One of the best things about fast food is not just that it’s quick, but that it’s consistent. Walk into a McDonald’s in Tosserdorf, Germany, and a Big Mac is still a robust, comforting Big Mac, just like at home. What makes fast food so consistent? Restaurants like McDonald’s use the same ingredients and preparation methods at every location.

In this chapter, we show you how to apply the concept behind fast food to the process of writing the SAT essay. That way you can write a top-notch SAT essay every time. To make it happen, you need to know three key things, just like all the fast food chains: