It could be one of the most important things you’ll ever write so don’t go into it without a plan. Make every essay-writing minute count with tips from one of the essay graders.
John looked at the clock while he searched his mind for something else to write on the true meaning of happiness. “This is a stupid topic,” he said to himself, “I wouldn’t even be going to college if I could play professional baseball.” At least he was done early, he thought, as he gathered the test booklet and his answer sheet. He confidently turned in his essay and when home. “Piece of cake,” he congratulated himself, “I’ll ace the SAT, make mom and dad proud and get a baseball scholarship so I can keep playing.”
But John was shocked when the results came back. He had only scored one out of six on the SAT essay. “What did I do wrong?” he asked in frustration, as he saw his college dreams vanishing. “I answered the question, my grammar was good and I filled the test page.”
Because John had no idea what the SAT graders were looking for, he wasted 25 very important minutes of his life. If John had only done a little preparation, the outcome of those 25 minutes might have been completely different. You don’t have to produce a piece of literature to do well on the new essay section of the SAT, but you do have to know how to make your writing strengths outshine your weaknesses.
Pace yourself.
John’s biggest mistake was not his grammar or his ideas, but the way he used his time. Instead of handing in his paper early, he should have made every minute count. So should you. Since you only have 25 minutes to create something that could determine the course of the rest of your life, why would you throw away five of those minutes by leaving early? Before you go to the SAT, plan out your essay time. First, give yourself a few minutes to read over the question and plan your essay. The essay-writing prompt will start with an excerpt from literature to set the subject in context. You can expect a topic on something general like competition, honesty, or persistence. Then you will be asked to develop a point of view on it and defend your stand. You don’t have to write a persuasive essay that will change someone’s mind, but you should be able to make your reader say, “I see your point.”
Weak writers may be tempted to jump right in so they won’t run out of time, but that’s not a wise strategy since you won’t be penalized for not finishing the essay. Strong writers may not think they need to do any planning, but they will be very surprised at how fast the 25 minutes goes by. Since you will be evaluated on your critical thinking skills, take a few minutes to actually DO some critical thinking. Jot down a quick outline or at least capture the points you want to make. You are allowed to write on the test booklet or even in the margins. The graders will not see anything but the actual essay.
Of course, you’re going to use the bulk of your time in writing the essay, but, if possible, allow yourself at least one or two minutes at the end to check your work. Graders are specifically told not to penalize anyone who doesn’t finish the essay, but they will count off for a lot of grammar errors. If grammar is a weakness for you, give yourself more time to check it at the end.
If you do run out of time, don’t panic. Readers are trained to score your essay on what you have written, not on what you didn't have time to write
Don’t worry about being perfect.
No one expects you to write a polished essay in 25 minutes so plan on writing your best first draft. The graders know a draft always contains a mistake or two, but if you consistently make a lot of errors, your essay won’t receive a high score.
Fortunately, scores are given for an overall impression of a rough draft so if you don’t have time to write a conclusion or if you start out slowly, it won’t count against you. Of course, it’s always better to have a complete essay and you may not get a high score if you run out of time to write a conclusion, but at least you will pass. Whatever you do, don’t spend a lot of time rewriting as you go along. Graders are going to be looking for what has been done well, rather than picking out all the mistakes. If you don’t have anything on paper, what do they have to judge?
One note about handwriting: While graders are told to ignore the quality of your handwriting, keep in mind that it is impossible to evaluate what you cannot read. All the witty reparte in the world is worthless if it is packaged in an illegible scrawl.
Keep a Balanced Attitude
Another major mistake John made was wasting his energy on negativity. There are no stupid topics, just stupid attitudes. Life is going to be full of hoops to jump through. Instead of dwelling on how stupid they are, just jump through them with grace, or better yet, use them to learn something. On the other hand, there is such a thing as too much confidence. Instead of leaving early, John should have spent those last five minutes checking his work. Topics may seem lame, but the testmakers purposely choose general themes that anyone can write about. You can use this to your advantage by taking that general theme and narrowing it down to your field of expertise.
Make Your Strengths Work For You
One of the first things professional writers learn about successful writing is to write what they know. John didn’t think he had an opinion on the definition of true happiness, but if he had thought about what makes him happy, he probably would have thought of his sport -- baseball. If John had spent some time thinking through his answer, he could have written about the satisfaction that comes from competiton or being a member of a team or pushing himself to new levels of excellence. If he had jotted down some examples of sports figures he admires who had done this and a few examples from his own life, he probably would have run out of time to write his essay rather than finishing early. And he would have demonstrated critical thinking as well. Who knows, what he had to say could have been so compelling that the reader might not have noticed some of the grammar errors. In any case, he probably would have received a higher score.
