<p>^That's called grade inflation.</p>
<p>sheetmusic, the SAT essays are graded extremely crudely, giving merit to longer essays that fit the traditional 5-paragraph model.</p>
<p>My English teacher took AP courses (he actually has graded AP English exams) and took classes at UConn taught by Chinua Achebe (he actually got into Yale as well), and he also supports this notion. Good-great writing takes into account many more factors and strategies than do the SAT essay. In order to score highly on that essay, you need personal examples, and this is immensely irrelevant to a good essay.</p>
<p>Basically, my point is that I know intelligent people who have a lot of experience in English Composition that support this.</p>
<p>"That's called grade inflation."</p>
<p>No...I don't believe that a 25-minute essay at 8 AM in the morning is the best indicator of one's writing ability. More weight is given to people who can make their essay fit the ideal SAT model and quickly come up with good examples to support statements.</p>
<p>My English essays never demanded this kind of asinine work, and I went to one of the best high schools in the province.</p>
<p>No, it's not the best indicator of writing ability. </p>
<p>jpps1, good examples are always necessary. </p>
<p>It's about spitting out a form essay and weeding out people who can't string two coherent sentences together. Just write five paragraphs on vague topic, I don't see why this should be a problem for a very good writer.</p>
<p>sheetmusic, if you're talking about me, I really don't believe it's grade inflation. I said that I get A+s on my English essays, but that's after several drafts and hours of hard work on my part. That's the grade I recieve now after going through the process of learning how to write a good essay. I believe in grade inflation, but I don't believe in pointing at every A+ and calling it such.</p>
<p>Writing SAT is a poor indicator of actual writing skill.</p>
<p>I took the Writing SAT II back when it was still around and got an 800 with a 12 on the essay.</p>
<p>I'm now getting destroyed by the required humanities classes at Stanford.</p>
<p>"Just write five paragraphs on vague topic, I don't see why this should be a problem for a very good writer."</p>
<p>I am a published writer, and near the top of my class in the most intensive pre-U writing program in the province. I got a 9 on my essay. Why? Because the topic was vague and I couldn't come up with a solid essay (content-wise) in 25 minutes. I don't typically write in a rigorous five-paragraph structure, and I didn't do it on the SAT essay either. I'm not ****ed off--I still managed a 710 in writing and got into my first-choice school--but I think that as it stands, the essay portion is seriously flawed, and a TERRIBLE indicator of one's writing ability (though obviously a 12 or a 5 is pretty clear).</p>
<p>"jpps1, good examples are always necessary. "</p>
<p>I agree completely. But having to come up with examples on the spot for an essay topic for which you cannot prepare is unreasonable, in my opinion.</p>
<p>I got a 12 and I think it helps to clearly state your point early, because in all likelihood, the rest of it isn't looked at. Start well and finish well - that's what I did and it worked. I also had an easy question......guess that helps.</p>
<p>I consider myself to be a decent writer and I only got an 8...meanwhile, this guy I know to be a writer of questionable quality at best managed a 10. In my opinion, my problem was a direct result of my writing style - very conversational, not rigid in structure. </p>
<p>Basically, the only thing the SAT Writing section scores is how well you do on the SAT Writing section. Nothing more, nothing less.</p>
<p>Maybe the 10 was better than your 8, and your afraid to admit maybe he got lucky or writes better than you.</p>
<p>It isn't the BEST indicator, but then again what is?</p>
<p>This is the only way to get all of America on the same playing field.</p>
<p>You are missing the point glucose...his 10 might have been better than my 8, but that in no way means that he is a better writer than me. For instance, lets say you get a 12 and Stephen King (fill in the blank if that isn't a good enough example...) gets a 10. What does that mean? It means you are better at the SAT Writing section! Woohoo. But are you really a better writer? Hmmm....</p>
<p>As far as the level playing field goes...a system that is flawed is not a viable solution. I do agree that there is no clear best solution, but for some issues the best solution might very well be no solution at all.</p>
<p>To clarify my stance and answer the original question, I think that a 12 is very impressive. A 12 shows that you are at the top of high school students nationwide, and is a great thing for adcoms to see. The only reason I brought up the merits of the writing section itself is because I suspect that the writing score will not be weighed as heavily as other scores for credibility reasons. Like ECEngineer, I won't be surprised if the section is either completely overhauled or scrapped within a few years.</p>
