I don't think I got the score I deserved.

Test Preparation
1

<p>This is the essay I wrote on the May SAT. I can't remember the exact wording of the question, but it basically asked "Can we learn a lot from our elders? Do you think old people have something important to say and should we listen to them because they're old?" Except of course worded slightly better.</p>

<p>Anyways, my essay wasn't FLAWLESS, but I thought it was pretty good. I got a 10, which I understand isn't bad, but I was quite angered when I read my friend's essay who got an 11. Mine was much better than his. </p>

<p>What would you have given me on this? (I copied it exactly as shown on the collegboard site.)</p>

<p>A person's age measures little about him or her. The length a person has been on this earth is meaningless if it has not been filled with considerable experience. It is not years, but meaningful experience that determines a person's wisdom.</p>

<pre><code> "In Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, Dr. Heidegger is an apprehensive doctor conducting an experiment on a group of elderly men and women each with a regretable past. Dr. Heidegger presents each of his experimentees with a magical potion, which if drinken promises the re-endowment of youth and the health and beauty that comes with it. Eager to pertain this state of youth, the members of the group are quick to drink the potion. When the men and women grow younger, Dr. Heidegger watches approvingly as his expectations are proven true when the members of the group begin to all repeat the mistakes of their pasts; two of the men fight violently over the affection of the woman, and the woman enjoys a superficial sense of satisfaction regarding the attention her outer appearance is able to earn her. Had the experimentees have had a level of commendable wisdom due to their old age, they would have known not the re-enact their previous misdeeds. However, their mistakes were repeated, enforcing that age determines little in the virtues of one's character.

Similarly, in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is a young girl who has acted upon a sin most shunned upon by the New England puritan community in which she resides by commiting adultry with Reverend Dimmesdale. When their act is exposed, to serve her punishment Hester is to wear a scarlet "A" sewn upon her bosom at all times, deeming her a painfully low position in society to be scorned upon by the elitist puritans. As Hester fulfills her punishment, she decides to spend her days doing charitable deeds for the community, eventually earning herself a humble respect from the puritans. This unique life experience earns Hester a commendable sense of morality, virtue and wisdom, and it came not from old age but from adversity and hardship.

There are many old fools and there is much virtue among the youth. Wisdom must be measured not by age, as it is simply a number, but by the experience that has filled one's years."
</code></pre>

<p>I don't mean to sound presitigious, the point of this isn't to say "I THINK I DESERVE A TWELVE," but when I'm comparing mine to my friends I got pretty angry that he got a better score than me judging the quality of his versus mine. Maybe it sometimes depends on the grader?</p>

<p>I guess I want to know if I was scored too low or he was scored too high, because it's definitely one of the other.</p>

2

<p>anyone, please?? I would really appreciate it! The essay isn’t even that long.</p>

3

<p>I think a 10 was very generous. Review your grammar and spelling, then consider whether you stated your case clearly, used vocabulary words correctly, provided enough (and relevant enough) examples to support it, and addressed the essay prompt (which you haven’t included here).</p>

<p>I think you could boost future essay scores by paying more attention to detail and choosing your words more carefully.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE=heather123]

The essay isn’t even that long.

[/quote]

Common lore has it that length is a requirement for 11s and 12s. Can’t tell you whether that’s true, but it’s another thing to consider.</p>

4

<p>You should be happy with a 10.</p>

<p>I would have rated it a 8 or 9.</p>

5

<p>PM’d you with some details, heather. Good luck on your future testing and applications!</p>

6

<p>Question, as you stated: Can we learn a lot from our elders? Do you think old people have something important to say and should we listen to them because they’re old?</p>

<p>Your conclusion: There are many old fools and there is much virtue among the youth. Wisdom must be measured not by age, as it is simply a number, but by the experience that has filled one’s years.</p>

<p>I would have to agree that a 10 was pretty generous. You did a good job using classic examples from the honors 11 english arsenal, but i think you kind of answered what you wanted, not what the question was asking.</p>

7

<p>“Drinken”? “Eager to pertain”? “I don’t mean to sound presitigious”?</p>

<p>Don’t take this the wrong way, but… fancy terminology doesn’t mean much unless you learn to use them.</p>

<p>I really don’t see why you expected a higher score. There’s not much of an introduction or a conclusion, nothing really connecting your essay’s point to the actual topic at hand, and the arguments you provide seem wholly unconvincing. You’re basically saying that since there’s this story in which this happened, we can say this is true about the real world. Sorry, but do you really think fiction is a credible source of argument? Nevermind using historical and real evidence, but even a thought experiment is better than “well this story once said that…”.</p>

<p>Now that I think about it, I’m surprised you got a 10 in the first place.</p>

8

<p>Wow, I’m frankly surprised you got a 10. I would have given this essay an 8 at most. If you re-read this you will see multiple errors. </p>

<p>…they would have known not the re-enact… careless error, should have been “to”
…apprehensive doctor… – do you really mean “apprehensive” it doesn’t make sense. </p>

<p>Many mispellings such as adultery, committed, etc. </p>

<p>Very sloppy. An 8 at the most.</p>

9

<p>It’s not a bad essay, but it’s not in the 11-12 range.</p>

10

<p>I would have given you an 8</p>

11

<p>A ten was extremely generous.</p>

12

<p>A 10 essay could’ve easily been a 9 or an 11 on another day. There’s no point in complaining about a one point difference.</p>

<p>And don’t complain about a 10. There was no variety in your examples (both literature by Hawthorne), and your spelling, grammar, and writing style were poor. Granted I agree with your stance on the question, but the rest of the essay just wasn’t there.</p>