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Know Your Ingredients
To write a tasty SAT essay, you’ve got to know
the necessary ingredients: The different grades of 1 to 6 are based
on the quality of your essay in four fundamental categories.
- Positioning: The strength and clarity of your stance on the given topic.
- Examples: The relevance and development of the examples you use to support your argument.
- Organization: The organization of each of your paragraphs and of your essay overall.
- Command of Language: Sentence construction, grammar, and word choice.
Now you know your customers, and you know what they want.
We’ll spend the rest of this chapter teaching you precisely how
to give it to them.
1. Positioning
SAT essay topics are always broad. Really, really, really
broad. We’re talking “the big questions of life” broad. A typical
SAT essay topic gives you a statement that addresses ideas like the
concept of justice, the definition of success, the
importance of learning from mistakes.
The broad nature of SAT topics means you’ll never be forced
to write about topical or controversial issues of politics, culture,
or society (unless you want to; we’ll talk about whether you should want
to a little later). But the broadness of the topics also means that
with a little thought you can come up with plenty of examples to support
your position on the topic.
Philosophers take years to write tomes on the topics of justice or success.
On the SAT, you get 25 minutes. Given these time constraints, the
key to writing a great SAT essay is taking a strong position on
an extremely broad topic. You need to select your position strategically.
To do this, follow a two-step strategy:
- Rephrase the prompt.
- Choose your position.
It’s time to learn how to take a stand. Here’s a sample
essay topic for the SAT:
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. “It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done.” —Samuel Smiles, Scottish author (1812-1904) Assignment: Is there truly no success like failure? 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. |
Rephrase the Prompt
Rephrase the prompt in your own words and make it more
specific. If you rephrase the statement “Is there truly no success
like failure?” you might come up with a sentence like “Can failure
can lead to success by teaching important lessons that help us avoid
repeating mistakes in the future?”
In addition to narrowing down the focus of the broad original
topic, putting the SAT essay question in your own words makes it
easier for you to take a position confidently, since you’ll be proving
your own statement rather than the more obscure version put forth
by the SAT.
Choose Your Position
Agree or disagree. When you choose an argument for a paper
in school, you often have to strain yourself to look for something
original, something subtle. Not here. Not on the 25-minute fast
food essay. Once you’ve rephrased the topic, agree with it or disagree.
It’s that simple.
You may have qualms or otherwise “sophisticated” thoughts
at this point. You may be thinking, “I could argue the ‘agree’ side
pretty well, but I’m not sure that I 100 percent believe in the
agree side because. . . .” Drop those thoughts. Remember, you’re
not going to have a week to write this essay. You need to keep it
simple. Agree or disagree, then come up with the examples that support
your simple stand.
2. Examples
To make an SAT essay really shine, you’ve got to load
it up with excellent examples. Just coming up with any three examples
that fit a basic position on a broad topic is not gonna cut it.
But there are two things that do make excellent
SAT examples stand out from the crowd:
- Specific examples
- Variety of examples
Specific Examples
Good examples discuss specific events, dates, or measurable
changes over time. Another way to put this is, you have to be able
to talk about things that have happened in detail.
Let’s say you’re trying to think of examples to support
the position that “learning the lessons taught by failure is a sure
route to success.” Perhaps you come up with the example of the American
army during the Revolutionary War, which learned from its failures
in the early years of the war how it needed to fight the British.
Awesome! That’s a potentially great example. To
make it actually great, though, you have to be
able to say more than just, “The American army learned from its
mistakes and then defeated the British Redcoats.” You need to be
specific: Give dates, mention people, battles, tactics. If you use
the experience of the American Army in the Revolutionary War as
an example, you might mention the signing of the Treaty of Paris
in 1783, which officially granted the Americans independence and
gave the United States all lands east of the Mississippi River.
Just as bricks hold up a building, such detailed facts
support an argument. There are literally millions of good, potential
examples for every position you might choose. You need to choose
examples that you know a lot about in order to be specific. Knowing
a lot about an example means you know more than just the basic facts.
You need to be able to use all the detailed facts about your example,
such as dates and events, to show how your example proves your argument.
