Sunday, August 2, 2009

SAT essay planning?

any advice for planning sat questions? I've taken lots of tests; I can organize some outlines very well b/c it's something I've studied (l've found that I have a penchant for history/war-related topics, sports success topics, and ends justifying means topics). At other times, I just feel that I'm just sitting there wondering what I should write about, going through the prompt ten times over my head and trying to strain examples from my mind to support one side. What do you do when you get stuck ? My friends (some taught by tutors) have B.S.ed their essays and told me to do the same; I'm a very good writer, but I I can't plan the ideas for my life.

SAT essay planning?
the essay prompt is so random that most of the time you have to b.s them. i did, and i scored very high. plus im not even sure that schools look too much at the essay part, more just the overall score. dont stress too much. you can always re-take them after you see what it's all about. good luck!
Reply:First - read the prompt and decide what you have to say about it. Agree,disagree, ambivilent? Then, in your head or on scratch paper, answer the prompt in one sentence.





Once you've formulated what you want to say, then take all those writing skills you've acquired and write your essay.





Don't worry about penmanship, or crossing out words, just write. Make each word in each sentence has meaning. No babbling, just write your essay to convey your thoughts.





Statistics show that the more you write, the higher your score. But the College Board disagrees. Their position is that you write to express yourself, not in volume but in quality of work.





There are some great tips on the College Board website www.collegeboard.com and also on the University of California Test Prep website. You can google that to get there faster.





Congratulations on planning ahead for this exam.





Good luck!
Reply:I took an SAT prep course over the summer and they taught me to think of examples before hand.





Think of novels that you've read, historical events that you've learned, and personal happenings that you've experienced and connect them to the subject of your essay. Hav these ideas in the back of your brain before you start the test. For example, collect information on broad events like WWII... since WWII can represent almost any theme that may be presented in any essay.





Good luck.


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