SAT Essay Tips - 15 Ways To Improve Your Score

3/5/2018 SAT Essay Tips: 15 Ways to Improve Your Score
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SAT Essay Tips: 15 Ways to Improve Your

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Posted by Laura Sta aroni | Jan 30, 2018 6:00:00 PM

SAT WRITING, SAT ESSAY
https://blog.prepscholar.com/sat-essay-tips-15-ways-to-improve-your-writing-score 1/29
Whether you've never written an SAT Essay or didn't get the score you wanted on your
last test, you can bene t from knowing more: both about the essay itself, and what
really matters when the graders are reading your essay.
To introduce you to what you'll have to do, we've gathered up these 15 tips to master
the SAT essay. If you can reliably follow all these points, you'll be able to get at least a
6/6/6 on the SAT essay—guaranteed.
The Challenge
The SAT Essay is a very short assignment. You only get 50 minutes to read a 650-750
word passage, analyze the devices the author uses to structure her/his argument,
and write a full- edged essay—and it can pass in a ash if you don't have a method
for attacking it.
Writing an SAT essay requires a very speci c approach that's unlike the essays you've
been writing for English class in school. The goal of this strategy is to cram in as many as
possible of the desired components in the 50 minutes you've got. In this article, we give
you 15 key tips for the SAT essay.
The rst ve tips in this article relate to what the College Board tells us about what's a
good essay. The next ve are truths that the College Board doesn't want you to know (or
doesn’t make explicit). And the last ve tips for SAT essay writing show you how to build
an SAT essay, step by step.
What the College Board Does Tell You: 5 Tips
The College Board explains the main components of the successful SAT Essay in its
scoring criteria. Here they are, condensed:
#1: Give a Clear Thesis
The SAT essay rubric states: "The response includes a precise central claim.”
What this means is that your essay needs to make a clear argument that the reader can
easily identify. All you have to do to create your "precise central claim" is to identify the
main idea of the passage and list the methods the author uses to support it.
Fortunately, the SAT provides you with the passage’s main idea, so you don’t have to go
hunting for it yourself. I've bolded the claim in this (fake) sample prompt so you can see
this for yourself:
Write an essay in which you explain how Sam Lindsay builds an argument to
persuade her audience that more works of art should feature monsters. In your
essay, analyze how Lindsay uses one or more of the features listed in the box
above (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness
of her argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most relevant features
of the passage.
Your essay should not explain whether you agree with Lindsay’s claims, but rather
explain how Lindsay builds an argument to persuade her audience.
Now, here's an example of a thesis statement for an essay responding to this prompt:
In the article “Monsters Monsters Everywhere,” Sam Lindsay uses personal

anecdotes, vivid language, and appeals to emotion to persuade her audience that
more works of art should feature monsters.
It's ne to copy the exact words describing the author’s central claim from the prompt
into your thesis statement—in fact, this guarantees that the graders will see that your
thesis is there and on-topic.
#2: Include Both an Introduction and a Conclusion
The SAT essay rubric states: "The response includes a skillful introduction and
conclusion.”
Including an introduction paragraph in your essay is absolutely essential to

