<p>Hi guys, </p>
<p>I want to know whats your advice to get 12 in essay. I am currently covering all basics of grammar,since english isn't my first language I also heard it would be best if you have like some introduction memorized it will make it faster for you,since it would be good grammatically aswell is that true??</p>
<p>I go to prep Elite and they handed me some papers that from what I look at is very solid in doing a good job of not only being effective but also concise.</p>
<p>Let me start with by telling you how to get a 10 because the difference between a 10 and a 12 is few but very significant.</p>
<p>To get a 10, here’s a basic outline:
Hook: (1-3 sentences- I do usually 4-6 sentences cuz I make my CRA and Link a little longer)
Types: *Pivot (state commonly held belief and then say what you believe in, which should be totally opposite. So you be like "It is commonly thought that… However, or yet, I know that…)
*Description of person or place from example in body (Basically you’re just showing the reader a taste of an example you’re going to go deeper into in your body paragraphs).
*Cliffhanger (Description of situation, kind of like an anecdote, to be explored in body. This type should end with a moment of suspense or else it’s useless).
*Startling statement or statistics (Use this if you know who said it for quotes or for statistics if you think it really and effectively ties into your thesis).
*Quotation (NEVER use prompt quote because then you’ll just be wasting space since the graders also read that prompt. Right now, I’m reading The Republic by Plato and I’m writing down one liners that I find really good and then I’m going to group them into overarching themes like justice, creativity, morals, and such and memorize most of them to use in essay).</p>
<p>Thesis: Be specific. Let me give you an example of bad/general thesis: “Unintended consequences often outweigh the purposeful effects of an action.” How ambiguous.
Here’s what a good/specific thesis is like and it sounds a heck of a lot better: “Unintended consequences often outweigh purposeful effects when individuals, through malic or simple overexcitement, fail to consider the social effects of their actions.” See how specific it is? </p>
<p>Some people use their thesis to do a road map. I used to do that but what I like this way better (below) because it’s much more sophisticated and other reasons why.</p>
<p>After thesis, one sentence-or a phrase if you can- about your path. Tell the reader what you will say in the essay. I usually do this with: And/or But as you will soon discover/see/read, the idea that these unintended consequences often… blah blah blah.</p>
<p>Body paragraphs:
For examples: use *personal experience *literature-in which case you must use minimum plot summary- make it present tense *history/current event *The arts *science</p>
<p>I normally do one example and use almost 2/3s to an entire page of that example to allow myself to get deeper into that subject and get into a more critical and analytical mode.</p>
<p>If however you’re more into using multiple examples, make sure your examples are somewhat related both in significance/essence and time. If you use history don’t use example from the Renaissance and another from 9/11. (They’re too far apart in time see?) Don’t use an example of Einstein’s less than stellar academic achievements in school and then go to your little brother’s grades in his report cards. </p>
<p>GOOD TRANSITIONS ARE IMPORTANT! I personally don’t like one word transitions. Multiple word transitions are a lot more fluent and transition better than just one word. (As you can see, Going further into this idea, Like the Renaissance period, the…, and so forth).</p>
<p>Bad things to consider:
*Don’t use speculations or hypothetical examples "When someone… then or if then situations)
*Don’t use infinitives like never, always, everybody. Use most of the time, usually, many people so forth.
*stories about grades and tests… schoolwork is appropriate for only certain occasions.
*watch out for your verb tenses. Very hard to do since you’re trying to write as much as you can in less than 25 minutes.
*Not recommended to use overly used examples (Like Napolean Bonaparte or Abraham Lincoln… although if the topic is such that these two people aren’t the first to be thought of and instead you use a particular trait, so specific, that very few people know this-requires research then that’s more acceptable but still not suggested).
*Positive statements about ostracized people and taboos (like praising Hitler for a particular trait… better not to write about him altogether).</p>
<p>To get a 12, you must most importantly and very clearly and eloquently answer these two questions:
~What did you learn? (As you begin writing your essay and thinking about it as you write it, write what you learned about the topic itself. Great way to Make the essay very personal). This is your thesis
~Why is this important? (Your conclusion, which has to be solid, motivating, and conclusive. You also must stand firm in your stance here; you can’t be saying oh this might not work for this particular instance because it usually works. Don’t be neutral or even vaguely neutral if your stance throughout the rest of your essay is very firm. Basically don’t let off in your conclusion since most people have problems here: making a solid conclusion).</p>
<p>How to make a killer conclusion:
Several different ways. You can:
<p>^Thanks alot man.</p>
<p>@Josh05:
Would it be safe to assume that a 3 paragraph essay will get a 12? I also went to Elite, but most people here suggest 2+ examples, whether or not those examples are related.</p>
<p>hey im going to elite too! 
but they never go into super specifics of how to do an essay. they mention that you must have ground in your thesis and you need to always link your examples back to your thesis. also, when doing a personal experience, try not to add too many minor details (waste of time).</p>
<p>GenericMath: Your welcome :)</p>
<p>Alluring: 2+ examples are good if you write fast and if you can dive deeply into an example and develop that example into something much more than a surface-level paragraph in the short amount of time. I can write pretty fast if I know my position in an essay; however, there’s just not enough time for me to go as deeply as I want to when I have more than 2 examples. </p>
<p>And yes I see a lot of other people use the common 5 paragraph system. That’s a very standard and practical way of getting a good score on the essay. However, for me, I like three or four paragraphs (if I have a developed counterargument and rebuttal) because it’s not as common and it’s more more effective in analyzing the example in a developed manner. And also you only have to think of 1 example for each essay whereas everybody else has to do 3 which for me used to be the biggest problem.</p>
<p>Depending on your writing, if you’re writing skills are good, then it’s safer to presume that a 3 paragraph essay would get a better score than a 5 paragraph essay. Because the graders are not looking for depth not breath, quality and not quantity. An essay that is more developed and more analytical in its examples, intro, and conclusion gets a better score than one that is surface-level, underdeveloped, and too many unrelated examples.</p>
<p>LaPrincesa: Really? Huh. Where do you go to for Elite? The one I go to is very good at teachings kids how to score well. They’re thorough, nice, and very good at allowing us to hone in on the particular fields where we are a little behind in.</p>
<p>Oh by the way, I am still a student for SAT. Everything I say is what I learned from the teachers at Elite. So if you know of a better way or model then I would love to hear that too! :)</p>