<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm planning on taking the October SAT, and my main goal this summer is to perfect the writing section. If you have gotten an 800 (or still did relatively well) on this section, can you tell me your study tips or recommend any books to use?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>My son got an 800 in writing. I think the key on the essay is to try and think outside the box.</p>
<p>He got some question about whether energy drinks should be banned. Many kids probably wrote an essay that said, “yes, energy drinks are bad, so they should be banned”. His answer to the question was to examine WHY kids USE energy drinks (such as very heavy study loads), and to then state that the underlying reasons that CAUSE kids to use energy drinks should be addressed, rather than banning the drink.</p>
<p>“Question about whether energy drinks should be banned”</p>
<p>This question has never come out on a real SAT–maybe you’re thinking of another test. </p>
<p>The key to 800 on W is grammar. You need to LOCK it down. Learn all the principles (I’d use the guide on CC and/or McG/Hill, then solve every REAL test you can get your hands on, starting w/Blue Book and Online tests).</p>
<p>Writing is so easy. There’s less than 10 rules you need to know and then the entire test (besides the essay) is literally just testing those same rules over and over again. I rose my score from a 600 sophomore year to an 800 junior year by doing nothing but going over grammar in my AP Lang class. We read The Elements of Style, which is a small grammar book that has absolutely nothing to do with the SAT but is one of the best books for learning English grammar at all. After I read that, I could easily sense any error. In fact, most of the Writing session just seemed like common sense to me. If it sounded awkward, it was wrong. Of course, then there’s a few questions that get tough, and in that case you need to know what’s right. This doesn’t necessarily mean learning all these technical rules and grammatical terms though. You can just use brief guidelines and tricks to get these rules down. For example, I used to have trouble figuring out whether to use “I” or “me” in phrases like “her and I” or “her and me” (a very commonly tested concept on the SAT, by the way). What I did was replace that phrase with “us” or “we”. If “us” made sense then the phrase would use “me”, and the other way around for I. That may be confusing, but if you’re good enough at grammar you should be able to sense when that is wrong or right. Just using shortcuts like that can easily help you get those trickier questions.</p>
<p>I agree, writing is really easy, but that is also why it’s so difficult. I always miss two or three on the actual test, but since it’s so easy, the curve is always so harsh and just screws me over. I guess I’ll try to read the elements of style.</p>
<p>I’d skip Strunk & White and go straight to a more recent (and reliable) grammar book, like Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers.</p>
<p>I got a 770 writing, and I honestly was surprised. My first time I got a 650 (January 2012), second time I got a 610 (March 2012), and I nearly shat myself when I got a 770 for the May 2012.</p>
<p>As other people have said, the key is to know grammar, and you need to know HOW to look at the sentences on the test. There’s a way to rearrange the sentences on the test so you can see what is wrong. As for the essay, just look at examples of perfect 12 essays, and DON’T look at any other essays. By just looking at perfect essays you’ll be able to understand what it is you need in order to write one yourself. My english class did 4 or 5 practice essays between my March and May SAT. I don’t think writing these essays in english helped me (mostly because I didn’t take them seriously since they were a homework grade), but what did help me was when we evaluated and went over the perfectly scored essays.</p>