getting a Writing score above a 4 (out of 8). The introduction paragraph introduces
the reader to what you’ll be talking about and allows you to set up the structure for the
rest of the essay. Plus, an introduction can be a pretty good indicator of the quality for
the rest of the essay—a poorly constructed introduction is often a warning that the
essay that follows will be equally discombobulated.
It's best to have both an introduction and a conclusion, but if you’re running short on
time and can only have one, de nitely pick the introduction. The main reason for this is
that a good introduction includes your thesis statement. For the SAT essay, your
thesis (or your "precise central claim") should be a statement about what devices the
author uses to build her/his argument.
Introductions can be tricky to write, because whatever you write in that paragraph can
then make you feel like you’re locked into writing just about that. If you’re struggling with
the introduction paragraph, leave yourself 10 blank lines at the beginning of the essay
and jump into writing your body paragraphs. Just make sure you remember to go back
and write in your introduction before time’s up!
#3: Use E ective Language and Word Choice
There are a couple of parts of the Writing score section on the SAT essay rubric that
pertain directly to style.
The SAT essay rubric states this about a perfect-Writing-score essay: "The response is
cohesive and demonstrates a highly e ective use and command of language."
For most of us, "command of language" is an area that takes a long time to develop, so
unless your language skills are really rough or you're prepping at least a year ahead of
time (or both), you'll probably get more out of focusing on the other components of the
essay.
The SAT essay rubric also states: “The response has a wide variety in sentence
structures. The response demonstrates a consistent use of precise word choice. The
response maintains a formal style and objective tone.”
This basically boils down to: don't be repetitive and don't make grammar mistakes.
In addition, you should avoid using rst person statements like "I" or "My" in the essay,
along with any other informality. You're writing the equivalent of a school paper, not an
opinion piece.
Bad (Too informal):
“I think that Sam’s super persuasive in this article cause she’s just so passionate. It
made me feel kinda bad that I don’t really monster it up in my everyday life.”
Good (Formal):
“Lindsay’s passionate defense of how drawing monsters 'allows us to laugh at our

personal foibles' causes her audience to put themselves in her shoes and
empathize with her position.”
Finally, try to use di erent words to describe the same idea—don't use "shows" 15
times. Take the chance to show o your vocabulary (if, and only if, the vocabulary is
appropriate and makes sense). This component is the biggest reason why revising
your SAT Essay is essential—it's fast and easy to change repeated words to other ones
after you're nished, but it can slow you down during writing to worry about your word
choice. If you're aiming for a top score, using advanced vocabulary appropriately is vital.
#4: Only Use Information From the Passage
All the relevant information is in the passage, so avoid getting drawn into the topic and
using your outside knowledge—you want to be sure to show that you’ve read the
passage.
In real life, there are many ways to support a thesis, depending on the topic. But on the
SAT, there's one kind of correct support: speci c details drawn from the passage
you’re asked to analyze. We'll show you more below.
#5: Focus Your Essay on Relevant Details
You don’t have to mention every single detail that makes the argument e ective. In fact,
your essay will be more coherent and more likely to score higher in Analysis if you focus
your discussion on just a few points. It's more important to show that you're able to
pick out the most important parts of the argument and explain their function that it is to
be able to identify every single persuasive device the author used.
Think about it as if you were asked to write a 50-minute essay describing the human
face and what each part does. A clear essay would just focus on major features—eyes,
nose, and mouth. A less e ective essay might also try to discuss cheekbones, eyebrows,
eyelashes, skin pores, chin clefts, and dimples as well. While all of these things are part
of the face, it would be hard to get into detail about each of the parts in just 50 minutes.
"The New Dance Craze." ©2015-2016 by Samantha Lindsay. Used with permission.
And this is the eye, and this is the other eye, and this is the...other eye...and the other eye...and the
other...wait...what's going on here?
What the College Board Doesn’t Tell You: 5 Secrets
Even though the SAT essay has clearly stated, publicly-available guidelines, there are a
few secrets to writing the essay that most students don't know and that can give you a
major advantage on the test.
#1: Read the Prompt Before the Passage
Why? Because the prompt includes the description of the author’s claim. Knowing what
the author’s claim is going into the article can help keep you focused on the
argument, rather than getting caught up in reading the passage (especially if the topic is
one you're interested in).
#2: Your Facts Must Be Accurate…But Your Interpretation Doesn’t

