How to Prove You Can Write for the SAT Essay (in 25 minutes!)
Five key ingredients: 1. appropriate examples, 2. organization and focus, 3. language and usage (glitzy vocabulary!),
4. varied sentence structure, 5. grammar
Figure out as much as possible before the clock starts ticking, then create some sort of outline before you begin
writing. You only have 25 minutes to write!
The beginning:
__ Sentence 1: the hook (This can be
any kind of quote, fact or saying that
you think somehow relates to the
topic and will grab the reader’s
attention)
__ Sentence 2: explanation or
comment on the hook (This is a little
sentence that helps ease you into
the topic)
__ Sentence 3: introduction to the
topic (This means we need to think
about the topic overall. Don’t tell
your opinion just yet.)
__ Sentence 4: introduction to your
answer to the question (This is the
big preparation sentence that keeps
the thesis from sounding like it came
out of thin air. Define the terms, for
example.)
The end:
This is a formula that
the SAT requires.
Do this for the 25
minutes of the essay
section, then NEVER
write this way again.
The purpose of this
formulaic writing is so
that the SAT scorers can
see that you can
organize ideas, support
them with details, and
write coherently. Give
them what they want.
__ Sentence 5: old-school thesis statement
(Thesis needs to tell two things: 1. your direct
answer to the question, 2. the examples you will
use to support that claim in the order that they will
appear in the essay. Use two or three examples.)
The middle:
__ Point 1: Intro and brief background
__ Point 2: Development of example I
__ Point 3: Development of example II
__ Point 4: Development of example III (if used)
__ These final sentences tie
everything together. It is simply a
rephrasing (not an exact copy) of
the argument in your thesis.
Do NOT allude to the other side of
the argument and DO NOT
introduce an entirely new example
in the last paragraph.
How to improve your score:
__ Vary sentence structure: Starting
a sentence with Despite, Although,
Though, In spite of … will force you
to use a dependent clause and put
the subject in the middle of the
sentence rather than at the
beginning.
__ Use the right word the right way:
They’re versus their versus there,
Your and you’re, Its and it’s
__ Lame words: Replace a lot with many or multiple
or often or frequently. Avoid get and try; instead
use attain, attempt, works to achieve
__ Do not use contractions or informal language (or
slang)
__ Use this selection of broad words that can be
applied universally: ultimately, fundamentally,
quintessentially, significantly, demonstrably,
consequently, remarkably, broadly, generally
__ Avoid I or you
__The
Point
Summarizing
comment
thatrather
directly
use5:of
books, movies
or history
than personal anecdotes allows you to explain the ins/outs of a
relates
to
your
thesis
situation in an analytical sense. Base your essay on what has happened in history or what you have read!