<p>the essay is not graded terribly hard...</p>
<p>1) graders spend an avg. of 50 sec per essay
2) long essay + good transitions + some SAT-caliber words + specific examples (e.g. stats that so many people died at this battle) = 12 (or close)</p>
<p>the essay is graded holistically, if you have a fact wrong that won't really affect your score, as long as you can prove your thesis</p>