<p>It was my first time taking the sat, and the 25 minutes I was given for the essay flew by. I managed to finish my fourth paragraph, but was unable to write a full conclusion. What do you think my penalty in points would be, assuming that I wrote a solid essay otherwise: 10-12</p>
<p>The conclusion is pretty important.</p>
<p>The graders value the thesis, examples and conclusion as very important. The conclusion is the last thing they read, and therefore the last chance you have to make an impression on them…</p>
<p>It is more about what you write and how you write it, rather than structure. They are instructed to grade based on what is there, not what’s missing. On January SAT I only had time for an intro and 2 body paragraphs and still got a 10 so if you are normally a good essay writer you will be fine… good luck</p>
<p>@bhchamp knowing what you said is huge reliever…I just took the June SAT today and only had time to write intro and three body paragraphs. Im a generally strong essay writer, so lets hope for the best! hahaha</p>
<p>Conclusion is not that important as long as you have good body paragraphs. I’ve seen some 12 essay with 1 sentence conclusion or reference to an end.</p>
<p>Actually @kcohen, the conclusion is not important.</p>
<p>There are quite a few high scoring essays that do not have a conclusion. I was mid-sentence when time was called on my conclusion, and still got an 11.</p>
<p>If anything, the 1st paragraph is the most important because it sets the tone for the rest of your essay.</p>
<p>what was the promp this time guys? how was it?</p>
<p>I also find it difficult to complete the whole essay in 25 minutes. That’s why I came up with the trick to write the intro and conclusion first, then adjust the body so that it fits.
I do believe that, for ordinary students, the conclusion is important. The grader has but one minute to read through your essay, so he/she has to be impressed to give you a high score. And the best thing to impress the grader should be the conclusion, where you reaffirm your point in a cool way.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, if you manage to impress the grader much with your beautiful language and example, then perhaps a conclusion is trivial after all.</p>