Three Secrets to the SAT Essay

At Tried & True Tutoring we work with hundreds of SAT students every year, and one of the things that most consistently confuses students is the essay.  The SAT essay was introduced in 2005, and, for the most part, it remains a mystery to most.  The SAT is a test based on standardization.  It is a test that is supposed to fairly assess the reasoning skills of high school students from varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds all across the United States.  How then, can the SAT fairly assess and standardize an essay assignment?  The answer is surprising.

Because the SAT Essay must be standardized, the College Board (the Company that designs and administers the SAT) has had to come up with some "creative" grading practices.  The essay is scored by two graders.  Each of these graders awards the essay a score from 1 to 6 (1 being the lowest, 6 being the highest). These two scores are added together to create a total score between 2 and 12. Because these graders are required to grade hundreds of papers per day, they each have no more than two to three minutes to look at any one paper. This is a far cry from the way your Honors English teacher might go through a paper.  A grader will read your paper once, and, based on his or her initial reaction, will give it a score.

Graders are judged, by the College Board, on how consistent their scoring is with that of other graders. As a result, their goal is not to judge the true merit of the paper, but to determine what the paper looks like.  In other words, if you write a paper that looks like a 12, you will probably get a twelve.

Here are three things you should focus on when trying to make your paper look like a 12.

1. The Longer the Better

Papers that score 12 are almost always a full two pages long.  There is nothing that will make your paper look more like a 12 than using all of the space that the College Board gives you.  

I would love to say that articulately arguing and proving your point is the most important thing.  I would love to say that, but I can't.  It's just not true.

If you want to score a 12 use two full pages.  If you write two full pages of nonsense, you might not score a 12, but if you write one page of genius, you definitely won't score a 12.

2. Use the best examples you can come up with . . .EVEN IF THEY AREN'T REAL!

When you write your paper, you will most likely want to write a standard four or five paragraph essay. You will create a thesis (an opinion), and you will choose two or three examples to back up that thesis.

You want to pick examples that conclusively prove your thesis, and it doesn't matter if those examples are true!

The College Board wants to make sure that graders can quickly grade your paper, and this means that they don't have time to verify whether your examples are true or not.  In fact, the graders are instructed by the College Board not to grade based on the accuracy of your examples.  Because the SAT is standardized, the College Board must treat every student exactly the same.  This means that if it wanted to check an example one student used, it would have to check every example that every student uses.  This would be impossible.

So, pick examples that really back-up your thesis.  Don't worry about whether or not they are true.

3. Begin your essay with a direct response to the question.

Over the years, your English teachers have most likely taught you to begin your essays with "Interest Catching Devices," evocative questions, or meaningful quotes.  Don't bother on the SAT essay.  Answer the question asked directly in the first line.  

If the question asks, "Should men take more responsibility for their role in sexual harassment," answer, "Men should take more responsibility. . . ." or "No, men should not take more responsibility. . . ."

SAT Graders do not like essays that straddle the fence.  They like essays that present a clear opinion on the issue, so pick one side, and stick to it! 

By opening with a thesis (an opinion statement) you make it clear to the reader that you have formed a solid opinion.

While these techniques work wonders on the SAT, don't try them with your English teacher at school.  For more tips and tricks on the SAT, visit our site www.triedandtruetutoring.com, and stay tuned for more blogs and videos that will give you the inside track on SAT success!