<p>In writing the essay, to what extent should we consider the alternative point of view.</p>
<p>For example, suppose the prompt is something like:
"Is there value to studying the creative arts?"</p>
<p>Should I be writing an essay that unambiguously picks yes/no, with potentially 3 body paragraphs that pick one reason to support that with an example to back up that reason?</p>
<p>Or,</p>
<p>In the final body paragraph, might it be beneficial to explore the opposing point of view to test the limits of the overall thesis? That is, present an extreme condition in which the stance taken may not apply to offer a more nuanced take. That while under most conditions I'd answer yes there is value (or no there is no value), under the following extreme condition we may want to consider the opposite that this is not the case.</p>
<p>I know that the SAT says they are looking for an insightful and effective essay.</p>
<p>If I were to write this effectively, would type of essay be considered more insightful?</p>
<p>So to clarify, rowerruns and I had been discussing this and my position is that you take a single position on the prompt and stick with it.
Your 3 examples are all why your position is correct.
I can see that in some cases the prompt is such that it makes sense to consider the alternative in the third example but dismiss it as being unusual or significant. </p>
<p>Any opinions on whether you should have a sincere “On the other hand…”?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Agreed.</p>
<p>As I have told this student, it is wholly appropriate to BRIEFLY acknowledge and refute an opposing viewpoint.</p>
<p>However, argbargy is correct that this is essentially a “yes/no” “agree/disagree” proposition, so the overwhelming majority of the essay needs to focus on developing the writer’s overall position.</p>
<p>Would the model be something like this:</p>
<p>Q. Is humor the best way to approach problems?</p>
<p>Intro–Pick yes or no unambiguosly
Body 1 – Develop reason 1 with example
Body 2 – Develop reason 2 with example
Body 3 – Suppose I said yes humor is the best way. Now consider a case in which someone did not use humor and experienced a bad outcome.
Conclusion – Restate the position and the 2 reasons supporting it (since body 3 did not offer a new distinct reason)</p>
<p>I think the suggestion of the above posters, which I would agree with, is that Body 3 would be:</p>
<p>Although some would say <contrary position=""> because <specific situation="">, it is in fact the case that in <specific situation=""> I am correct because <germane example="" for="" that="" situation="">. </germane></specific></specific></contrary></p>
<p>e.g. Although some would say humor has no place in emotionally fraught situations such as funerals, I have personally experienced the curative power of laughter in times of grief. When my grandfather passed away, …</p>
<p>In other words, you refute the counter-argument while at the same time providing further support to your own. Devoting Body 3 entirely to refuting the counter-argument is too much of a digression when your primary mission is to support your own viewpoint.</p>
<p>All else equal — doing something like this approach would be preferred?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You keep asking for absolutes when there are innumerable variables in this process.</p>
<p>There is no 13 on this exam. Your goal is a 10-11-12. Dont over stretch and try for perfection in 25 minutes in one draft. </p>
<p>“All else equal” is probably a fallacious supposition you ought prodigiously eschew.
Can you really write both types of essay equally well? Are you sure you can finish your three example essay in time? Nothing is going to screw your score up like having a clever either/or treatment and then having no conclusion because you ran out of time. </p>
<p>What is <em>your</em> best path to a good score? For example, lots of people see that a 6 uses SAT words and so they sprinkle them in, usually signalling they dont really know the words and potentially costing them points. If <em>you</em> are a reader and know how words are used in context, then throw in a couple. But dont let your essay be the first time you use ‘paradigm’ in your life.</p>
<p>My advice is based on Adam Robinson’s, because I think he is very clever at reverse engineering tests. To summarize:
- Your essay is read twice and given a grade 0-6
- The two grades cant differ by more than a point or it goes to a 3rd grader
- Graders are all trained on the same sample essays
- In training they are instructed what to look for and how much to penalize for various types of errors
- the goal of the training process is to get graders to score the exemplars the same way all the time on the CB’s scoring guide.</p>
<p>Robinson’s conclusion:
“Here is the key point: unlike what you might think, the goal of all of the graders is not to try to give the essay the score they believe it deserves. Instead the goal is to give each essay the grade that they think all the other graders would give it.”</p>
<p>Now Robinson’s advice is from 2005 and CB might change up stuff. But the insight is the same- they are never going to get 100,000+ essays graded in time if every grader has their own concept of what to look for. If someone is in the room giving 5’s to everything that is getting 3’s elsewhere I am sure they wont last long. The goal is a smooth, replicable process that reliably grades.
So dont try and get too fancy and nuanced- you cant appeal to the iconoclast grader who might like that. </p>
<p>The system allows graders to give you 6’s- your goal should be to drive right down the conventional path and let them do that job. If the ball is on the 5 with goal to go the correct tactic is you run up the middle, not call run the flea flicker. IMHO.</p>