<p>My question is, are essays which don't fill up the whole blank space given more likely to receive lower grades than those which fill up the whole blank space? </p>
<p>Having timed myself, I found it hard to fill in all the blank space (which is 2 sides, apx 500 words, which is 20 words p/ minute) in time. </p>
<p>Can people who received full score in the essay part in the past elaborate on this issue? Is length really one of the factors that the markers look at?</p>
<p>Of course length may be one of the factors that determine how well-written the essay is. However, it goes without saying that quality always takes precedence over quantity. </p>
<p>On my March essay, I got a 9 with nearly two full pages, with an intro, two (literary and historical) examples, and a conclusion. In October I received a 10 for an essay 1.5 pages long, with only one literary example that I didn’t finish, and no conclusion. The quality of your writing is much more important than just how much you write.</p>
<p>A shorter, but well-written essay, is ALWAYS better than a long, unfocused one. If you set out to fill the pages, but don’t have enough to say to fill the pages, you’re asking for trouble. I’ve definitely read 6 essays that were a page and a half. Do you want to write less than a page and half? Probably not, because then you’re getting into the territory of not elaborating enough on your examples. You have to factor in handwriting size, too. If you’re a small writer, you’re definitely going to be hard pressed to fill up two pages in the time limit! So don’t fixate on it. Focus on writing a solid essay. The length will take care of itself.</p>
<p>umm
i got a 12 with 2 full pages, but quality do matter
2 pages of random crap wont get you a double digit score</p>
<p>If you can make it relevant, always go for length compared to conciseness. I wrote close to 2 pages, with 2 or 3 lines left on the bottom, and I got a 12. I completely bsed my two examples, but I explained them in such a way that they appeared to support my argument. It doesn’t matter how bad the writing itself is. Relevance and length are key to getting a 12, even at the cost of quality in your examples. Just remember: explain everything.</p>
<p>It has been found that there is a distinct correlation between word count(not necessarily length) and score. So if you write more, you will probably get a higher score. Of course, this does not mean that you should be redundant or be overly verbose. Just make sure you have enough material for examples and elaborate upon them.</p>
<p>Well, recycleera, I didn’t get a full score (I got an 11, but that’s close enough) - and I wrote two complete pages.
Sad as it may seem, length really does matter. According to the New York Times, Dr. Perelman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology did a study in 2005 (you may have seen it before) which revealed, and I quote:
" “I have never found a quantifiable predictor in 25 years of grading that was anywhere near as strong as this one,” he said. “If you just graded them based on length without ever reading them, you’d be right over 90 percent of the time.” The shortest essays, typically 100 words, got the lowest grade of one. The longest, about 400 words, got the top grade of six. In between, there was virtually a direct match between length and grade. " (NYT, May 4 2005)</p>
<p>[The</a> New York Times > Education > On Education: SAT Essay Test Rewards Length and Ignores Errors](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/education/04education.html?ei=5090&en=94808505ef7bed5a&ex=1272859200&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all]The”>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/education/04education.html?ei=5090&en=94808505ef7bed5a&ex=1272859200&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all)</p>
<p>That sort of research is fine, but you have to take it with a big grain of salt. What does a longer essay really mean? I’d argue that better development of your argument=generally longer essay=better score, not just long essay=better score. A lot of words in and of itself doesn’t mean anything. Again, it’s about the quality of the argument, and yes, you need SOME length to be able to do that well. But, I really don’t like to see people adding a bunch of BS to their essay just to meet an artificial length requirement.</p>
<p>I went from a 9 essay to an 11 essay by following the “How to write a 12 essay in 10 days” guide on CC. On my 11 essay, I had some lines missing. On my final SAT, I followed the guide AND filled in both pages COMPLETELY. The result was a 12.</p>
<p>The answer: Yes.</p>
<p>Some famous guy did a study on it.</p>
<p>Grades are proportional to length.</p>
<p>thanks for all the response. </p>
<p>maybe i should really prepare for 3 examples and not 2</p>
<p>I folled the “How to Write a 12 Essay in 10 Days” as well and got a 12 (Yay!). I’ve taken the SAT three times, and first two times, I got 8s. On both, I fully covered the front page and half of the second. This last October, I fully covered all lines on both pages and got a 12. I think even if you do write a superb essay, the scorers know that getting a 12 means to totally express your ideas. You need to not only have the quality, but the quantity.</p>