How do you high scorers write essays SO FAST?

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1

Most essays that receive 12s have at least 550 words.
My hand starts giving up after writing the first 3 sentences with full speed. My hand writing looks horrible when I write fast. Even if I write very fast, I can only write about 400 words in 20 minutes. My hand remains nump for a minute after this lol.

How do you write so fast and maintain a fair handwriting?
How do you fit SO MANY (550-600) words in two pages?
My pencil’s lead starts getting smooth after the first paragraph. This makes my writing look bad and uses up a lot of space in the paper. Is there a way to prevent this? What will happen if you use a mechanical pencil?

Does it matter to the machine scanning my essay how dark my writings are? If I write without applying much presser to save myself hand pain, can the machine miss to scan it?

I am not over thinking. Essay is really important to me as I NEED that 12.

Thanks :slight_smile: SAT in 2 days

2

I don’t think the score on the essay is that big a deal, you don’t “NEED that 12”. One of my kids got a 9 on her essay and still got an 800 in the writing section. She did get a 12 on her ACT essay, though.

Assuming the quality of your writing and analysis is up to “12” quality, here are some thoughts:

  • My kids spent time ahead of time thinking of various scenarios, historical events, etc. that fit into the types of questions typically asked. This meant they could spend more time writing and less time contemplating to think of examples to support their positions.
  • Take in extra pencils, as many as you need to keep switching off.
  • Practice writing a lot ahead of time. Build your hand muscles up. :slight_smile:
  • Are you printing? I find it a lot easier (but heck, you guys probably aren’t even taught cursive any more…). If you can write cursive or print, figure out which one is more legible and faster for you.
  • Spend extra time studying for the multiple choice section of writing. As my kid’s score showed, you can get an 800 without a 12 essay. I don’t think colleges really look at the essay score anyway, they are looking at that overall section score. And…writing is generally considered the least important of the 3 sections by most colleges. If you don’t have top scores in Math & CR already, focus on those more.