Have to Be
A big part of the Analysis score for the SAT essay is not just identifying the devices the
author uses to build her argument, but explaining the e ect that the use of these
devices has on the reader. You don’t have to be completely, 100% accurate about the
e ect the passage has on the reader, because there is no one right answer. As long as
you are convincing in your explanation and cite speci c examples, you’ll be good.
Here's an example of an interpretation about what e ect a persuasive device has on the
reader (backed by evidence from the passage):
Lindsay appeals to the emotions of her readers by describing the forlorn, many-
eyed creatures that stare reproachfully at her from old school notebook margins.
The sympathy the readers feel for these forgotten doodles is expertly transferred
to Lindsay herself when she draws the connection between the drawn monsters
and her own life: “Often, I feel like one of these monsters—hidden away in my
studio, brushes yearning to create what no one else cares to see.”
Now, you don't necessarily know for sure if "sympathy for the doodles" is what the
author was going for in her passage. The SAT essay graders probably don't know either
(unless one of them wrote the passage). But as long as you can make a solid case for
your interpretation, using facts and quotes from the passage to back it up, you'll
be good.
#3: You Should Write More Than One Page
This has always been true for the SAT essay, but for the rst time ever, the College Board
actually came out in The O cial SAT Study Guide and explicitly said that length really
does matter. Here's the description of a one-paragraph, 120-word-long student
response that received a Writing score of 2/8 (bolding mine).
“Due to the brief nature of the response, there is not enough evidence of writing
ability to merit a score higher than 1. Overall, this response demonstrates
inadequate writing.” (source: The O cial SAT Study Guide, p. 176)
You’ll have one page for (ungraded) scrap paper that you can use to plan out your essay,
and four pages of writing paper for the essay—plan on writing at least two pages for
your essay.
#4: Be Objective When Reading the Passage
Being able to stay detached while reading the passage you'll be writing the essay about
can be tricky. This task might be especially di cult for students who were used to the
old SAT essay (which pretty much made it mandatory for you to choose one side or the
other). You’ll have to practice reading persuasive essays and gaining objectivity (so
that you are able to write about how the argument is constructed, not whether it’s good
or bad).
A good way to practice this is to read news articles on topics you care deeply about
by people who hold the opposite view that you do. For instance, as a composer and
violist/violinist, I might read articles about how children should not be encouraged to
play musical instruments, since it holds no practical value later on in life (a view I
disagree with vehemently). I would then work on my objectivity by jotting down the
central ideas, most important details, and how these details relate to the central
ideas of the article.
Being able to understand the central ideas in the passage and details without being
sidetracked by rage (or other emotions) is key to writing an e ective SAT essay.
"Always Wear a Helmet." ©2015-2016 by Samantha Lindsay. Used with permission.
Don't let the monster of rage distract you from your purpose.
#5: Memorize and Identify Speci c Persuasive Techniques
Once you’re able to read articles objectively (as discussed in point #4 above), the next
step is to be able to break down the essay passage's argument. To do this
successfully, you'll need to be aware of some of the techniques that are frequently used
to build arguments.
The SAT essay prompt does mention a few of these techniques (bolding mine):
As you read the passage below, consider how Lindsay 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.
It’s certainly possible to wing it and go into the test without knowing speci c names of
particular persuasive devices and just organically build up your essay from features you
notice in the article. However, it's way easier to go into the essay knowing certain
techniques that you can then scan the passage for.
For instance, after noting the central ideas and important details in the article about how
more works of art should feature monsters, I would then work on analyzing the way the
author built her argument. Does she use statistics in the article? Personal anecdotes?
Appeal to emotion?
I discuss the top persuasive devices you should know in more detail in the article "6 SAT
Essay Examples to Answer Every Prompt".
How to Get All the Necessary Components in 50