<p>"you are better at the SAT Writing section"</p>
<p>Isn't that all it really means anyhow? better score=more impressive</p>
<p>So the higher your writing score (though the colleges don't see this)=impressive</p>
<p>I'm in IB English HL and I currently have a 78 avg (hardass teacher and I am not strong in English). I went from 6 to a 12 on two tests with my writing going form a 560 to a 720 in 2 months with minimal practice.</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>My first essay did not have examples as strong or varied as my second.</p>
<p>The essay tests your general knowledge ability and thinking speed.</p>
<p>My first essay only had 2 examples, had worse handwriting, and was poor in terms of grammar and flow.</p>
<p>The essay all tests your knowledge of conventional grammar, punctuation, handwriting (I'm almost certain), and structure.</p>
<p>Everyone should remember that a lot of "amazing" writers do not follow conventional rules. Many well-known writers, in fact, break the rules of the English language.</p>
<p>Of course a higher score is more impressive than a lower score, you learn that in kindergarten! However some scores are more important than others...</p>
<p>A+ in Calculus > A+ in Basket Weaving</p>
<p>I don't think we are really disagreeing on anything...I'm just coming at it from a different angle.</p>
<p>People with a 12 essay would like to think it is worth more, and people with a 6 or 8 essay would like to think it is worth less. I can't imagine it's as important as the CR or Math, but it sure as hell doesn't hurt to have a perfect essay. Maybe it can give a boost when coupled with other writing talents, especially if you want to pursue creative writing or journalism or something.</p>
<p>^^I agree completely...I have a 12 (ACT), and as much as I would like to think that it's gonna help my app, I can't confirm that it will.</p>
<p>i think your overall writing score certainly matters more, but a 12 is rare, and would probably merit a nod of respect. i think they will see your essay subscore (i could be wrong) so a 12 will obviously look good. i think a 10 and an 800 overall is better than a 12 and a 770 though.</p>
<p>I definitely agree with Jackson....my scores are probably a wash in the adcom's eyes anyway - I got a 12 on the ACT section and an 8 on the SAT section.</p>
<p>12s really aren't that impressive. They are not 99th percentile.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you just read the grading rubric, you should be able to figure out the differences between a 5 and a 6. Yes, it is subjective, the difference between "outstanding" examples and only "excellent" ones, but in the end, you just need to make your paper scream "I meet all definitions of a score of 6! I am a 6x2 paper!" </p>
<p>Basically, I realized that all essay prompts can be boiled down to "Write about the great accomplishments of 3 famous people." When you read the prompt, come up with 3 famous people that really reflect the topic. Certain people can be used for dozens of traits and have wide recognition (Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Thomas Edison). The characters should be real.</p>
<p>Think of something meaningful about the trait and your thesis. If a popular quotation comes to mind that relates to your topic (ex "Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration") use it to open. Reader recognition is key to having "excellent" examples. If not, take your thesis statement and attach quotes, passing it off as something a reasonably famous person could have said.</p>
<p>Continue by explaining the quote. "Indeed, hard work must complement talent for one to accomplish anything" Elaborate on this for another two sentences, sprinkling it with correctly used SAT-level vocabulary. If you have the talent of writing with the vocabulary of a college english professor, use it.</p>
<p>Go into the body, with each paragraph discussing your person. Make up facts and statistics to support your position if you need to. As long as they coincide with the person and are believable, BSed facts will never hurt you. </p>
<p>Examples I used in my 12 essay: "Although Mother Teresa died recently, her work has more than tripled the number of volunteers in foreign countires; a recent World Health Organization survey found that more than 90% of foreign volunteers cited Mother Teresa's work as their inspiration to volunteer abroad." "Lance Armstrong's 'Live Strong' arm bands set off a new fad and raised over $20 million dollars"</p>
<p>Finish off with a rehashing introduction, again spraying SAT vocabulary in the faces of the grader. "This is better than basically all of the other essays I have read" they should think. "The average joe could not be this intelligent". 6! </p>
<p>And there you go, a sure-fire, formulaic way for a 12 on the essay. Sure, it's not the only way to get a 12, but it's a reliable approach, and a good way to go if you can't seem to score a 12 any other way.</p>