Sitting the SAT can be a daunting task for any student, but one aspect that can be particularly challenging is the 25 minute time limit on the SAT essay portion of the test. This is where the majority of students feel they stumble when it comes to achieving a goof writing score. However, all it takes is a little practice. These tips on how to write a good SAT essay will help you on your way to achieving a decent score.
Understand What the Grader Is Looking For
One thing that is going to help you when writing your SAT essay is understanding just what is expected of you. This is one of the few times that you will ever be expected to write an essay in such a short timeframe. That’s why the SAT essay questions are designed to be fairly simple. Often the question will be a yes or no type of answer allowing you to write a simple essay in a limited amount of time. It is a good idea to check out some scored sample essays to see what your graders expect you to provide.
Practice Writing Timed Essays
The best way for you to build confidence in your ability to complete the SAT essay in the allotted time is to practice writing timed essays. There are lots of online sources for sample SAT essay questions, so collect a few and sit down to attempt them with a timer running. This is going to give you a better understanding of just how much time you have and it will help you to see how much you can actually achieve in 25 minutes.
Expand Your Vocabulary
One of the best tips for writing SAT essay answers is to show off your vocabulary. There is a good chance that you have already been working on vocabulary words for other sections of the SAT, so why not put them to good use in your essay. Adding a couple of ‘big words’ in your essay will help it to stand out. Graders only have a couple of minutes to read through your essay so you need to do whatever it takes to grab their attention. You will be surprised at how much difference adding a few of your vocabulary words will help – just make sure you are using them correctly! You don’t have to go nuts with them, just add one or two in the introduction and conclusion.
Plan Your Essay
Just like any other paper that you will write it is a good idea to plan out your SAT essay. This can be done in your test booklet. Don’t forget to have a basic essay structure in your head on entering the exam room. You are going to need an introduction, the main body and a conclusion. Take a few minutes to create a rough essay plan and it will give you focus and direction. It is best to take one side of the argument rather than sitting on the fence since you only have time to properly argue one side. Stick to the basic 5 paragraph essay format and you will be able to come up with a quick outline in no time at all.
Practice Your Handwriting
We are all so used to typing everything that most students have pretty ropey handwriting. However, when it comes to writing a SAT essay you are doing so by hand and your grader is going to need to be able to read your writing. Spend some time in the run up to your SAT practicing your hand writing so that you get used to writing quickly and neatly.
Don’t Ramble
As with any essay, it is important not to ramble and stick to the important points. In fact, it might even be more important than ever since you do not get an extra sheet of paper for this essay. It has to end when the paper does. However, while you do not want to ramble, you should also make use of all of the space that you have at your disposal. You have about 45 lines to fill, so use them wisely.
Hopefully these tips for writing SAT essay will help you to prepare for this section of the test. The key is not to panic. You have more than enough time to write your essay as long as you go in fully prepared. Half of the battle is knowing how to structure your writing. Keep these tips in mind and you are sure to score well in the writing section of your SAT.