<p>I need help to raise my score. </p>
<p>These are my SAT scores:</p>
<p>CR 610
M 600
W 560
Essay 8</p>
<p>Anyone know how to improve?</p>
<p>It looks like you need to focus on Writing (not a bad essay for starters btw. Keep practicing).</p>
<p>I'm copying one of my posts. These books really helped me.</p>
<p>For CR - Vocab (Grab Sparknotes vocab at once if you haven't already <--- Great list) (<a href="http://img.sparknotes.com/content/te.../sat.vocab.pdf)%5B/url%5D">http://img.sparknotes.com/content/te.../sat.vocab.pdf)</a>. It also helped me to make my own list of vocab after doing practice tests. Make your own flashcards!
Math - Grubers book (Amazon.com: Gruber's Complete SAT Guide 2008 (Gruber's Complete SAT Guide 2008-11th Edition) Paperback: Gary Gruber: Books)
Writing - You are struggling with this which means you need to familiarize yourself with the rules and stuff. Your essay needs work, read 3 minutes to a better essay (helped me a lot). (Amazon.ca: Increase Your Score in 3 Minutes a Day: SAT Essay: Randall McCutcheon, James Schaffer: Books)
Read my post on this thread for a detailed approach on the SAT essay: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/510782-sat-essay.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/510782-sat-essay.html</a> </p>
<p>Also get the following books at once:
1) College Board Blue book (I'm hoping and guessing you already have this). <-- Crucial practice tests. (Amazon.com: The Official SAT Study Guide: The College Board: Books)
2) Rocket Review Red book (Amazon.com: The Rocket Review Revolution : The Ultimate Guide to the New SAT and the PSAT 2005-2006 Edition: Adam Robinson: Books)</p>
<p>Have fun!
Good luck (and don't forget to tell me about your new 2000+ score).</p>
<p>Feed, why are you telling the OP what he/she needs to do, if you got an 8 yourself?</p>
<p>I got a 9 this May.</p>
<p>And the essay is only one part of one of the sections of the SAT. Granted it's important, you can score an 800 on Writing with a 9 on the essay (if you get all the MCs right). </p>
<p>The OP asked about how to improve his score, not merely his SAT essay.
And I'm just explaining how I did it.</p>
<p>Read plz?</p>
<p>I got an 8 probably because I used personal examples. I never use personal examples but I did this time, I don't know why.</p>
<p>If you present personal anecdotes appropriately, you can score an 11/12.
There are examples of this in the CollegeBoard Blue Book.</p>
<p>I didn't probably, lol. Since it was my first SAT essay, I wanted to see if I could get away with it, next time I do it.</p>
<p>What did you do to prep the first time? How much prep did you do? What books did you use?</p>
<p>A bit of advice.</p>
<p>I got a 12 essay, 790 overall and I did not use a single word that a 7th grader wouldn't know. Here are some important tips that I followed:</p>
<p>The graders do NOT want to see that you are putting "vocab" words in your essay for the sake of putting them in, and they can tell when you do it. What they want to see for a 12 is the following:</p>
<p>clear, easy to follow organization including an introduction, 2 examples, and a conclusion</p>
<p>WELL DEVELOPED examples. Throw in a lot of crap about the background of your examples. I used Andrew Carnegie as one, so I said where he was born, what years Carnegie Steel was running, etc.</p>
<p>EVEN IF IT IS FACTUALLY INCORRECT, put in facts or statistics. Don't go overboard, but definitely do some. They can't count you off for being factually incorrect. I have heard a story about a guy who got 11 after writing about Thomas Jefferson's presidency in the 1950s!</p>
<p>MAKE IT LONG. There was a legitimate study done by a professor somewhere (I think at MIT) which showed that he could predict the grade of an essay from ACROSS THE ROOM with remarkable accuracy. The longer the essay, the higher score you will get. It's stupid, but it's the way it works. You want to be writing at 100 mph for 20 solid minutes.</p>
<p>MAKE IT NEAT,
If you write neatly, you will please the readers because they will find it easier to understand your handwriting. They are ****ed and bored and the last thing they want to do is decipher some kind of chicken scratch.</p>
<p>CROSS OUT SOME THINGS. You heard me right! Part of the across the room study showed that if things were crossed out, it shows that you put some time into "editing" it and trying to make it better. The idea is that it's a first draft, so they actually look for scratched out words/lines. (As long as it's done relatively neatly). This will also add to your length. Seriously, do it!</p>
<p>Those are the strategies I used for the test, and I did well on it. One other thing is be prepared with some generic examples and facts beforehand. If you don't remember facts, make some up! Really! You could even make up a foreign book if you are desperate (my buddy did that and got an 11).</p>
<p>I think that historical and literature examples are the best and personal examples are NOT what they are necessarily looking for. I wish you luck, follow those steps and I'm sure you can do well!</p>
<p>Also for the MC questions, it is all the same question more or less. Go through a practice test and figure out what you are getting wrong, correct it and understand why it's wrong, and repeat. You will end up doing really well.</p>
<p>fyi</p>
<p>i got 10/12 on the real sat essay and I used ONE personal experience (with a bit of a bluff). </p>
<p>seriously, i think personal examples are the way to go because you can connect with it and you have 'felt' it through thoroughly. i mean, how can you make up a book and an essay within 25 minutes? :) however, if making up does work for you, do it by all means.</p>
<p>people look down on personal examples, but I think they are valid things to write about AND can get a decent score from!</p>
<p>Are these the answers to all?</p>
<p>I got a 10 on my May essay and I used 2 personal examples and filled up two pages...I reread my essay and I think it's horrible. I don't even know how I got a 10...:D</p>