Minutes: 5 Step-By-Step Strategies
When you write an SAT essay, you only have 50 minutes to read, analyze, and write an
essay, which means that you need a game plan going in. Here's a short step-by-step
guide on how to write an e ective SAT essay.
#1: Answer the Prompt
Don’t just summarize the passage in your essay, or identify persuasive devices used by
the author—instead, be sure to actually analyze the way the author of the passage
builds her argument. As The O cial SAT Study Guide states,
"[Y]our discussion should focus on what the author does, why he or she does it,
and what e ect this is likely to have on readers."
College Board makes a point of specifying this very point in its grading rubric as well—an
essay that scores a 2 (out of 4) or below in Analysis "merely asserts, rather than explains
[the persuasive devices'] importance." If you want to get at least a 3/4 (or a 6/8) in
Analysis, you need to heed this warning and stay on task.
#2: Support Your Points With Concrete Evidence From the Passage
The best way to get a high Reading score for your essay is to quote from the passage
appropriately to support your points. This shows not only that you’ve read the
passage (without your having to summarize the passage at all), but also that you
understand what the author is saying and the way the author constructed her
argument.
As an alternative to using direct quotations from the passage, it’s also okay to
paraphrase some of what you discuss. If you are explaining the author's argument in
your own words, however, you need to be extra careful to make sure that the facts
you're stating are accurate—in contrast to scoring on the old SAT essay, scoring on
the new SAT essay takes into account factual inaccuracies and penalizes you for them.
#3: Keep Your Essay Organized
The SAT essay rubric states: “The response demonstrates a deliberate and highly
e ective progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay.”
The main point to take away from this is that you should follow the standard structure
for an SAT essay (introduction-body-body-conclusion). Using a basic four- to ve-
paragraph essay structure will both keep you organized and make it easier for the essay
graders to follow your reasoning—a win-win situation!
Furthermore, you should connect each paragraph to each other through e ective
transitions. We'll give you ways to improve your performance in this area in the articles
linked at the end of this article.
#4: Make Time to Read, Analyze, Plan, Write, and Revise
Make sure you allocate appropriate amounts of time for each of the steps you’ll need to
take to write the essay—50 minutes may seem like a long time, but it goes by awfully
quick with all the things you need to do.
Reading the passage, analyzing the argument, planning your essay, writing your
essay, and revising are all important components for writing an 8/8/8 essay. For a
breakdown of how much time to spend on each of these steps, be sure to check out our
article on how to write an SAT essay, step-by-step.
"Watch Yourself." ©2015-2016 by Samantha Lindsay. Used with permission.
#5: Practice
The more you practice analysis and writing, the better you’ll get at the task of writing an
SAT essay (as you work up to it a little at a time).
It's especially important to practice the analysis and writing components of the essay if
you are a slow reader (since reading speed can be di cult to change). Being able to
analyze and write quickly can help balance out the extra time you take to read
and comprehend the material. Plus, the time you put into working on analysis and
writing will yield greater rewards than time spent trying to increase your reading speed.
But don't forget: while it’s okay to break up the practice at rst, you also really do need
to get practice buckling down and doing the whole task in one sitting.
What’s Next?
This is just the beginning of improving your SAT essay score. Next, you actually need to
put this into practice with a real SAT essay.
Looking to get even deeper into the essay prompt? Read our complete list of SAT
essay prompts and our detailed explanation of the SAT essay prompt.
Hone your SAT essay writing skills with our articles about how to write a high-scoring
essay, step by step and how to get a 8/8/8 on the SAT essay.
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Jane Foster 6/10/2015, 11:00:21 PM
I often have a question on how to start my essay and more often I have no time to revise
my paper. I hope I will make my essay more structured and solid with your tips.
Reply to Jane Foster

Laura Sta aroni 8/7/2015, 2:21:59 AM
We hope so too, Jane! Best studying wishes to you!
Reply to Laura Staffaroni
Gatha Adhikari 8/24/2015, 10:31:31 PM
I have problem with the critical reading portion of SAT.

What can I do to get good score in it?
Reply to Gatha Adhikari

Laura Sta aroni 9/16/2015, 9:25:10 PM
Hi, Gatha!
I recommend starting with this article: http://blog.prepscholar.com/the-ultimate-
guide-to-sat-reading-strategies-tips-practice
There are links to several other blog articles in it, so you can choose which ones look
the most helpful to you.
Good luck!
-Laura
Narotam Singh 9/5/2015, 11:53:07 AM
Hi, I'm very week in grammar. Lots of time I lack with words. Can you please help m to
improve on theses areas
Reply to Narotam Singh

Hi, Narotam!
I have a few suggestions for you. To work on your vocabulary, you could start with
our PDF of 200 SAT Vocab Words
(https://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/resources/vocab). We have several other
articles on the best ways to study words (http://blog.prepscholar.com/the-best-way-
to-study-sat-vocab-words) and other vocabulary lists you could use
(http://blog.prepscholar.com/the-best-sat-vocabulary-lists-on-the-web). Our blog
has a lot of information on the SAT Writing multiple-choice questions that might be
helpful, since the articles discuss di erent grammar rules
(http://blog.prepscholar.com/topic/sat-writing). The biggest help of all is to keep
reading - whether it's our blog or novels, continuing to read in English will help you
with grammar. Good luck! -Laura
kate madamba 9/5/2015, 7:53:27 PM
Is it possible to nish an essay in one minute ?
Reply to kate madamba

