SAT Grading Thread

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>I'm taking the SAT for the first time on Saturday.</p>

<p>Please read my essay and offer suggestions/input, as well as a score out of 12.</p>

<p>Is it important to question the ideas and decisions of people in positions of authority?</p>

<p>While bodies of authority like the government hold power to enact and execute decisions, they are not infallible and uncorruptable by the vices akin to the rest of humanity. As in our own government, checks to the authority of poeple in power is vital to enduring freedom and the success of democracy.</p>

<p>In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the innocent and naive young boys fail to recognize the corruption fo their leader Jack as they abandon moral judgement and sensible government, represented by Ralph. In yielding power to Jack, they forsake their cvility and goodness to accept the decisions made by their leader, bent on hunting. The boys reach their ultimate demise into chaos and anarachy as they fail to check the growing power of their leader, Jack. In Lord of the Flies, the failure to question their figures of authority has negative consequences for the book's characters.</p>

<p>Similarly in George Orwell's Animal Farm, a satrical allegory based on the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the failure of the farm animals to stand up to the decisions made by the sovereigning igs leads to the curtailment of their personal liberties. The igs, in charge of the other animals, manipulate the Commandments of Animalism, a mockery of real-life Communism, to their benefit. In real Russia, the Communist party took advantage of the subservience of the people to form their own regime, more tyrannical than the Tsarist regime it usurped. While the people still bought into the distorted lies and decisions proffered by the pigs and communists, respectively, these authority figures were able to expand their hold on the people through the own allegience of the people.</p>

<p>During the French Revolution, the failure of the people to combat radicalism under Maximillion Robespierre and his Committee of Public Safety engendered the Reign of Terror. Initially established by the national legislature at hte time, this committee intended to enable the execution of decrees and laws enacted, but ultimately led a rampage of another type of execution. Because the people initially failed to proactively respond to Robespierre and the "Terror," it allowed this witchhunt of sedition for nearly two years and ironically counteracted the freedoms intended by the French legislature. </p>

<p>History and literature testify and corroborate to the necessity of challenges to authority to curtail tyranny and corruption of even the most benign institutions of authority that can mar the good intentions which lie beneath.</p>

2

<p>bump...anyone?</p>

3

<p>i'd give it a 11</p>

4

<p>id give it a 10. good ideas,, vocabulary is too pretentious.</p>

5

<p>just cuz u load it with vocab doesn't mean its oging to increase ur score, use vocab when ur tryingt to establish point or when necessary. caliboi is right</p>

6

<p>I'd give it a 9.</p>

<p>Remember SAT graders have literally 3 minutes to read your essay and pick a number. If they get stuck trying to sift through excessively verbose language, they won't be happy. The point of an SAT essay isn't to write literature; it's to make a point and be VERY CLEAR and DIRECT about it. Your language clouds the meaning of your ideas. Keep it simple, and add in an occasional flowery term here and there, but not everywhere.</p>

<p>Also, structurally, there were some issues. You didn't allude to any of the examples you mentioned in the intro, which although not critical, is always nice for SAT essays. At least foreshadow what types of examples you'll use (i.e. lit and history), but preferably mention books titles and like info. And in your second paragraph, you're talking a little about a lot. It's great that you mention the historical context of Animal Farm, but it detracts from detail. Instead of analyzing in depth the issue, you talk in rather broad terms about two situations, when you could talk more about one situation. Although what you did is impressive because it shows factual knowledge, SAT graders don't give about factual knowledge. You can theoretically make up books and dates as long as you discuss them in detail and make connections to the thesis. They want to see critical thinking, and in that paragraph, you're showing memorization more than analysis.</p>

<p>Let me give you a specific example: "The boys reach their ultimate demise into chaos and anarachy as they fail to check the growing power of their leader, Jack. In Lord of the Flies, the failure to question their figures of authority has negative consequences for the book's characters." You could get a lot more specific than this. What negative consequences? What anarchy and chaos? There are a ton of supporting examples you can pick out, and all you need to do is mention one specific example to support the idea of "negative consequences." Because as is, you're saying that not questioning leadership leads to negative consequences. You have to support that assertion with a specific example (like the death of Piggy, the fire on the island - wow, it's been a while since I read this book, lol). With an example, this paragraph would be 11-worthy (you have to simplify vocab for the coveted 12). And you have to be more specific in this way in the second paragraph as well (third one is better). </p>

<p>A conclusion isn't that important in SAT essays, but if you're going to include one as a separate paragraph (you could always include a concluding sentence in the last body paragraph instead), make it less wordy. Better to make it short and sweet (saves time too), than to draw it out in a long, complex sentence.</p>

<p>Remember, none of this has anything to do with your writing skills. SAT writing is just different, and it's got to be simple, direct and focused. There is a great guide on Sparknotes on writing good SAT essays, and you'll see it's really formulaic and uncreative (but that's what it's got to be for a 3 minute read, or else your reader will get lost). Best thing you can do is read sample essays that have gotten high scores, and see what type of qualities make a good SAT essay. And remember, nice, big handwriting is key (lol).</p>

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<p>9-10 .</p>

8

<p>umm, its a 11 or a 12 for sure...i don't know what you guys r talking about...the diction is properly placed, however, you could make your statements stronger and more explicit in the first paragraph to ensure yourself a 12.</p>

9

<p>okay thanks to those that responded! Any other suggestions on how to improve to bump it up to a solid 11, 12? Or other varying opinions?</p>

10

<p>bump..... please</p>

11

<p>man, great essay. id give it a 12</p>