<p>It seems as though there's so much emphasis on the essay portion. Like there are threads here that say to grade an essay and people give 4/6's and they seem to be decent essays. And when I went to an SAT writing class, in comparison to prep books/CB website examples, my essay SHOULD be a 6 but in the writing class I got a 3.</p>
<p>And on those prep books/CB examples, a 6 is a pretty bad essay compared to those on this board.</p>
<p>So the question is: Which one is right--does CB/ETS grade THAT harshly on essays, or is it about the same as the examples they put up on their website?</p>
<p>Please respond...I (and others on this board, I'm sure) want to know before the next SAT. :D</p>
<p>I think it depends a lot on the grader. Two different people said they thought their 2nd essay (2nd writing test) was better than the first, but were not graded accordingly. I think I read in an article about the SAT that CB has classes for the graders teaching about the rubric and showing different essays and their proper score. CB's guideline is probably the best to go by then.</p>
<p>how much will the essay account for the new SAT score?
say you get a 2 versus a 6. Will that affect the overall writing score or will the essay grade remain separate?</p>
<p>It is actually not that hard to get a 6. The real challenge lies on how your thoughts process during the 2-5 minute brainstorm and how those thoughts successfully transcribe onto paper. If you are writing a timed essay, it is CRUCIAL that you organize your thoughts (don't be like those kids that just start writing and writing). </p>
<p>I've read model essays, and all the 6's have one thing in common. Although the grammar isn't perfect (far from it), the essays have FOCUS and PROOF. For example, you may write an essay responding to a question asking, say, If you think telling the truth is always the write thing. Now, the generic response would be "You have to lie sometimes blah blah." But here's the mistake, where's the proof? You'd be better off recalling a personal anecdote about the time you did drugs or something like that. A good strategy to get 6 would be to focus on a specific point, maybe like a tale from a story you've read. Then pick out the main points and stick to it. The thing about Level 5 and 4 essays, is they ALWAYS tend to stray off topic. For instance, a Level 4 I've read strayed COMPLETELY off the topic question; the person didn't get the point. (Say, instead of an opinion on truth, he writes about the history of truth). The only reason this kind of stuff if 4 is probably because of the neat organization, though vague message. </p>
<p>And RBse, your essay score will affect your writing score. So it'd pay to do your best on that section.</p>
<p>Generally, Level 4 essays digress into philosophical musings. No reader wants to see vague, general assertions on an already nebulous topic. This is a recipe for bad writing. The other version of this is using five or ten one to two sentence examples, which creates a desultory essay that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The readers are not looking for future Hemingways. They are merely looking to see that you can defend a position effectively and write in-depth on a particular topic.</p>
<p>I advise that writers pick a single, concrete example to develop their point, and use that example to integrate as much detail as possible into their essay. I would not suggest using more than two examples, and only use two if you can relate them easily and have lots of strong supporting details for each.</p>
<p>A composite score of 10 (2 5's) can still get you an 800, if you make very few mistakes on the multiple choice. However, most 800's tend to get 11's and 12's. Practice for the essay - it will be worth your while.</p>
<p>
[quote]
A composite score of 10 (2 5's) can still get you an 800, if you make very few mistakes on the multiple choice. However, most 800's tend to get 11's and 12's. Practice for the essay - it will be worth your while.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I was just trying to illustrate that it's important to do very well on the essay if you want an 800 on the test.</p>