Graduating from high school and going to college is a crucial step in every student's life. Mostly, students have a dream college through which they want to build up their careers. Typically, most of the colleges and universities in the US require an SAT. This article will provide you with a complete guideline on a portion of SAT: the SAT Essay and its requirements, template, and tips for getting high scores, so let's begin.
WHAT IS SAT?
The "Scholastic Aptitude Test," commonly known as SAT, is a standardized test conducted by College Board in the US and is an entrance exam for the students applying to undergraduate schools and colleges. This test evaluates the students' skills and abilities required in the college and based upon SAT results, the college decides whether to admit the applicant.
SECTIONS OF SAT
The SAT mainly comprises three parts, readings, writing, and math. Previously the SAT essay was a compulsory part of the test, but since 2016, it has become optional. A detail on SAT sections is provided here. The total time for the test without an essay is three hours while, in case you opt for the essay, it becomes 3 hours 50 minutes.
WHAT ARE THE SAT SCORES AND WHAT IS AN IDEAL SCORE?
As the SAT essay is optional now, so its score is calculated separately and is not included in the total SAT essay.
- The range of total scores is from 400-1600
- The two sections, evidence-based reading and writing, and math have a score range of 200-800.
- The individual tests, reading tests, math tests, and writing and language tests have a score range of 10-40.
- The SAT essay scoring (if opted) is carried out on a 2-8-point scale based upon the three dimensions; reading, writing, and analysis. Two readers score the essay on a scale of 1-4 for each section. These scores are then added together, and the essay score report provides a separate score of individual sections, each on a 2-8-point scale. You can find complete details of SAT essay scoring on the website of the college board.
So, what is a good SAT essay score?
The scores for each dimension, writing, reading, and analysis, are received separately. The top colleges and universities, such as in the IVY league, require a minimum score of 6 in each SAT essay component and a cumulative score of 18/24. This means an individual 6,6,6 in three sections would be preferred more than a 7,4 and 5 in each section.
WHY SHOULD I OPT FOR THE SAT ESSAY?
The old SAT essay was compulsory and theoretical in which the students had to answer a theoretical prompt and support it with evidence in a mere 25 minutes. Following is the example of an old SAT essay question.
The SAT essay has been significantly altered as now it requires the students to analyze another author's argumentative essay and cite evidence from the passage to support their explanation. The total time for writing the essay is now 50 minutes in which the students can critically think and use their rhetorical skills. Following is an example of the current SAT essay prompt.
Considering all these changes, let's look into why you need to opt for the SAT essay. Although SAT essay has become optional now, some colleges and universities still require it in the SAT exam. So, if you are still deciding on which college you opt for, it is recommended to take SAT with the essay as you would be applicable for all colleges whether they require the SAT essay or not. Even if your decided colleges do not require the SAT essay, you will not find any hindrance in applying to another college if you take the essay with your SAT. This would eliminate any future hassle.
Another important reason for choosing to give SAT with the essay is that the new SAT essay is more like a college assignment where you must use your analytical skills. Taking SAT with an essay can boost your application and show your writing and analytical skills to the college.
WHICH COLLEGES REQUIRE SAT ESSAY?
Here is a complete list of schools and colleges that require or recommend SAT with the essay. However, it is recommended to cross-check with the college you intend to apply for as there can be certain changes in policies.
HOW TO WRITE THE SAT ESSAY?
The essay's total time is 50 minutes, so you would be required to divide your allotted time carefully.
- Reading the whole essay can take about 5-10 minutes.
- Analyzing and planning your essay would take approximately 7-12 minutes.
- Writing your essay should typically take 25-35 minutes.
- In the end, you should take 2-3 minutes to revise your essay.
An ideal SAT essay structure consists of the following five elements.
- Introduction:
In the introductory paragraph, you would begin your analysis with a statement that would discuss the overall argument presented in the prompt, along with a brief account of the argumentative techniques used by the author that you would be analyzing in the essay.
- Thesis statement:
The thesis statement is a significant element of the essay as it depicts your overall understanding of the author's argument. You are not required to present your stance; instead, you must present your understanding of the argument.
- Body paragraphs:
You are not required to paraphrase the prompt passage or analyze whether the arguments are correct or not. In your body paragraphs, you would support your thesis statement with evidence from the passage regarding the author's techniques to present the argument. Each body paragraph (ideally 2 to 3 paragraphs) would start with a topic sentence and supporting evidence.
- Conclusion:
The conclusion is yet another important element of the essay in which you restate your thesis statement and concisely conclude all the examples and evidence presented in the body paragraphs.
Here you can find the new SAT essay prompt and the sample student answers corresponding to their score ranges. You can get a good idea regarding what is required in the SAT essay now.
STEPS OF WRITING THE ESSAY
The detailed steps of writing the SAT essay are presented below
Step 1: Read the passage
The first step is to read the entire passage and go along with the author's flow of arguments. A thorough reading of the passage will give you a good idea of the author's arguments. It is effective to underline the examples and take notes of the author's persuasive techniques along the way as you read.
Step 2: Plan your essay
Planning your essay would seem like a time-taking task, but once you are done with it, it would be easy for you to write, and you would be able to maintain the logical structure of your essay by following the rough outline. The notes you took while reading and the underlined examples would help form an appropriate outline, and you wouldn't have to read the essay again and again and waste time unnecessarily.
You can also include brief descriptions of details and examples from the essay in your outline that would work as a foundation for your essay. Moreover, an outline helps maintain cohesion and a logical flow in the essay, and you can avoid jumping abruptly from one viewpoint to the next.
Step 3: Begin to write
After you have mapped out an outline, you should directly start writing your essay while following your outline so that any significant point may not get forgotten.
Step 4: Review
You should finish writing your essay at least 5 minutes before the end time. Take the last five minutes to go through your essay and review it for clarity, conciseness, and cohesion. You can check for any grammatical or spelling mistakes and analyze your entire essay to check whether you have presented the author's argument and supporting evidence on the techniques used properly.
HOW TO SCORE HIGH ON SAT ESSAY?
The following tips would help you get a high score on SAT essays and gain a competitive advantage.
- You should prepare for the SAT essay before appearing on the test by studying sample passages and SAT essay prompts. This would give you an idea of what to expect on the SAT essay. Here you can find many practices prompts for the essay.
- Learn by practice to analyze the passages and find examples that would show evidence of persuasive techniques used in the essay.
- Take time to plan your essay and map out an outline before you begin to write.
- "Start strong and end strong" means that you should maintain a logical structure in your essay from the introduction part. Your essay should depict a thorough understanding of the author's argument, and you should seem confident in your language and writing style.
- While practising for your SAT essay, it is better to use a timer so that you should be able to finish your essay in time when you appear for the actual test.
Good preparation is the key to performing well on the test. Follow the guidelines mentioned above for getting high scores in your SAT essay.