It depends what you mean by " nish." If you mean "Can I read over my essay and
revise it" in one minute, the answer might be yes (if you are a fast reader). If you
mean, "Can I write my conclusion in one minute," the answer also could be yes
(depending on how fast you write). However, if your question is "Can I write my
entire essay in one minute," the answer is, sadly, no (at least, not if you want to
score above a 2/12 on your essay). Hope this is helpful! -Laura
kiran 10/11/2015, 12:46:43 PM
These tips are really very helpful. Thank you so much.
Reply to kiran
You are welcome! We're glad we were able to help.
Kaitlyn Modzelewski 10/15/2015, 12:32:46 AM
Just to clarify: SAT essay scorers (?) are not allowed to penalize you for incorrect facts,
even ones they know o the top of their heads? For example, if a historian sees
something that clearly contradicts the facts in an essay, the rules are that they can't dock
me points for it?
Reply to Kaitlyn Modzelewski

Hi, Kaitlyn,
As long as the incorrect facts don't a ect the logic of your argument, the graders will
not penalize you for incorrect facts. For instance, if you accidentally mix up the date
of something or some historical detail (e.g. you write that the Vietnam War ended in
the early 1990s), you're unlikely to be penalized. If you try to use the Vietnam War as
an example of how people should try to maintain privacy because it led to the
exposing of Petraeus's illicit a air, on the other hand, the grader may dock you
points, simply because your argument doesn't make sense.
Ultimately, the policy is designed to be generous to students who freeze on a test

and write things like "Martin Luther King Jr. ended slavery." Try not to worry about
historical inaccuracies, but also don't go out of your way to dare the essay graders
to penalize you for getting history wrong - if you do want to completely make up an
example, make it from your personal life (since the essay graders presumably can't
prove or disprove your life experiences).
I hope this answers your question!
-Laura
Ahmed Azhar 11/8/2015, 5:30:41 AM
Hi. I wanted to know how I could learn more about e ective introductory statements or
opening sentences along with conclusive statements that are required to be included in
the 1st paragraph and the last paragraph, respectively.
Reply to Ahmed Azhar

Hi, Ahmed!
For more on SAT essay introductions and conclusions, I'd recommend reading this
article: http://blog.prepscholar.com/sat-essay-template-and-format
I hope this helps,
Laura
oteng Eric 11/12/2015, 9:02:33 PM
please i have written Sat before ,how can i improve because am weak in the vocabs and
the maths .
Reply to oteng Eric

Hi, Eric,
Try reading our articles on the best way to study vocabulary for the SAT
(http://blog.prepscholar.com/the-best-way-to-study-sat-vocab-words) and how to
improve your SAT Math score (http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-improve-low-sat-
math-scores-and-get-to-a-600). These should help you get started! There are lots of
other good free articles on our blog that can help you out as well.
Good luck!
-Laura
Tin Nguyen 1/1/2016, 3:27:46 AM
Hi, I am Tin. I am a international student. Sat is my big struggle.

I just took the rst real Sat I got really bad score 1390, very bad. I didn't repair for it well.
Now, I really want to have the very good reparations for the upcoming sat on the
January 23. Is it possible for me to get above 1700?
Thanks you
Reply to Tin Nguyen
Hi, Tin,
Sorry for the late reply. In case you end up taking the SAT again (and you don't have
a lot of time to study), however, I'd recommend reading our article that gives you
advice on how to cram for the SAT: http://blog.prepscholar.com/sat-cram-plan
-Laura
Girish Pandey 1/15/2016, 6:37:50 PM
How do I get examples when I am not familiar with the assignment?
Reply to Girish Pandey

