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