SAT Essay Prompts - October 2013

Materials on this page relate to the SAT before March 2016.

For updated SAT materials, please see:

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The following are the SAT essay prompts given for October 2013.

We have a collection of the new SAT Essay Prompts, ordered according to years, from March 2005 till the most recent test released by College Board.

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October 2013

If you took the October 2013 SAT, you would have been given one of the essay prompts below:

Prompt 1

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Most people think that contentment—being happy with the way things are—is the perfect state of affairs. After all, what could be better than being so satisfied with how things are that you don't want anything else? But contentment has disadvantages: if we are content with the way things are, we are not motivated to change things, to improve ourselves, or to do better. We must therefore always choose between being content and pushing ourselves to do better.

Assignment:

Does being content with the way things are prevent people from improving themselves and doing better?  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.

Prompt 2

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Privacy was once valued and protected. Diaries came with locks to keep the writer’s privately recorded thoughts from being read by others. Public telephones were enclosed in booths so that conversations would not be overheard. But now people feel free to post information about themselves on social networking Web sites and carry on cell phone conversations in public places. We would be much better off if we valued privacy—our own and that of others—far more highly than we do.

Assignment:

Do we place too little value on privacy? 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.

Prompt 3

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Nobody wants to be called old-fashioned or be considered out of touch with current trends and thinking. But there's something to be said for holding on to old ideas and customs even if they may not be in fashion at the moment. People are too easily impressed by anything new and trendy—the latest television show, or music group, or technological gadget. They place too much emphasis on newness without bothering to look at something's real value.

Assignment:

Do people place too much value on newness? 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.

Prompt 4

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Everything a public figure or celebrity says or does is likely to turn up on an internet site or a television show. The great appeal of these sites and shows is that they help us learn as much as possible about public figures. The more we know about political candidates, for example, the more informed we are as voters.  Much of the information, however, is irrelevant and actually prevents us from focusing on the issues that matter.

Assignment:

Does having too much information about public figures distract us from the important issues? 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. 

SAT & ACT Writing: Writing a Strong Essay

Learn how to write a strong essay on the Writing section of the SAT and English section of the ACT by:
- writing a strong thesis statement that answers the question posed in the writing prompt
- writing a good topic sentence
- writing a strong paragraph that supports your thesis statement 
- writing a strong conclusion that restates your thesis statement and provides examples