1 - ] SAT - Writing a 25-Minute Essay

1 - ] SAT - Writing a 25-Minute Essay 

Writing a 25-Minute Essay .

Testing Tactics

1 . Familiarize Yourself with the Most Common Types of Essay Questions .

In past years , ETS has used three types of essay questions on the SAT II Writing Test ; it is likely to use a similar formula for the new SAT writing prompts .

1 . The first type of essay question asks you to respond to a statement. A good example of this type of prompt is :

Genius is one percent inspiration , and ninety-nine percent perspiration . - Thomas Alva Edison

Assignment : The statement above inspires that effort is of greater importance than creativity in achieving success . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

2 . The second type of prompt asks you to choose between contrasting statements . For example :

1. Education is a kind of continuing dialogue , and a dialogue assumes …. different points of view . - Robert M . Hutchins

2 . What does education often do ? It makes a straight-cut ditch of a tree , meandering brook . - Henry David Thoreau

Assignment : Consider the statements above . Choose the one that best represents your beliefs , and write an essay explaining your choice . You may use examples from history ,literature ,popular culture , current events ,or personal experience to support your position .

3. The third type of prompt asks you to complete a statement .

A great workof fiction can allow us to see truths that may be hidden from us in real life . A good example of the ability of fiction to teach important truths is -------------------- .

Assignment : Complete the sentence above with a fictional work from literature , film , or television and write an essay demonstrating how that story taught an important truth .

           Though the three question types may appear different on the surface , they have much in common . Each question demands that you take a position and provide evidence (examples) to support that position . The third question type is in some ways the simplest , because it dictates your thesis . You are not asked to agree or disagree with the statement . Instead , the prompt takes your agreement for granted and requires you to focus your energies on supporting the statement with a well-chosen example .The first type of question provides you with more latitude , allowing you to agree or disagree with the statement , in whole or in part . The second question type appears more complicated than the first , but it is really no different . Rather than choosing to agree or disagree with a single statement , you choose between two statements that disagree , selecting the one that best represents our beliefs .

            If you can handle responding to statement , you can handle the other question types as well . If you get a contrasting statements topic , once you have chosen the statement with which you basically agree , your essay will be  a response to statement essay in which you indicate your agreement with that statement . If you are assigned a complete a statement essay , your essay essentially will also be a response to statement essay in which you support the statement .

What sorts of topics should you choose ?

ETS tends to use topics that are relevant to young adults about to enter college . Common topic areas include education , success , challenges , risk taking , individuality , and self-knowledge . ETS appears to avoid topics that might be emotionally charged ( such as family relationships ) or relevant to a limited audience ( such as sports ) . With this information in mind and a quotation book in hand , you should be able to come up with dozens ( perhaps even hundreds ) of practice topics .

1 . Success is somebody’s else’s failure . --Ursula K . Le Guin

Assignment : The statement above argues that success and failure trade off , that there can be no “win-win” situation . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

2 . The greater the effort , the greater the glory . -- Pierre Corneille

Assignment : The statement above argues that the difficulty of a task determines its importance . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

3. Treating your adversary with respect is giving him an advantage to which he is not entitled . - Samuel Johnson

Assignment :The statement above indicates that respecting one’s opponents is not strategic.  Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

4 . In crisis cleverness born . Chinese Proverb

Assignment : The statement above implies crises can benefit us by fostering creativity . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

5 . Those who doubt themselves most generally err least . -- Samuel Richardson

Assignment :The statement above argues that self-confidence causes carelessness and error. Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

6. If you rest , you rust . -- Helen Hayes

Assignment : The statement above argues that those who fail to strive regress . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

7 . Learning starts with failure ; the first failure is the beginning of education . -- John Hersey

Assignment : The statement above implies that failure is educational . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

8 . Progress is not an illusion , it happens , but it is slow and invariably disappointing . -- George Orwell

Assignment : The statement above argues that rapid progress is not possible .Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

9 . We can succeed only by concert , it is not “Can any of us imagine better ?” but “Can we all do better ?” -- Abraham Lincoln

Assignment : The statement above argues that we can achieve success only through collective effort , rather than as individuals . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

10 . Patience and tenacity of purpose are more than twice their weight of cleverness . -- Thomas Henry Huxley 

Assignment : The statement above implies that consistent effort is of greater importance than creativity in achieving success .Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

11 . How can one learn to know oneself ? Never by introspection , rather by action . Try to do your duty , and you will know right away what you are like . -- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Assignment : The statement above implies that we cannot know who are and what we are capable of without testing ourselves . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

12 .Progress may feel more like loss than gain . -- Mason Cooley

Assignment : The statement above implies that our comfort with what we know makes it difficult to accept change , even when it is a change for the better . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

13 . No bird soars too high , if he soars with his own wings . -- William Blake

Assignment :The statement above implies that we risk failure when we attempt to surpass the limits of our own abilities . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

14 . A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light , but rather because its opponents die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it . -- Max Planck

Assignment : The statement above implies that most people cannot accept new and unfamiliar ideas . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

15 . The harder the conflict , the more glorious the triumph . What we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly . -- Thomas Paine 

Assignment : The statement above argues that we most value that which is difficult to attain . Write an essay supporting , disputing , or qualifying the statement . You may use examples from history , literature , popular culture , current events , or personal experience to support your position .

Scoring

Two readers will grade your essay in about two minutes , reading very quickly to judge it as a whole . (The College Board calls this process holistic scoring . )  Each reader will assign your essay a score of 1 to 6 , with 6 the highest possible score . If both readers give your essay a 4 , your combined score will be 8 . If one reader gives your essay a 3 and the other assigns it a 4 , your sombined score will be 7 . If the two readers seriously disagree about your score - for example , if one reader considers your essay a 3 and the other judges it a 5 - a third reader will look over your essay and determine your score .

Scoring Level 6

Essays on this level demonstrates a clear command of writing and thinking skills , despite the occasional , infrequent minor error . Characteristics of essays on this level include :

1 . intelligent , convincing development of a position on the issue

2 . selection of relevant examples and other evidence to support its position

3 . smooth , well-orchestrated progression from idea to idea

4 . use of varied sentence types and appropriate vocabulary

5. freedom from most technical flaws ( mistakes in grammar , usage , diction )

These essays are insightful .

Note : Length is important . Top-scoring SAT II essays published by ETS have averaged about 400 to 500 words . These essays were written in only 20 minutes . For your 25-minute essay to earn a top score of 5 or 6 , it should be at least 400 words long .