rather than personal experiences.</li>
<li>Neat handwriting.</li>
<li>Write the full two pages, definitely. It shouldn't make a difference, but it does.</li>
<li>Before you even get your essay you should have some general idea of what examples to use, because for so many of the essays, you can use the same examples.</li>
<li>Take a sample 12 essay, and try to copy it as much as possible (structure, etc.)</li>
</ul>
<p>Some more guidelines:</p>
<p>Use the first few minutes to plan your essay.
Especially use the planning time to make sure the intro paragraph is excellent and impressive.
This is a first draft, not a real paper.
Write a lot, that means practice.
Correct grammar and spelling.
Relevant information, backed by sufficient commentary.
Specific details.
Include phrases like "For example," "In other words," and "On the other hand."
Use some SAT words, but don't go overboard--they go best in the intro.
Avoid the use of qualifiers (I think that, I feel that...)</p>
<p>The best essay advice I found was from The RocketReview Revolution book--see if your library has it or if you can buy it online.</p>
<p>thanks dchow08 for that valuable advice... never gotten a clear answer from anyone like that before....</p>
<p>where do you find sample 12 essays?</p>
<p>The essay honestly doesn't really matter that much in your writing score. I got a 9 on my essay and an 800 on writing...</p>
<p>This website has sample essays. The 6 essays get 6's because the readers can see lots of critical thinking, and because they are impressed that all of this was so well-planned and well-thought out in only 25 minutes! </p>
<p>Maybe, abcdefgh, but there are important psychological reasons for doing well on the essay. First of all, it's the very first part of the SAT test. I remember when I wrote my essay, I knew that I had done a good job and that gave me more confidence for the rest of the test. You can probably imagine a person who just bombed on the essay feeling grumpy for the duration of the test--and so doing a good job on the essay has positive effects throughout the test.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that (the last time I checked), the admissions committee at several really selective colleges require you to send your actual SAT essay in your applications! So guys, don't be lazy about it!</p>
<p>One of the MOST crucial things to do to get a 10 are VERY easy:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Fill up BOTH pages</p></li>
<li><p>Use 5 paragraphs (do not fill up 2 pages with an intro, 1 big body paragraph, and a conclusion; write with an intro, 3 paragraphs with 3 examples (preferably historical or literary resources), and a conclusion</p></li>
<li><p>Most important, avoid writing about current topics, because the grader might have feelings about the topic which could be beneficial or not so... Also, don't use personal examples (the reader will be more interested about Shakespeare's writings than the essay you wrote in English class)</p></li>
</ol>