<p>My mom directed me to a website by a "teacher of the year" winner named Lawrence Sitomer. He has a website with a detailed, free essay preparation guide.</p>
<p>The reason I ask for opinions are, unlike all of the other test prep things I have looked at, he advises using only 4 paragraphs. What do you guys think about this? I think I would have scored substantially better on my last essay if I had only used 4 paragraphs (intro, 2 examples, conclusion), because I added a 3rd example that was very weak. Will I be penalized if I only use 4 paragraphs? He advises to have a thesis statement paragraph, a paragraph arguing one way, then a paragraph arguing the opposite opinion, and a conclusion.</p>
<p>I only used four paragraphs and scored a 12 on my essay. For me, personally, twenty minutes is not enough time to crank out a third body paragraph.</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn't read your original post closely enough. It sounds risky to argue a point in the first body paragraph and then reverse it in the next. When we practice AP argument essays, my teacher reccommends that you simply acknowledge the other side in your conclusion, so I would cast my vote for the two awesome examples.</p>
<p>Sorry, I believe 3 body pps/arguments are the way to go, and these should all be very varied. I got a 12 - first example was dictatorships/revolutions, 2nd on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. My 3rd? Basketball and teamwork.</p>
<p>it totally depends on the quality of your paragraph. if you can generate three but different and equally supportive/good examples, then go for it. but a weak 3rd will not help your paper and may only hurt it.</p>
<p>I wrote 4 paragraphs and I got a 12. My English teacher is a former SAT essay grader, and it was she who strongly recommended that I use a 4 paragraph essay becuase the quality of the examples is what matters. It worked.</p>
<p>Good advice all around. While it's possible to get a great score when you argue both sides, I think it's a lot harder than getting a good score by arguing one side.</p>
<p>I recommend 4 paragraphs to all my students, unless they are really fast writers and hell-bent on a 5 paragraph essay. Then I recommend that body paragraph 3 might be best used presenting an argument on the other side and saying why it is wrong, thus further supporting your side. But really, you don't need that 3rd point.</p>