What score would this get on the SAT?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>Hello, I'm sixteen and practicing for the essay section of the SAT this October. Here's an essay and a prompt I found on the College Board website. What score (1-12) should this get. Please be honest! Thanks :)</p>

<p>Prompt: Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Thanks to the Internet, people have more access to more information than at any other time in history. People can instantly find information on almost any topic in the time it takes to type a couple of words and click a mouse. But we often know so little about the source of this information, including its reliability and the qualifications of the person who wrote it. If we do not know its source, information is not much good to us.</p>

<p>Assignment: Do people need to know the source of any information before they use it? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.</p>

<p>


My Essay:

</p>

<pre><code>*For better or for worse, we live in an information-driven age. The Internet has become a mass data source speckled with websites such as Wikipedia or Encyclopedia Britannica that attempt to synthesize this knowledge. To what degree should we question what we read there? Are we to search to find the source of this content in all situations? Many find, instead, that examining sources is superfluous, an unnecessary action our technologically fast-paced world has no time for.

As contemporary writing advances, we often find that our news articles or editorials carry vast source lists. Often, a trail of older books and encyclopedias can be found behind one seemingly original piece of writing. An accurate example would be an essay on the psychological effects of narcotics in teens that I studied for a school paper. I checked the bibliography, linking the work to several other reference materials, essays, textbooks, and even illustrations, a few of which I located online. Several of these cited works in even more previous sources. Were I to continue, it could take me years to find the one original piece to prove its credibility.

Even if this search for the source of the information we read leads us to a “trustworthy” former work, we must admit that all writing is biased. This essay is biased, the TV shows we watch are biased—even popular news syndicates that claim to impersonal objectivity are biased. This is because no matter how honest we attempt to be, we all have opinions. There is an ongoing argument over the political leanings of major news stations Fox and MSMBC. The former is generally viewed as Republican, the latter is understood to be Democratic. In truth, their selective reports do seem to suggest left- or right-wing bias on both sides. Checking sources, then, becomes exoteric when we realize that all sources we find will come with ingrained opinions.

In a nutshell, we can always find fulfillment in knowledge, even without scouring the “Works Cited” page every time we read. We should let go of this endless search, and instead enjoy the gift of ready-to-use information.*
</code></pre>

<p>(END)</p>

<p>What do you think this deserves?</p>

2

<p>This is an 8 (out of 12), mainly because it’s a little heavy on fact (and a little light on analysis).</p>

3

<p>I think your essay would benefit from considering the opposing side. The big thing the essay needs to address is whether we should check that the sources are, at the very least, real. I liked your points but found them a bit repetitive.</p>

<p>I’d give your essay an 8 as well.</p>

4

<p>@jkjeremy Hmm that’s true. Thanks for reading and an honest reply!</p>

5

<p>Oh yeah, I completely overlooked the opposing opinion, nsnphu. That’s definitely something I should work into my next few essays. Thanks so much!</p>

6

<p>Dude they barely read the essays, just have a strong intro (that introduces your examples robustly) and a strong strong strong conclusion and you’ll get a 10+ Fill up all 2 pages.</p>

7

<p>I feel like your second example isn’t very strong? The thesis is that sources are superfluous but your second paragraph talks about how everything has bias. Maybe further explanation on how biases invalidate sources would help? How detailed should SAT Essay paragraphs be? I’ve heard mixed things. Some have claimed you don’t really need many while others think a thorough analysis is required.</p>

8

<p>Dude they barely read the essays, just have a strong intro (that introduces your examples robustly) and a strong strong strong conclusion and you’ll get a 10+ Fill up all 2 pages.</p>

<p>This is both a myth and a fantasy. </p>

<p>“They” know that this perception exists among students.</p>

<p>As a result, “they” are reading more closely than ever (if that’s even possible).</p>

<p>I know because I have been one of “them” more than ten times.</p>

<p>You ARE correct that many high school English teachers “barely read them.” Maybe this is why so many kids have A’s in English while the average SAT essay score continues to languish in the mid sevens.</p>

9

<p>How detailed should SAT Essay paragraphs be?</p>

<p>“Detailed” isn’t quite the right word. “Thorough” is a more accurate descriptor. Here’s the simplest answer I can give at this moment: each paragraph needs a clear purpose and it needs more analysis than fact.</p>

<p>I’ve heard mixed things.</p>

<p>Of course you have. That’s partly because everyone is looking for a road map that will lead to a twelve. There is no substitute for quality writing that isn’t contrived. (By definition, an essay that follows a template is contrived.) Essays that try too hard don’t receive sixes. Examples of “trying too hard” include using the word “benevolence” when you really mean “kindness.”</p>

<p>Some have claimed you don’t really need many while others think a thorough analysis is required</p>

<p>By “many” I’m guessing you’re referring to examples. You don’t need “many.” You need enough to prove your point. I’ve seen lots of misinformation, among the worst being that you need to “memorize” something (i.e., an entire novel) in order to cite “good” examples.</p>

10

<p>That’s true Issac6108, maybe a further developed point would distinguish it better from the first. It would be especially important in this situations, where I only have like 2 points.</p>