Don’t forget to back up your statements with examples
When the SAT graders are trained, they are specifically told to base their scores partly on how many examples the writer used, so it’s worth a few minutes of planning to make sure you have some. Writers can be in such a hurry to make their points that they forget to back them up. Part of critical thinking is demonstrating how you can support your ideas. Don’t just tell the reader something, show it with examples. Before you begin writing, make sure you have at least two examples to support your main idea. Think about people you know, something you’ve read, current events or something you’ve experienced first-hand. Choose examples you know well and want to talk about.
Study the Rubric
SAT readers have a set of rules they must follow when assigning a grade to your essay. This is called a “rubric” and you can tailor your writing to its standards. Remember essays are graded on a scale of zero to six. If you write on the topic at all, no matter how poorly, your essay will receive at least a one. And since the essays are all graded against each other instead of the perfect ideal, some will receive a six. Here is a summary of the rubric that will be used to grade your essay:
Score of 6
General Impression - outstanding
Mastery – clear and consistent
Errors – few, if any
Point of View – effectively and insightfully developed
Grammar, usage and mechanics – free of most errors
Score of 5
General Impression - effective
Mastery – reasonably consistent
Errors - occasional
Point of View – effectively developed
Critical Thinking - strong
Evidence and Support – generally appropriate
Organization – adequate, focused
Coherence – adequate progression of ideas
Use of Language – above average, appropriate
Sentence Structure – demonstrates variety
Grammar, usage and mechanics – free of most errors
Score of 4
General Impression - competent
Mastery - adequate
Errors – some lapses in quality
Point of View - developed
Critical Thinking - competent
Evidence and Support - adequate
Organization - adequate
Coherence – some progression of ideas
Use of Language – adequate, but inconsistent
Sentence Structure – demonstrates some variety
Grammar, usage and mechanics – has some errors
Score of 3
General Impression – inadequate, weak
Mastery – weak, but developing
Errors - flawed
Point of View – is developed by inconsistent
Critical Thinking - inconsistent
Evidence and Support
Organization - limited
Coherence – demonstrates some lapses
Use of Language – developing but sometimes inappropriate
Sentence Structure – lacks variety and/or has some problems
Grammar, usage and mechanics – contains accumulation of errors
Score of 2
Impression – seriously limited
Mastery - little
Errors - flawed
Point of View – vague or seriously limited
Critical Thinking - weak
Evidence and Support – inappropriate or insufficient
Organization - poor
Coherence – demonstrates serious problems
Use of Language – very little facility and/or incorrect
Sentence Structure – frequent problems
Grammar, usage and mechanics – serious errors
Score of 1
General Impression – fundamentally lacking
Mastery – very little or none
Errors – severely flawed
Point of View - none
Critical Thinking – little or none
Evidence and Support – little or none
Organization – disorganized, unfocused
Coherence – disjointed, incoherent
Use of Language – fundamental errors
Sentence Structure – seriously flawed
Grammar, usage and mechanics – pervasive errors
Score of 0
Essay is off topic
Visit the College Board Website
The College Board, makers of the SAT offer a wealth of free information on their website, www.collegeboard.com, and most of it is free. The site offers sample questions for all sections of the SAT, has FAQS about the test, explains how your scores are calculated, and has pages where you can sign up to have your scores sent to various institutions. You can check out test dates and locations, sign up for the SAT Question of the day and purchase study packets and books.
Take a Practice Test
If you’re serious about doing well on the SAT, it is highly recommended that you take a practice test. Studies show that students who take a practice test have higher scores than those who don’t, and with a free test at your fingertips through the college board website, there is no excuse not to take one. The SAT will score your test and give you a report for free. They will even pinpoint areas of weakness and recommend specific study packets you can purchase on their site. In addition, many high schools will offer a practice test in simulated conditions through English composition courses or special SAT prep courses. There are also a few SAT essay tutoring service available online.
Get Help For Free
Beside the College Board site, one of the best places to get free help for the SAT is at Number2.com. The website was created by university professors and graduate students with experience in test preparation. You can create a free account to access a customized course that includes tutorials, practice sessions that adapt to your level and a vocabulary builder. You can even sign up with your test coach and use the site together. And did we mention all this is free?
Many colleges and universities offer free online writing labs for their students and these labs are available for anyone to use. The sites are full of grammar guides, practice sheets and instructional materials that you can download and use for free. Many of them have a Q&A service as well.
External Links:
Princeton OWL - free worksheets and writing info from Princeton University