<p>I'm taking an SAT prep class right now and my writing teacher tells me to only use one very strong example in the essay and develop it fully. Is this true? If not, how should I go about writing my essay?</p>
<p>your teacher is right. one long, fully developed example is better than 2 or three small ones.</p>
<p>It would be good if you made the example from recent history.</p>
<p>It's good to keep various examples on hand. For example, have something you can write about from recent history, something from literature, something from science, etc. That way, depending on the prompt, you'll be sure to have something you can use.</p>
<p>I got an 800 on the writing section, though, and I wrote a 5 paragraph essay with 3 solid examples. It's still better if you have one really solid example than 3 minor ones, but if you can pull it off, 3 solid examples is better. It depends on your writing style as well as how fast you can write.</p>
<p>style is not what they want. The just wanna see if you can use Grammar properly. a few big words might help</p>
<p>hmm, the teacher seems to believe that it is better to have one completely developed example that spans 3 paragraphs than 3 solid examples (not minor ones).</p>
<p>So say one of my examples in on The Great Gatsby. I should completely go over all aspects of the novel that have to do with the topic instead of doing 3 examples of The Great Gatsby, John F. Kennedy, and a personal account.</p>
<p>thanks for the posts guys</p>
<p>From personal experience, I would still recommend having 3 solid examples, simply because it worked out for me, but go with whatever feels more comfortable to you. The readers only spend 2 minutes per essay (so I hear). In actuality, legibility and organization is what they're really looking for.</p>
<p>If detailed enough, two well-written examples (preferably from different fields, e.g., literature and personal observation) ought to be rather effective. One might be cutting it too closely. Three lends you less time for full introspection or analysis. Also, I would suggest preparing turn-of-phrases and/or transitions beforehand, as well as a few works of literary merit that encompass a wide range of topics (in case you blank out during the test).</p>
<p>stuck-on-1700 is incorrect in my opinion.</p>
<p>Style is what seperates a 6 from a 5.</p>
<p>To get to a 5, organization and logic (like, did you fully justify your example and does it pertain to the topic?) is most important and grammar to a much lesser extent. You can have grammar errors and still get a perfect 12 from both people (me). </p>
<p>Many examples gives you a worse grade. Easily. You need one fully developed. Even having one full one and many lesser ones look bad. You shouldn't use examples in an essay if you're not going to justify each of them equally. </p>
<p>You may disregard what I say, but I got perfect 12/12 on both SAT and ACT without any prep at all. It's my natural way of writing and from what I saw on examples afterwards, and from friend's reports, that is how it works.</p>
<p>Naturally, I only use one example but explain it fully.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, could you please give me a brief layout of your typical essay coolsushicutter?</p>
<p>manyh people on this site have scored 5's and 6's on their essay with one solid, very thoroughly analyzed example. but the catch is that it has to be like ... blow you socks off EXTRAORDINARILY good. </p>
<p>I like the 2 example strategy. It's a little "safer" than putting all your eggs on one basket, but allows you more time to develop the 2 ex's more thoroughly than if you had 3 ex's. </p>
<p>But it really depends on how you present it. If you can dig deep and do a really good one example, then go for it. But for me personally, I konw that I am not that analytical, so I opt for 2. Fast/experienced writers might go for 3. </p>
<p>And the whole personal examples= bad myth is false. As long as your personal example is not offensive, childish, and relates to your thesis, then it is good.</p>
<p>Sure. Normally, if I dont have much time to write, my multiparagraph paper would be something like this:</p>
<p>PARAGRAPH 1: Simply discuss the question being asked so that people know you understand the situation. End with the paragraph with your thesis and your opinion on a topic.
PARAGRAPH 2: Explain why you believe that way and logically show why it is true.
PARAGRAPH 3: Spend the whole paragraph presenting a good example. Heck, you can simply start off this paragraph with "For example,..."
PARAGRAPH 4: End with a conclusion; wrap things up. Maybe do a very short summary to wrap your whole argument up. End with a statement that isn't the exact same thing as your thesis but presents the same idea.</p>
<p>If you have more time, stick in a paragraph with counter-arguments to how you think the opposite party might argue if it is a controversial topic.</p>
<p>You don't have to write a lot to have a good paper. People who say that length is all that matters are foolish and expose why they themselves are struggling to get their desired writing grade (sorry for sounding harsh, but I found the whole idea to be ludicrous). Get what you need done in a smooth organization. Don't overdo big words... That'll screw you over. You're given a paper for others to understand, not to impress people and show them how bombastic you are. of course, you should still use a upper tier vocabulary because that does help in seperating a 5 from a 6, but dont overdo it.</p>
<p>I hope this helps. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hmm i thought we were supposed to present our example in our first paragraph and then discuss it in the second...</p>
<p>thanks for the post sushi</p>
<p>Introduce your example(s) in the first paragraph along with stating your thesis and discuss the example(s) in subsequent paragraphs.</p>
<p>Docta, there is no format that you are "supposed" to follow. </p>
<p>Unique > Imitation</p>
<p>You are an individual writer and they request you to write your own essay for a reason, as obvious as it sounds. </p>
<p>I personally would never introduce an example so early, because it is used to reinforce your argument. But what is the point of the example if you haven't fully presented your argument? </p>
<p>Go with your gut feeling; I'm just showing my essay format that got me a good grade. I never read any example essays, but I daresay I didn't need to anyways.</p>