SAT Tips: Essay Writing

How to write the New SAT Essay?

Overview of the SAT Essay
It is 50 minutes.
It is the fifth and last section of the test.
It is optional.
It does not factor into the overall SAT score.

The Essay Prompt
The Essay Prompt is always the same, making it easier to prepare for the essay.
This is what the prompt looks like:

As you read the passage below, consider how the author uses
• evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims.
• reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence.
• stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to emotion, to add power to the ideas expressed.

Write an essay in which you explain how the author builds an argument to persuade his audience that _______. In your essay, analyze how the author uses one or more of the features in the directions that precede the passage (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most relevant features of the passage.

Your essay should not explain whether you agree with author's claims, but rather explain how the author builds an argument to persuade his audience.

How is the essay graded?
You are evaluated by two graders on the following:
Reading - author's claim, evidence
Analysis - how the author builds and supports the argument
Writing - your organization, style, use of language

Overall Strategy
Claim
Evidence
Rhetorical Devices
Tone
Structure

The following video will show some examples of how to use the above strategy to write your essay.

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