The Great SAT Essay Debate: Does length matter?

<p>Some assert that length is closely related with score on the SAT essay. These people argue that since the readers have to read so many essays in so little time that they begin to associate length with score.</p>

<p>Others believe that score is independent of length. These people argue that long essays are usually more developed and earn higher scores as a result.</p>

<p>What do you think? Does length determine a score or does it translate into a better essay? Does SAT essay length matter?</p>

<p>I think that there is a correlation, but not much of a causation. I took the SAT three times with essay scores of 8, 9, and 11. They were all of similar length, probably two to three lines from filing the page</p>

<p>I can tell you in my son’s case on the January SAT that was not the case. He filled every line, used complex sentence structure, did not make spelling/grammatical errors, and got a 9 (but scored 2340 overall). I think the low-ish score was due to the 2 examples he used to support his thesis.</p>

<p>My SAT teacher has a friend who corrected SAT three years ago. He says that length is very important in the essay because the more u write the more information ur giving. The teacher says that writing one pages gives a score between 4-7 regardless of the work itself. Writing one page and a half gives a score between 6-8, while two pages gives a score between 8-12.</p>

<p>In ten years of full-time SAT prep teaching I’ve only seen two twelves that were under 1.5 pages, and both had small handwriting. I don’t know if it’s possible to write a short essay and get a top score. Just fill two pages. It’s not that hard.</p>