<p>How hard is it to do well on the SAT essay? I've heard length is an important factor than can help up your score (obviously if your essay is at least relatively good) but does length actually help work in your favor? During a 25 minute period, sometimes its hard not to be repetitive and totally accurate when you don't have time to edit.</p>
<p>What do you guys think about just scoring in general for essays? I understand what CC here believes makes a 12 essay, etc. But out of all test takers, do say 25% get 10-12? Less than that? Anyone have any ideas?</p>
<p>Obviously you shouldn’t just make up random junk just to fill up the two pages. 25 minutes should be enough to write a good, meaningful two pages and still have minute or two to edit. If you are unable to write a good two pages, it’s better to leave it short and write a good essay.</p>
<p>I think a lot less than 25% score 10-12, or College Board would have to toughen the grading somehow.</p>
<p>About 11 % gets 10 ,about 5% gets an 11 and less than 2% gets a 12 ;)</p>
<p>This may seem like it’s hard to get a 12 (only 7% score 11-12), but it’s really not. </p>
<p>Put it in perspective with the Writing section as a whole: </p>
<p>7% score 670 or above.
18% score 600 or above.</p>
<p>There’s a boatload of information about how to write a good essay on this board, and if you’ll do some searches I’m sure you’ll find it. Follow the right advice and you should score very well.</p>
<p>Dude, you don’t have to be “totally accurate.” They are scoring you on how well you argue, not how much you remember from history and literature. When I took the SAT last year, I focused on writing a concise and eloquent argument. I couldn’t remember the names of every battle of the American Revolution or the names of every character in We, but who cares? I still got a 12, haha. You know, that also helps with repetitiveness, because I wasn’t hindered by the limits of my knowledge - you can make up more arguments if needed.</p>
<p>I’m not saying you can make up an entire historical event, but don’t stress out if you don’t remember something exactly. As long as you know the outline of what happened, you can fill in the blanks to suit your argument and not suffer for it!</p>