My 11 & 12 essays

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>First of all, I'm not a very good writer at all in school, but for some reason I score very highly on the SAT essay.</p>

<p>I'm posting these essays to show all of you how I approach the SAT essay and to give examples of what both a near perfect and a perfect score look like.</p>

<p>March SAT (11):</p>

<p>Prompt:</p>

<p>Mistakes we have made in the past are supposed to make us wiser, stronger, and better able to deal with the future. This approach suggests that we should continue to focus on our mistakes, that we should remember them, no matter how painful or embarrassing to us they may be. But nothing is to be gained by concerning ourselves with old mistakes. We should forget them as soon as possible.</p>

<p>Assignment:</p>

<p>Is it best to forget about past mistakes as soon as possible? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.</p>

<p>Essay:</p>

<p>To say nothing is to gained by concerning ourselves with old mistakes would be a fallacy. Through my studies in literature and observations of of one of the most successful athletes in the modern era, I have come to learn that the mistakes we make drive us to become wiser, stronger, and better able to deal with the future.</p>

<p>In the novel, Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the protagonist, Huck gains a better moral standing through the mistakes he made in the past. Because of how he stole, lied, and cheated the people in his hometown, he gained [sorry I have bad hand-writing] insight that he would have never achieved if he hadn't made these mistakes. The sadness and anger he brought to the people he stole from made him drive to become a better person. This is evident when he tries to teach his friend, Jim, not to steal and to treat people more courteously. Additionally, when Tom Sawyer comes to save Jim near the end of the novel, Huck questions Tom's inhumane antics when trying to "save" Jim. This highly contrasts to the beginning of the novel where Huck had a great time from messing with Jim and making fun of him.</p>

<p>Like Huck, former pro basketball player Michael Jordan learned from his mistakes as well, ultimately propelling him to superstar status, with most people regarding him as the greatest basketball player to have ever lived. But when Michael first attempted to tryout for his high school basketball team, he went into the tryouts knowing he had not worked hard enough, which consequently lead to the coach of the team cutting him from the roster. The mistake Jordan made of lacking to prepare for the tryouts drove him to super stardom as he worked nearly every day until the end of his NBA career to sharpen his skills on the court.</p>

<p>Both the novel of Huckleberry Finn, and the life story of Michael Jordan provide excellent examples of why you should not forget past mistakes. Throughout Huckleberry Finn, Huck comes to a moral crossroads of whether to do the right or wrong thing, and nearly every time he remembers the mistakes he made in the past, before he ran away, leading him to choose the morally correct path. Similarly, Michael Jordan, through the span of his entire career has said in countless interviews as well as meet and greets with aspiring NBA players that it was that failure, that mistake of not preparing, that carried him to where he is today. No matter how embarrassing or painful the mistake may have been, you must remember it because it will make you wiser, stronger, and an all-around better person like Huck and Michael Jordan.</p>

2

<p>May SAT (12):</p>

<p>Prompt:</p>

<p>People talk too much about their feelings. They share their deepest secrets and innermost thoughts on television talk shows. They write revealing autobiographies. They buy books that advise them to tell others about their feelings. We would be far better off if we followed the advice of Florence Nightingale, a pioneer in the field of nursing, who thought that people too often waste their feelings by talking about them and should instead turn their feelings into actions that bring results.</p>

<p>Assignment: Is it better for people to act on their feelings than to talk about them? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.</p>

<p>Us, as human beings, would be much better off if we learned to express our feelings before taking action. Florence Nightingale is wrong when she says that people waste their time talking about feelings. By expressing our feelings to other people, we can help prevent future accidents and hardship. Through my studies in literature and one of the greatest modern tragedies. I have learned that people would be much better off if they talked to someone else about what they were going through. In the novel, Huckleberry Finn, Huck feels oppressed by both his father and the Widow Douglass, because on one hand, his father ignores him and only uses Huck for his own personal gain, and on the other hand, the Widow Douglass is trying to turn Huck into something he is unwilling to become. This oppression Huck feels from both of his parental figures causes him to feel trapped and unable to relate to the only people he can really express his feelings to. Because he feels trapped and unable to express himself, he runs away from his home, causing grief and havoc in his hometown as they blame his father for “killing” Huck. If Huck had been able to talk to his parents, then he most likely would have stayed home and saved his father.</p>

<p>Like the the situation in Huck Finn, the Virginia Tech Massacre teaches us the same lesson, but on a whole new level. ONe of the students due to bullying and a lack of friendship felt like his peers and even his teachers hated him. Piling onto that, his image established on that campus resulted into depression and mental instability, and even worse, he had no one to talk to, just as Huck Finn. Because he was unable to talk to anyone about his depression and inner rage, he went on a killing spree during the school day, killing over a dozen students and faculty members. If only this student had someone to talk to before he took action, this massacre could have been easily avoided.</p>

<p>Both of these cases present situations where tragedy could have been easily avoided if only they had someone to express their feelings to for later in Huckleberry Finn, the positive results of expressing one’s feelings are proven when he is able to talk to his friend Jim about his feelings, ultimately leading to his return to home. I am sure that if the student from Virginia Tech had someone like Jim to talk to, he would not have killed so many innocent people, nor would he have taken his own life. Through these studies, it is clear that talking about feelings is much better for us human beings rather than taking immediate action in order to prevent possible future tragedy and grief.</p>

3

<p>This is a very outdated message, but I just wanted to thank you for posting that!
It’s uber-helpful to people like me who need help with this. :)</p>

4

<p>Wow you wrote “sorry I have bad hand writing”?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for this btw.</p>

5

<p>this is awesome, you will do well</p>