Through teaching the SAT prep course at 51UStudy, designed to focus on the essay section, I have come across several common writing problems. Many of these problems can be solved by paying more attention to these eleven tips for a great SAT essay, which can be applied to the current SAT, before the 2016 revision. Hopefully these tips can help you to achieve a perfect score on test day!
1) Use your time wisely: plan out what you are going to say before you say it. You only have 25 minutes. Make each minute count. For example, give yourself five minutes to brainstorm for main points (which will become topic sentences), three minutes to come up with a great introduction, 10 minutes to organize your examples into paragraphs, etc.
2) Essay structure: should be pretty straight forward, with around 5 paragraphs. Don’t write isolated sentences/mini-paragraphs between body paragraphs. This is not the format.
Write clearly. You must use a pencil. Be sure it has an eraser. Neatness counts to some degree, in that the reader must be able to read what you’ve written. If your writing is notoriously difficult to read, you should print your essay. Don’t get too hung up on neatness, though. You can still erase mistakes that you catch as you proofread your work.
3) Start with a bang: starting with quotes, a question or an intriguing first sentence can pique the reader’s interest from the get-go. Try not to repeat the question as the first sentence.
4) State your thesis in the first paragraph: set up your essay by clearly stating where you are taking the reader.
5) Be decisive: don’t give a wishy-washy answer or argue both sides. Readers judge essays on the depth and complexity of the argument you make, so be sure to show that you understand both sides of the issue you’re writing about. You will pick one side and explain why it is right.
You don’t have to feel guilty about saying things you don’t really believe. Your task is to show that you can craft a complex argument essay. That means you will have to make specific statements about your position and expound upon your individual points. Just pick a side and argue it!
6) Don’t assume things about your audience. Don’t make general statements about the world. Use the right language for your audience. Remember that the person scoring your essay is a person and not a machine. As a matter of fact, the reader is a trained educator—and most likely a high school teacher. As you write your essay, imagine that you are talking to your favorite high school teacher.
Many of us have that one special teacher who always talks with us and treats us like adults and actually listens to what we have to say. Imagine that you are talking to this teacher as you write your essay.
7) Use interesting real-world examples: Familiarize yourself with famous literature, movies, historical figures, historical events, etc. and have them in your metaphorical back pocket.
8) Grammar: tense, singular / plural, etc. Grammar is crucial here, an instant and apparent way to see what level the student is on. Practice grammar as much as you can before the SAT. It will help you on this test and in life!
9) Sentence variation: for interesting paragraphs. Use complex sentences sometimes, mid-sized sentences sometimes, and two-word sentences a few times to make your writing more interesting. Also–don’t keep repeating the same point by rewording it several ways. Readers will see right through that.
10) Vocabulary: use the right words in the right way. Pepper your essay with a few SAT words but don’t use words incorrectly. Learn new words all the time and use them in your life so you become comfortable using them in your writing. Much like grammar, this will help you on the test and in life.
11) Use a crunch paragraph or have a detailed conclusion: here is where you explain your critical thinking, and the reasons behind your argument. This is often skipped in many student essays, but is a vital part of the essay, or even, after the examples, the main point!
