Best SAT essay tips: be the winner in your group
Writing a SAT essay, your job consists in reading carefully a given text (usually this is a speech or some sort of editorial) and then discussing it in your essay: namely, how the author builds an argument. Even if you did not have any practice in it when you were at school, do not worry: the format of the essay is straightforward, so with some practice you will learn how to make up an impressive SAT essay.
This type of essay is optional, however, we recommend you taking this exam. Some colleges require it and others do not. So why should you take it? Your SAT essay score will be seen on all score reports you will be sending to colleges, no matter whether this school requires an essay or not. Every college you will apply to will see the initiative you took and it will do only good for you. Plus one point to your karma 🙂
Things to keep in mind
If you do not know how to start, keep in mind these key points:
- read a paragraph;
- describe how the author persuades the audience;
- support your idea with evidence from the text.
According to new set essay standard, you have 50 minutes to finish your essay instead of 25 minutes like it was in the old version. All paragraphs in the text are written for large audience, the author expresses his or her view on difficult subjects, uses logical reasons to support his point of view and examines debates, ideas, trends, cultural or political topics. The text is always taken from published sources. All the info you may need to complete your essay is already included into the text.
SAT essay goal
This essay aims to show how well you read the paragraph and what you got from it using it as a basis for a thought-out discussion. Two people who will give scores for your work will estimate such categories as:
Reading: a well-written essay shows that you completely understood the paragraph, got the central idea and important details. It also demonstrates an effective usage of evidence from the text.
Writing: a good essay is organized and focused, it has an appropriate tone and style, varied structure of sentences and follows the rules of standard written English.
Analysis: a successful essay shows that you understand how the author builds their argument.
Useful set essay prompts
- Remain objective – the exam is not aimed to find out YOUR opinion about the text, so make sure you use formal style and avoid using pronouns I and you.
- Write clearly – handwriting matters. Graders usually read lots of papers a day, so if they cannot understand what you wrote, you can lose scores. So do yourself a favor 🙂
- Follow the structure – the basic essay structure you used in school is fine here. Start with introduction, follow with the main body paragraphs and finish with a good conclusion.
- Use set essay examples – cite different examples which are relevant and short. Quotes from the text can support your idea.
Prepare for SAT essay asking for help – you can check it here. We are always ready to help and wish you good luck!
