Present Your Strongest Point First

SAT scores are released 17 days after the scheduled test day. For any given SAT, over a million essays are scored in less than 17 days. Think about that! How much time do you think the person grading your essay will actually allocate to reading your essay? The answer--less than two minutes.

Knowing this, it is only logical that you present your strongest argument first. Never assume that the grader will even turn the page to read the rest of the essay, let alone its conclusion.

When writing your essay, use engaging language (not baby words) and make sure your best example is your first example. Make a good first impression on the reader and get a higher score!

Write A Strong Thesis Statement

Sample Essay Question: Is using humor the best way to approach difficult situations and problems? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience or observations



Example of a weak thesis: Humor is often the best way to approach difficult situations and problems. Okay, but that’s unoriginal and boring. It just repeats the question.

Better or stronger thesis: While everyone loves a good laugh, not all of the world’s problems can be solved with laughter. Sometimes to accomplish great things we need to be serious. This is evident especially in solving the important issues of the day including combating terrorism and tackling the threat of global warming…………

The second thesis statement captures the readers attention and the reader is intrigued to read on.

Step 2-The Thesis Statement

The thesis statement consists of one to three sentences which:

• Lays a foundation
• Summarizes the main point of the essay
• Helps maps the order of the essay from the outline
• Interests the reader so she wants to read on

A weak thesis statement is a bland restatement of the question. This is not what earns a high essay score on the SAT. In my next post, I will give specific examples of a weak vs. strong thesis statement.

Step 1- Plan Before You Write

Like most people I am at my most creative when it's quiet. When I am isolated from others my mind is able to reflect upon things and ideas rush into my head. My best ideas come when I am walking my dog on a cold winter night, when I am in the shower or when I am just sitting at the beach. If you are like me and agree with the scenario I just laid out, then you should use the first three minutes of Section 1 (the Essay) to read the prompt and quietly outline what you intend to write about.

Many make the mistake of writing immediately. Then suddenly after the first sentence, they freeze--writer's block sets in, palms become sweaty and for the next 25 minutes they find themselves in panic mode. Because the essay topic is random and unpredictable you need time to think of relevant examples to support your position.

Take a deep breath, three minutes is really a long enough time to reflect upon what you intend to write. Let the ideas flow in, then begin to write a dynamite essay!

4 Steps to a Better Essay

The four steps necessary to improve your SAT Essay are:

1. Take time to properly reflect upon what you will be writing about and what supporting materials you will be using to make your case
2. Carefully draft a thesis or topic sentence so that the reader clearly knows your position
3. Support your position with clarity, organization and engaging language
4. Check your draft for errors, run on sentences and missed words.

I will examine each of these steps in detail in future posts.

Outline Your Essay Before Writing It

Read the prompt. Figure out what is being asked. Scribble down your thesis. Spend two minutes making a crude outline of the major points which will support your thesis. Refer to this outline while writing the essay. This is two minutes well spent. The notes will keep you calm. The notes will prevent writers block. The outline will provide organization to the essay. An organized essay will often command a higher score and instill confidence as you navigate the rest of the SAT.

SAT Writing Section

According to a new study by the Collegeboard, performance on the SAT Writing Section is the best indicator of a students performance in his or her freshman year of College. According to the data on 150,000 students, the writing section is a better predictor than the math or critical reading sections. Introduced in 2005, the writing section consists of one 25 minute timed essay, one 25 minute multiple choice section and one ten minute multiple choice section. The complete study is to be released this summer. To read more about this please click on the link to USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-04-24-sat_N.htm