Although the SAT essay is optional, it is a surefire strategy to increase your chances of acceptance into your dream school. The SAT Essay is a 50-minute rhetorical analysis essay that comes at the end of a three-hour test. This form of standardized writing is used to assess your ability to write objectively. It also allows you to share more personal information that isn’t often seen elsewhere in the app. That’s why it’s expedient that you prepare very well if you want to write it. This is where SAT essay Tips comes to play. In this article, I have put down 13 ways how you can improve your SAT score. And just like studying with any of the best books for SAT prep, employing any of these SAT essay tips will help you get a high SAT score.
What is SAT essay?
In SAT test, SAT essay is one of the sections a student will take. Similar to the ACT test, the College Board made it optional for students. That means you can decide to take SAT essay or skip it. In this section, you’ll be required to write an essay in 50 minutes. Normally, each SAT exam comes with a different essay topic. So, don’t expect to write the same essay last year’s SAT candidates wrote. It doesn’t work that way! Keep in mind that the SAT essay, although optional, comes with an extra fee of $17.00, which you must be paid before you write the section. And currently, only 25 colleges and universities accept the SAT essay for admission. All you have to do is to make research about the school you’re applying to find out if writing the SAT essay is necessary for you or not.
Is it necessary for me to take the SAT with Essay?
Even if the school you want to attend doesn’t require an SAT essay score, you taking it comes with many advantages. This depends on you. One obvious benefit is that it expands your college options, regardless of what you’ve decided on so far. Simply having the option to apply elsewhere can expand your options if your list of schools changes for whatever reason before the application deadline. Also, while some institutions may not require an SAT Essay score, they may recommend it as part of the admissions process. In many circumstances, having a higher SAT Essay score than not having a higher SAT Essay score ultimately benefits you by allowing you to stand out among thousands of other applicants. If you’re on the fence about taking the SAT Essay, keep in mind that if you originally enrolled for the SAT without the Essay, you may add it on test day. It is uncertain that you will add the Essay at the test center.
What is SAT Essay Timing and Structure?
SAT test has three components: Reading, writing, and language, as well as math. Normally, these fundamental topics will take 3 hours for students to complete. The SAT Essay, which is optional, adds another 50 minutes to the mix. In the SAT essay, you’ll be expected to write between 650 and 750 words. It will be your responsibility to read the passage and respond to the SAT Essay instructions in the 50 minutes given to you. This quiz assesses your ability to evaluate the author’s argument in terms of evidence, reasoning, and other rhetorical strategies. This section of the SAT will not reward you with a high total score if you only share your thoughts on the passage or simply summarize it. You’ll need to break out the points being made in relation to how and why they’re being stated, based on the paragraph itself. Preparing ahead of time and entering the test with a game plan will assist you in accomplishing your goal.
13 SAT Essay Tips That Improve Your Score
Here are the best SAT essay tips that can help improve your SAT Essay score:
#1. First, Learn about the Grading Score
Knowing how your essay will be graded will give you a leg up on the competition while you’re taking the test. It’s like going into the fight knowing your opponent’s strategy. The SAT essay is graded on a three-point scale. Two experienced graders: reading, analysis, and writing will grade your test in three sections. The highest score in each part is four, therefore your goal is to achieve a perfect combined score of eight from both people. In order to receive a 4 in reading, your essay must demonstrate how you comprehended the content. Your analytical score, on the other hand, will be determined by how well you examined the author’s persuasion strategy. Finally, your writing score reflects your essay’s general organization and command of the language.
#2. Stick to the facts presented in the passage.
One mistake you mustn’t make while writing SAT essay is deviating from the main passage message. This one a common mistake students make! Try to stick to the facts presented in the passage and don’t be biased just because you want to back up your point. Make sure you keep to the evidence you read in the passage when answering the test. You can write a long response to the topic without relying on your own assumptions or opinions.
#3. Before you read the passage, read the prompt.
Another tip that can help you get SAT high score is reading the prompt first before the passage. You will save a lot of time if you read the prompt before reading the passage. Knowing the author’s central claim ahead of time allows you to read the material with the goal of focusing on the arguments he uses.
#4. Be Clear and Concise
There are two approaches you might take when presenting evidence. The first is paraphrasing, and the second is actually quoting sentences from the chapter. You create credibility in your writing by referencing sentences that you have read and then showing how they support your main idea. The same is true for paraphrasing, which entails explaining what you’ve read in your own words. This SAT essay tip applies not only to the test but also to the several papers you need to write for your disciplines.
