the SAT essay: one example vs several examples

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>was glancing through the sample essays provided in the new BB..</p>

<p>I noticed something interesting. All the essays that were given a six developed one example with depth and thoughtfulness. The essays given a five developed several examples, but lacked depth.</p>

<p>To quote from the book.. "this essay demonstrated outstanding critical thinking."</p>

<p>The book also implied that the essays given a 5 lacked outstanding critical thinking as they moved from example to example, without developing depth.</p>

<p>I've read a few essay advice threads on CC, and they seem to advocate multiple examples. After reading through the BB, I feel that a single well-developed example might create a better essay (this is just a generalization). The essay is short because of the time limit, and multiple examples will inevitably lack depth.</p>

2

<p>If you have strong critical thinking skills, one example will probably be more beneficial. Because you can’t distinguish yourself analysis wise when you have three examples, because you will likely have just one or two sentences of analysis per example. How deep could those be? So yeah, I think you’re onto something. But if you’re a ****y writer, multiple examples would be safer imo.</p>

3

<p>I usually go with two mid-length examples.</p>

4

<p>Well remember that it’s much more difficult to fill up the full 2 pages with just 1 example. Length is one of the most important factors in essay score.</p>

5

<p>bumping this oct SAT is a few days away </p>

<p>I’ll prob be going with a 5 paragraph one example essay</p>

6

<p>Don’t go with a one example essay. Seriously. It’s a huge risk… I have a feeling CB only included those in the BB to show “diversity” of essay formats and that the intro - 3 ex - concl essays isn’t the only format you can use.</p>

<p>However, the test isn’t being marked by an individual named College Board. It’s being marked by a person, who is most likely an English teacher most accustomed to seeing 5 para essays. My advice is to play it safe and not try being innovative or creative in respect to the format of the essay and just stick to the 5 para format.</p>

7

<p>I’ve been tought to do 2-3 examples and it’s worked pretty well for me. I would suggest you do 2 examples if you really feel that you should develop your thoughts more.</p>