<p>I'd really appreciate knowing how you did it. I keep on getting 7's and 8's, which I wouldn't be complaining about if I hadn't been making 95's and 100's on 90% of my writing assignments since 6th grade. I recently found out that my friend, who's an international and consistently asks me for help on her essays in which I have to edit extensively, gets TENS AND ELEVENS. (Now before anyone pulls the racist card, I'm Asian, too, and this girl's grades in our English class are well below mine, simply because I was born in America.) I'm apparently doing something wrong on those essays...help?</p>
<p>Note: I'd especially appreciate help from anyone who's taken an actual prep class. I never bothered with one of those, because the rest of my SAT was great. I heard there was some magical formula, as silly as that sounds...anyway, THANKS SO MUCH!</p>
<p>Look at it this way, the ACT goes through millions of essays from each test date. They don’t really care too much about how “good” your essay is speaking from an english teachers stand point, but instead, they are looking for a structure/templete that they go by. For example have an intro, 3 counter-arguments, 3 arguments, and a counclusion, which gives you 8 paragraphs or 5 if you have all your counter-arguments and arguments in their own paragraphs. That will usually get you a 10 if you have decent arguments. So don’t think about it like an english paper, because they are totally different.</p>
<p>:)
I got a 12 on my SAT essay, which rather surprised me, but I had taken the advice given me after I took the ACT. This is (in a nutshell) what they said:</p>
<p>You have good points, but the structure of your essay limits what your writing can cover.</p>
<p>What I had done (on the ACT) was formulated a position for myself, thought up three main points, and argued them paragraph by paragraph. Even while writing it, I felt constricted.
I wrote differently on the SAT. I thought up my position and wrote down a whole bunch of ideas of what I could argue for. Then I just started writing. I knew in the first paragraph I had to state my position, and state it forcefully. So I did. Then I started the next paragraph and just kept going and going, starting new paragraphs where I felt necessary, bringing in ideas and references whenever they made sense. To give you a little context, this was my prompt and what I wrote (summarized):
Prompt- Is talking face-to-face still the most effective form of communication?
What I wrote- No it’s not. Our society is grab-and-go. People demand things now. Even back in ancient times, they didn’t want to go walk over to each other, so they devised smoke signals. Face-to-face has never truly been the most effective, or even most desired, form of communication, and it shouldn’t be.
I also drew in random examples, like the invention of the telephone, mail coaches, and I think I mentioned the Prisoner in there somewhere, but I can’t remember how.</p>
<p>Anyhow, my point is, don’t be restricted by an essay format. You’re persuading someone. Just write.</p>
<p>Understand that the SAT is very formulaic. Most of what College Board tells you about it is a lie.</p>
<p>Essay readers grade a lot of essays. Essay readers rush. To rush, essay readers look for quick ways to identify “strong” essays:
length - try to fill 2 pages
good handwriting - if they can’t read it, they won’t try
big, fancy words - this is counter-intuitive since spouting big words for the sake of verbosity generally is not a good tactic on a formal essay
cohesive organization - good thesis statement, topic sentences, and concise conclusion</p>
<p>Read the prompt and pick one side or the other (don’t go middle-of-the-road). Start writing a general introduction while thinking of a thesis. Finish intro. Do a body paragraph for each example (2 or 3 are fine generally, just fill up most of the remaining space). You can format your bodies like topic sentence/description/relation to thesis. Then conclude in one or two sentences. If you have time, read over your essay and check for mistakes or words you can replace. Try to keep your handwriting as legible as possible.</p>
<p>Find examples you can bend to almost any topic. I’ve found that Catcher in the Rye and Brave New World can be twisted to any of my SAT needs, but experiment by doing some essays and figure out a few examples that work for most things.</p>
<p>Doing this you can almost guarantee 10+ every time.</p>
<p>notanengineer posted exactly what i was going to say.
just pick a stance, formulate a thesis (you can even underline it, apparently, readers love that!), and argue it with whatever is logically sound. honestly, i use the two body-paragraph format because it is less heavy on the head to just remember and be able to connect the two things. fill up the 2 pages and 10+ is there. seriously, essay readers aren’t out to get you. ^a note about the SAT vocab-using, you can do that, but don’t stress about it. i’ve seen many 12’s without them. i only got an 11, but you know…</p>
<p>I got a 10 my freshman year in January with zero essay prep. I used two body paragraphs (personal examples). I did fill up both pages, though. To tell you the truth, all you need to do is write persuasively. You don’t need literature/history examples (though they could help). Write with conviction and personal style, while using moderate to advanced vocabulary and filling up 2 pages, and you should be fine.</p>
<p>I got a 10 on the June SAT…I think what helped me most was practicing the essays beforehand…I got a 8 on the March and 10 on June and one thing that helped me was by going by a 4 paragraph (2 body) structure rather than a 5 paragrpah (3 body) structure. Do this, familiarize yourself with potential examples, and develop and detail your examples thoroughly when you go to write your essay.</p>
<p>I got an 11 on my last essay by doing a typical five paragraph essay. My friend told me to try to incorporate historical examples if possible, so I used three on my last essay and apparently it worked, haha. I didn’t have any big, fancy words (my vocabulary isn’t really that impressive), so if you don’t know any at that moment, no worries. As always, a clear thesis always helps. Of course, it depends on the essay prompt, but I always try to go for a five paragraph because that seems to work. Good luck!~</p>
<p>i got an 8 my first time because my structure was poorly organized (i merged my last body paragraph with my conclusion!). on my second test, i got a 10 because i did exactly what they wanted… a simple, coherent essay. Don’t try to write artistically; instead, write clearly and deliberately. I did 5 paragraphs (intro, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion). I guess my examples were too similar (although they were different forms of a similar idea), but if you write clearly and logically, you should at least get a 10.</p>
<p>@andydai92: Could you explain what you mean by counter-arguments? Like are you supposed to find not only three points that support your argument but also three that go against it?</p>
<p>I got a 12. My advice? Fill up the ALL the space available. There have been studies done that confirm length is more important than quality in standardized test essays</p>
<p>@inNeedOfPencils: Wow, that’s exactly what they told ME, that my structure limited me. What really stumped me was that I basically did what you did with the “just let it come to you”…the whole proper structure thing is just really natural for me. But thanks :)</p>
<p>@notanengineer: Haha, yes, I noticed that I shouldn’t take essay advice from Collegeboard…it’s so nice to finally hear from people who AREN’T getting paid to say nice things! I remember I got a 7 on my first ACT after writing that students SHOULD be allowed to post negative comments on Facebook about their teachers because enforcing a ban would be impractical! Apparently I was TOO convincing. ;)</p>
<p>@cjsoccer720: Aahhhh, it seems you got your 8 the same way I did! But yes, I’ll try to write in a clearer, more deliberate (and in my opinion, often more boriinnng) style.</p>
As always, a clear thesis always helps. Of course, it depends on the essay prompt, but I always try to go for a five paragraph because that seems to work. Good luck!~</p>