Sat Essay Strategies

Your mind is made up; you’ll do literally anything to earn that perfect score. You’ll write a defense of that really bad Independence Day sequel. But the good news is you don’t have to worry about pulling evidence (real or fake) out of thin air. When I used to teach the old essay, coming up with good evidence was almost always the hardest part for students.

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Their list of related searchable topics can be found at Provide students with 25 minutes of class time to construct an essay that advocates for the singular point of view inspired by the thesis statement.

Allow students to keep a copy of the earlier practice activities and essay prep guidelines on their desktop to remind them of the steps necessary to complete the essay successfully. When time expires, collect essays and score them using the SAT Essay Scoring Guide. Encourage students to perform this activity multiple times before the exam.

They gave you a prompt, and you had to write an impassioned essay taking a side. You’re given a text, and you have 50 minutes to analyze how the author built his or her argument.

If you’ve been paying attention in English class, this will be a breeze.

And it goes without saying that you need to cite “textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both).” It isn’t enough to show you understood what you read. The framing of a story has a huge effect on how we remember it. So on your second read-through, start marking up the text. If you plan your essay, you won’t run off the rails. You have to combine all these different elements into one, unified narrative. They have a , and everything they do is about accomplishing that goal.

You need to offer an “evaluation of the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements.” In other words, talk about how the author makes their point. Make annotations in the margins, using the words below. Some students analyze the passage paragraph-by-paragraph, moving through the passage from top to bottom. Your argument is basically a statement about a) what they do; and b) why they do it.The College Board gives admissions officers institutional access codes. So while it’s hard to imagine every overworked admissions officer logging in to read every applicant’s essay, your SAT Essay is more visible to colleges than it was in my day…back when we had to chisel our essays on clay tablets. You’re going to be given scores in three categories: Reading, Analysis, and Writing.Each reader will give you between 1 and 4 points in each category, and two readers will read your essay.So that’s a total of 8 points you can earn for each area.It’s probably smart to check out the specific language in the for yourself.This is probably the most tedious part of the essay, but it must be done. “Paragraph One says…Paragraph Two says…” This is a sure way to get a low score. Take a look at all your observations about the text. As guru Erica Meltzer has said, the SAT Essay is weird: “almost never will [students] spend an entire assignment focusing exclusively on the manner in which presents an argument.” But that’s exactly what they’re asking you to do. “Citing historical events and using language of continuity, Churchill appeals to the listener’s sense of duty in defending England from invasion.” It may not be creative, but it gets the job done, and it’s a great way to launch into your body paragraphs.You’ll make it easier on yourself (and you’ll get a better score) if you can use the language of analysis, which we’ll talk about below. Then think about the speaker, the audience, the occasion. Without a unifying idea, the paragraph-by-paragraph method will leave you with a bunch of loose strands, leading nowhere. You might tell us who the author is and what she or he is trying to do.Earning a high score on the SAT is the goal of all who take the test.Using content from NOW programs along with our supplemental practice activities, students can broaden their knowledge base and practice the organizational and writing skills necessary to score well on this portion of the exam.Rather, it’s your job to show that you’ve read the passage. Does it return to any previously-established themes? Using them correctly will give you major street cred with SAT graders. It doesn’t have to be something you’d show your teacher. Let that list serve as a rough guide for the topic sentences of each of your paragraphs.SAT graders want to see “an understanding of the text’s central idea,” which means you should talk about the author’s main point. Is the beginning energetic and bombastic, or is it a slow approach? Does it try to unite the audience, or does it create an distinction? Again, it all starts with marking up the text, just like you would for a passage analysis assignment in school. When the clock starts, you’re going to feel the urge to start writing. Come up with a thesis statement to pull it all together.