How to write the SAT Essay
Upon taking the SAT, you will be given 25 minutes to complete an essay. This essay will be graded on a scale of 1-6 by two different people and these scores will then be combined. Your combined essay score will be something between 2 and 12. The essay counts for one third of your writing grade on the test, and 1/9 of your total SAT score.
On the essay, you will be asked to respond to a short writing prompt. The following are things you should do in order to revieve a good score on your essay:
-respond to the prompt
-develop a strong viewpoint relating to the prompt. Your opinion should be obvious.
-show your mastery of the English language. Use correct grammar and varied sentence structure.
-support your point of view by using examples from your life, studies, and reading. These examples are basically used as evidence to justify your opinion.
-also support your opinion using logic and reason.
The above are things you must do to receive a perfect score on your essay. However, there are also some things which you must not do on your essay, and will result in a zero:
-do not address the topic.
-write the essay in pen instead of ink.
-write your essay on a piece of paper separate from the given test booklet.
Organizing the Essay
I recommend organizing the essay in three paragraphs. This is because in 25 minutes it will be very hard to adequately develop any more paragraphs than three. Here is my suggested organization for the essay (although it may vary depending on the given prompt):
Paragraph 1: (around three sentences)
Start off with a general sentence which is related to the topic, but does not give your stance (kind of like a hook). Use this first sentence or two to transition into a sentence which shows your stance / point of view relating to the prompt. The last sentence should always show your stance, think of this as your thesis.
Paragraph 2:
I would use this paragraph to state a specific event in your life / book you read / something you have learned, which correlates to the prompt.
Paragraph 3:
Connect your example in paragraph 2 to the prompt. Justify how your experience relates to your opinion / stance.
Although there are many ways to organize your essay, the above is definitely a simple and easy way to organize it. Just remember, if you spend too much time trying to decide how to write your essay, you will probably not have time to finish writing it. Knowing some essay templates, like the above, will minimize the time it takes you to organize your essay.
Probably the most important thing to do in your essay is to take a strong stance (do not justify any other stances in your essay. Some students tend to throw in a sentence in their conclusion which argues contrary to their stance, and this results in a lower score).