<p>If anyone with first-hand experience could contribute, it would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Basically, do the graders grade you based upon your choice of examples (IE Real or Fake..NOT "convincing or not convincing") whatsoever?</p>
<p>Depends on if it sounds fake to the reader. If the reader cannot determine if its fake or not, then you’re good. This is easier to pull off if you’re citing evidence from a novel than actually making up history examples.</p>
<p>You can lie, beg, borrow, and steal when it comes to the examples for the essay. They will never know if you’re making it up or not. Just make sure you know how to sell the story you concoct. If you don’t feel confident that you can do that, use the true examples you have, you’ll be able to express them better in writing.</p>
<p>I read somewhere though, that if readers were to check the authenticity of one example, then they are obligated to check it for each and every example in every other essay they read. It’s only fair.</p>
<p>I’m sure its fine. The goal of the essay is not to see what you write about, but how you write about it.</p>
<p>How would they ever know? They’d have to call you in to verify that the examples were actually truthful, and even if you did show up in person to discuss your essay with them, “Yea, the examples are real, why do you ask?” In the end, there’s absolutely no way they’d ever be able to tell what examples were real and which ones were not. Unfortunately, if you aren’t good at making stuff up on the fly and making it fit to the prompt, your writing will be choppy and difficult to understand, and then your score suffers.</p>
<p>Yes, this is pretty established.</p>
<p>Although, one might one to be discriminate in making examples that can be a) idiotic, b) unbelievable, or c) anything that may incite negative bias. </p>
<p>I often talk about mystical Indian kings or African tribal warlords employing principles of truth or intuition in their lands or war as examples (I can think of a plethora of Indian names that sound historically ‘king-like’). I usually keep religion and really controversial stuff out as well.</p>
<p>If you’re so talented and imaginative to make up examples that will lead to 12 on the essay then you’re talented enough and well read enough to quickly identify and apply real examples.</p>
<p>Admissions at the colleges to which you submit your score have access to the essay. Would they read it? They might, especially if your application essays are too good to be true, or they may have a policy of selective reading.</p>
<p>fogcity is right, and SAT essays are commonly read because it is a very accurate sample of writing and can show what the real ability level is, so be smart about what you write it can impact your admissions decision.</p>
<p>that depends if you are talented in writing fake examples as personal or something… which didn’t happen even to you with well grammer and vocab then you can get 12 if it is convincing enough as for me i don’t like writing fake examples so i write on any historical figure or a novel</p>
<p>If you can help it, don’t! It is explicitly stated on the collegeboard website that colleges have access to the essay you wrote on the SAT… And chances are that when the college shotties go through your common app essay, they’ll also snatch a glance at your SAT essay and believe me, they wouldn’t appreciate a potential candidate making up phoney examples, specially the ivies!</p>
<p>I read about a tutor who regularly takes the SAT to keep up with it and has scored something like three perfect scores. On the last essay, the tutor completely made up all the facts (there was some pretty crazy stuff, like Lincoln spent time with Churchill in prison during the Basque revolution) and got a twelve. Of course, I usually avoid making up examples since colleges can see your essays.</p>
<p>For personal examples, it is perfectly fine to make up examples as long as they sound realistic. In terms of novels or history, I would try to stray away from making facts up. If your essay is reviewed by someone who thoroughly knows his or her books and history, fake examples could make things difficult. There are plenty of real life examples that can be used; you just need to look hard enough.</p>
<p>yeah the graders aren’t allowed to take points from your essay for factual errors but colleges do see them.</p>
<p>Yes, this is true.</p>
<p>/thread</p>
<p>I think we’re all exaggerating this. It has been common knowledge now for years to make up examples on the SAT writing essay. I’m not saying it’s a good or right thing in anyway, but it’s been being done for years now. Colleges MUST be well aware of this fact; if your facts can openly be disputed, they were probably too stupid to be used in the first place.</p>
<p>Essays for top schools are routinely shining; odds are, your essay probably won’t even be THAT superb that a college will feel the need to really make sure that an Ivy-League caliber applicant can write a decent essay. So take it down a notch, and start citing vague Indonesian war chiefs’ battle stories or the plots of train station 99 cent novels if you’re really that afraid of being caught.</p>