3.1 SAT Essay - Quick Strategies

Quick Strategies

Consider these ideas for building muscle on your essay score:

• Read the College Board’s rubric for the characteristics of each score.  Also, carefully read sample essays for each score (1-6) to get a feel for the game you are playing. 

• Pacing:  Remember, with only 25 minutes from start to finish, you really need to have a game plan before you write.  Students often make the fatal mistake of jumping into the essay immediately- what they jump into is the unlikely situation of ever scoring beyond a 3.  Take time to read the SAT test prompt.  There is nothing worse than great examples and writing that completely miss their target since the student does NOT answer the question correctly.  We will take a closer look at staying on track when we explore the traits of winning essays.  It should take you no longer than one minute to read the prompt and carefully consider which way you lean.  Though the prompt suggests developing a “point of view,” the test makers are really asking you to develop an argument.  Take a stand; don’t waste time with indecision.  Go with a gut instinct since it does not matter which side you take, but rather how you develop your support.  Always sketch out your ideas with prewriting.  Develop a prewriting strategy that fits you.  If you like clustering, cluster.  If you like a bullet list, use bullets.  However, a cardinal sin is to begin writing without a game plan.  Take the precious time of at least 2 to 3 minutes building your blueprint.  This blueprint should contain an organized map that is simple.  For example, when I practice writing the essay, I use the following structure to keep my mind organized and moving without the nagging problem of writer’s block:

Position:___________________________________

Why I’m right #1?____________________________

Why I’m right #2?____________________________

Why I’m right #3?____________________________

Use a map and follow it.  Organization, as we will examine later, is a key ingredient for scoring big.  Given the minute for reading the prompt and the 2-3 minutes to build the plan, there will be approximately 20 minutes for writing and editing.  Sometimes students get caught burning time in the prewriting since they are lost for examples.  In a further section, we will discuss how to create examples more efficiently so that you are not at a loss for time and example.  However, if you spend more time mapping then I have suggested, don’t worry.  Better to have stronger examples and less fluff than loosely connected, forced examples and more fluff.  Though we will see that the 6 essay certainly has a particular length, students make the mistake of thinking more writing automatically equates to more points- this is not true!  I will develop why this is a myth in a later section.  The last advice on pacing is to leave some time, perhaps 2-3 minutes, for editing.  You should never finish the last sentence and submit at the 25th minute.  Since you will be using a pencil, it is always good writing practice to read over your SAT essay at least once to iron out any wrinkles along the way.