Hi, Girish!
This article is a good place to start: http://blog.prepscholar.com/6-sat-essay-

examples-to-answer-every-prompt
-Laura
Johnson Sharpe 1/21/2016, 9:26:15 PM
Hi there, i really have a major problem in the critical reading aspect. I really need your
help.
Reply to Johnson Sharpe

Hi, Johnson,
I'm sorry to hear that. A good place to start is by reading this article:
http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-improve-your-low-sat-reading-score-6-
strategies
Without knowing more about the speci c issues you're having, I can't give much
more advice, but I wish you the best of luck!
-Laura
Ambika Jolli 1/25/2016, 3:22:57 AM
Can we get scholarship if we get perfect scores or like 2200+ scored in our rst attempt?
Reply to Ambika Jolli

Hi, Ambika!
Most schools don't care whether or not your SAT scores were achieved on your rst
try. However, there are several schools that'll give you scholarships based on
SAT/ACT scores (sometimes in conjunction with your GPA):
http://blog.prepscholar.com/guaranteed-scholarships-based-on-sat-act-scores
I hope this helps!
-Laura
Niloy Nahid 4/29/2016, 8:20:48 PM
thanks
Reply to Niloy Nahid
Mac 5/5/2016, 9:23:53 AM
Hey Laura,
What's your stance on quality versus quantity when writing the SAT essay? For as long as
I've been in school, 5 paragraphs (introduction, 3 pieces of evidence, conclusion) has
been the norm, but you mention 4 paragraph essays in passing at multiple places in this
article, and the others of yours I've read. Is the acceptance of 4-paragraph essays just an
accommodation for the limited time, or are strong 4-paragraph essays genuinely better
(and scored as such) than 5-paragraph essays with a single, slightly less logically sound
argument?
Much appreciated,
Mac
Reply to Mac
That's a great question, Mac. My stance (as you said) is that quality is more
important than quantity when it comes to the current SAT essay. Because you're no
longer getting a holistic score, but are instead being score separately on Reading,
Analysis, and Writing, the essay scorers will presumably be more analytical when it
comes to assessing your work.
Because of the short amount of time, it's easier to go into depth analytically if you
limit yourself to two body paragraphs; this can also help keep your writing more
focused and concise, because you're not as tempted to write a lot of extra words
that don't have substance (since every word has to count, or your paragraphs will
stretch on into in nity). The only scoring area I can see being negatively a ected by
a 4 paragraph essay is the Reading score (where you demonstrate your knowledge
and understanding of the essay prompt). Even then, however, I would say that it's
more likely that you can work in enough evidence to show your thorough
understanding of the passage in 4 paragraphs than it is that you can thoroughly
analyze 3 di erent ways in which the author presents her argument in 5
paragraphs.
The best thing, of course, is a well-written and well-supported 5 paragraph essay.

But if you're being forced to choose due to time constraints, my advice is to go with
4 paragraphs and a deeper analysis.

Judy Liang 5/7/2016, 6:17:20 AM
It's a great information! it helps me a lot for preparing the sat tomorrow
Reply to Judy Liang
harmony dappa 10/3/2016, 11:54:58 PM
it helped me a lot
Reply to harmony dappa
ishaan Sati 11/21/2016, 7:11:16 PM
That was a brilliant article! It cleared quite a lot of misconceptions that I had About the
SAT essay.
The only question that I have is if weightage on our performance in the essay depend on
the stream that I wish to pursue.
for example, if a student wishes to study Engineering or math, do they pay less attention
to his/her essay score? (given that you don't need to be great at essay writing to be a
good engineer)
On the other hand, if someone wants to pursue a degree in History, does it mean that
his/her essay score will be more carefully scrutinized?
Thanks in advance.
Reply to ishaan Sati

Hi, Ishaan!
I've adapted your question and answered it on our question-and-answer site,
ExpertHub: https://www.prepscholar.com/experthub/questions/1264/sat-essay-
weighting-for-di erent-majors?page=1&focusedAnswerId=1265#1265