#5. Write a Neat Essay
This is very important! Although the College Board states that they don’t grade based on neatness, they actually do. Truth is, if you had to sit about all day reading hundreds of essays on the same subject, you’d definitely award the more readable articles more marks for making it easier for you to read. On the other hand, if you had to read an unintelligible essay, you’d probably be annoyed, and you’re not likely to be in a high-score-giving mood if you’re annoyed.
#6. Use the five-paragraph format.
Using the five-paragraph format is one of the ways you can improve your SAT essay score. This is because the format is simple to understand and also conveys the message succinctly and clearly. Therefore, when planning your essay, start with a broad introductory paragraph that contains your essay’s thesis, then three body paragraphs that each provide evidence/examples to support their thesis, and then a concluding paragraph to tie everything together.
#7. Examine SAT Essay Prompts and Sample Passages.
Take some time to explore sample SAT Essay prompts. This is one of the SAT essay tips that will assist you in understanding what you’re to do. Consider how and why the author employed evidence, reasoning, and stylistic or persuasive features as you read through each of the example sections and responses. As you go through these examples, you should be able to construct your own techniques for dealing with the SAT Essay on test day.
#8. Make it as long as possible!
Despite the fact that the College Board asserts that length is not a factor in their SAT essay scoring, multiple studies have found that students who write longer SAT essays obtain higher essay scores on average. It’s not a joke! Why is it that a lengthier essay gets a higher grade? Nobody knows for sure, but it’s likely that graders look at incredibly short essays and assume the writer doesn’t have much to say, so they mark them down on ideas and content. So, to get full credit for your ideas, make sure you fill in every line with solid, relevant information! Note, I’m not saying you should repeat ideas just because you want to make your essay longer. Concentrate on including as much important information as possible while remaining concise.
#9. Always think of new ideas
Brainstorming, like the previous method, is critical to writing a focused essay. Your essay will lack the depth and complexity that leads to a great grade if you don’t plan ahead. When you brainstorm you tend to scribble down thoughts and organize them in a way that makes sense to you. If you don’t spend enough time brainstorming, you won’t have the confidence you need. You might even waste time going back to the passage and rereading it.
#10. Recognize the prompt
There’s good news for students who enjoy practice cues. Not only does CollegeBoard.com provide sample SAT Essay prompts, but it also provides examples of student replies, along with their scores and criticism. A generic prompt will appear before each SAT Essay passage. This prompt serves as a guide, urging you to think about the bulleted list of things to remember while you read. Take this carefully and look for them throughout the text.
#11. Make Your Thesis Clearly
It can be difficult to come up with a compelling thesis statement. What method will you use to do this? Determine the passage’s “precise central claim” before examining the various persuasive strategies employed by the author to support it. Make sure you utilize exact yet intriguing language while writing your thesis so that the graders are more interested in reading it! A helpful tutorial on how to begin an essay is also available.
#12. Use Proper Grammar.
Correct grammar will make your essay appear more sophisticated and appealing to the reader, and will get you a lot of marks! This is perhaps one of the most underappreciated SAT essay recommendations, but adhering to proper grammar norms will help you stand out on the SAT. Here’s a tip: when writing an essay, strive to employ active verbs. Instead of stating “he was sad,” for example, your youngster should simply say “he was sad.”
#13. Practice!
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! This is perhaps one of the ways to improve your SAT essay score. Seriously. You can read all the SAT essay guides you want, but the only way to truly master the art of SAT essay writing is to get some practice prompts and write essays over and over again.
Are there Challenges I will Face Taking SAT Essay?
In as much as you can increase your SAT score with the essay, there are some drawbacks.
1: There’s a New Section to Study
If you opt for the essay, you will have an additional SAT section to study and prepare for. If you already have a lot of prep to accomplish or are having trouble remaining motivated, adding more work to your schedule can make you feel overwhelmed and affect your scores in other SAT parts.
2: It Lengthens the Exam
Taking the essay will, of course, lengthen the time you spend on the SAT. You get 50 minutes to write the essay, which, when combined with the time it takes for students who aren’t writing the essay to leave and for things to quiet down, will add roughly an hour to the test, bringing your overall SAT test time from around three hours to four hours.
3: The Essay Is Expensive
It will also cost you a little more money to take the SAT with the essay. Taking the SAT without the essay costs $46, but adding the essay costs an additional $14, bringing the total cost of the SAT to $60.
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