Sophy A 1/26/2017, 7:42:42 PM
I really like all those tips. I think it can be useful in writing ie
Reply to Sophy A
Angelina 8/31/2017, 6:39:37 AM
Hi!
This article was very helpful to me, thank you!
I always have a hard time with the conclusion for my essays, are there any articles about
how to write a strong conclusion?
Thank you!
Reply to Angelina
Hi, Angelina!
I'm glad this article was helpful. You might nd the section about SAT Essay
conclusions in this article helpful: https://blog.prepscholar.com/sat-essay-template-
and-format
Aung Tun 9/16/2017, 11:12:55 AM
It's quite useful.
Reply to Aung Tun
Arafat 10/11/2017, 1:44:01 AM
Most of the time when I read essay in the reading section often get distracted before the
end or don't even understand at the end of the essay . So I just keep practicing or what
can I do improve my score
Reply to Arafat
Hi, Arafat!
Because the SAT essay is at the very end of the test, by the time you get there you've
already spent almost three hours taking the test, and it makes sense that you'd get
distracted or have trouble processing even more information. My advice would be
to try to jot down answers to these questions for each essay prompt as you skim
through it:
-what is the main thing the author is arguing?
-are there a lot of numbers in the passage? (If so, the author is probably relying on
statistics and data to make her argument).
-is there a lot of vivid descriptive language in the passage? (If so, the author is
probably relying on stylistic and persuasive elements to convey her argument)
I'd also recommend reading our article about six common types of argument-
building techniques used in SAT Essay prompts:
https://blog.prepscholar.com/6-sat-essay-examples-to-answer-every-prompt
If you know what to look for going in, it might help you focus on the key points of
the passage, even if you nd yourself getting distracted partway through.

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SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

SAT Essay Tips: 15 Ways to Improve Your

Posted by Laura Sta aroni | Jan 30, 2018 6:00:00 PM

What the College Board Does Tell You: 5 Tips

#1: Give a Clear Thesis

In the article “Monsters Monsters Everywhere,” Sam Lindsay uses personal

#2: Include Both an Introduction and a Conclusion

Including an introduction paragraph in your essay is absolutely essential to

#3: Use E ective Language and Word Choice

Bad (Too informal):

“Lindsay’s passionate defense of how drawing monsters 'allows us to laugh at our

#4: Only Use Information From the Passage

#5: Focus Your Essay on Relevant Details

What the College Board Doesn’t Tell You: 5 Secrets

#1: Read the Prompt Before the Passage

#2: Your Facts Must Be Accurate…But Your Interpretation Doesn’t

#3: You Should Write More Than One Page

#4: Be Objective When Reading the Passage

"Always Wear a Helmet." ©2015-2016 by Samantha Lindsay. Used with permission.

#5: Memorize and Identify Speci c Persuasive Techniques

As you read the passage below, consider how Lindsay uses

evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims.

How to Get All the Necessary Components in 50

#1: Answer the Prompt

#3: Keep Your Essay Organized

#4: Make Time to Read, Analyze, Plan, Write, and Revise

"Watch Yourself." ©2015-2016 by Samantha Lindsay. Used with permission.

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Jane Foster 6/10/2015, 11:00:21 PM

Reply to Jane Foster

We hope so too, Jane! Best studying wishes to you!

Reply to Laura Staffaroni

Gatha Adhikari 8/24/2015, 10:31:31 PM

I have problem with the critical reading portion of SAT.

Reply to Gatha Adhikari

Reply to Laura Staffaroni

Narotam Singh 9/5/2015, 11:53:07 AM

Reply to Narotam Singh

Reply to Laura Staffaroni

kate madamba 9/5/2015, 7:53:27 PM

Is it possible to nish an essay in one minute ?

Reply to kate madamba

Reply to Laura Staffaroni

kiran 10/11/2015, 12:46:43 PM

These tips are really very helpful. Thank you so much.

You are welcome! We're glad we were able to help.

Reply to Laura Staffaroni

Kaitlyn Modzelewski 10/15/2015, 12:32:46 AM

Reply to Kaitlyn Modzelewski

Ultimately, the policy is designed to be generous to students who freeze on a test

I hope this answers your question!

Reply to Laura Staffaroni

Ahmed Azhar 11/8/2015, 5:30:41 AM