Knowing that the Americans defeated the British in 1783
is the start of a great example, but you must show specifically
how the American victory proves the argument that “there’s no success
like failure.” What failures on the part of the British government
and army led to the Americans’ success? (Morale issues, leadership
differences, inadequate soldiers and supplies, the Battle of Yorktown,
and so on.) The one-two punch of a solid example and details that
use the example to prove your argument make the difference between
a good SAT essay example and a great one.
Variety of Examples
The other crucial thing about SAT essay examples is how
much ground they cover. Sure, you could come up with three examples
from your personal life about how you learned from failure. But
you’re much more likely to impress the grader and write a better
essay if you use a broad range of examples from different areas:
history, art, politics, literature, science, and so on. That means
when you’re thinking up examples, you should consider as wide a
variety as possible, as long as all of your examples remain closely
tied to proving your argument.
To prove the position that “there’s no success like failure,”
you might choose one example from history, literature, and business
or current events. Here are three examples that you might choose
from those three areas:
- History: The Americans’ victory over the British in the Revolutionary War.
- Literature: Dickens’s success in writing about the working class based on his years spent in poverty as a child laborer.
- Business or Current Events: The JetBlue airline succeeding by learning from the mistakes of its competitors.
A broad array of examples like those will provide
a more solid and defensible position than three examples drawn from
personal experience or from just one or two areas.
A Note on Truthfulness in Examples
The SAT essay tests how well you write.
The examples you choose to support your argument and your development
of those examples is a big part of how well you write. But there’s
no SAT rule or law that says that the examples you use to support your
arguments have to be true.
That does not mean you should make up
examples from history or bend facts into falsehoods. Instead, it
means you can take examples drawn from your personal experience
or your own knowledge and present them as examples from current events,
art, literature, business, or almost any other topic. For instance,
let’s say your Aunt Edna started a business selling chocolate-covered
pretzels on the street in New York City. She started the business
because she noticed that her friends and neighbors were sick and
tired of the dull, flavorless New York City pretzels offered at
other stands, many of which had gone out of business due to lack
of demand. Her chocolate-covered pretzel business became a success
based on her competitors’ failures. Turn that example into an article
you recently read in your local newspaper, and you’ve transformed
your personal knowledge into a much more credible and impressive
example about success and failure in business. It’s certainly better
to use universal examples based on facts and events that your grader
might recognize. If you’re in a bind, however, remember that you
can bend the truth a bit and use your personal knowledge and experience
to generate examples that prove your argument.
3. Organization
No matter what topic you end up writing about, the organization
of your essay should be the same. That’s right, the same. If you’re
asked to write about whether “there’s no success like failure” or
about the merits of the phrase “progress always comes at a cost,”
the structure of your essay should be almost identical.
The SAT is looking for those standard ingredients, and the structure
we’re about to explain will make sure those ingredients stand out
in your essay.
So what’s this magical essay structure? Well, it’s back
to the trusty fast food analogy: A good SAT essay is a lot like
a triple-decker burger.
No matter what the topic is, what you feel about
it, or which examples you choose, you should always follow this
five-paragraph structure on your SAT essay. The first and last paragraphs
are your essay’s introduction and conclusion; each of the middle
three paragraphs discusses an example that supports and illustrates
your argument. That’s it.
Just as important as the organization of your entire essay
is the organization within each of the five paragraphs. Let’s take
a closer look at each paragraph next.
The Top Bun: Introduction
The introduction to an SAT essay has to do three things:
- Grab the grader’s attention.
- Explain your position on the topic clearly and concisely.
- Transition the grader smoothly into your three examples.
To accomplish these three goals, you need three to four
sentences in your introduction. These three to four sentences will
convey your thesis statement and the overall map of your essay to
the grader.
The Thesis Statement:
The thesis statement is the first sentence of your essay.
It identifies where you stand on the topic and should pull the grader
into the essay. A good thesis statement is strong, clear, and definitive.
A good thesis statement for the essay topic, “Is there truly no
success like failure?” is
Learning from the lessons taught by failure is a sure route to success. |
This thesis statement conveys the writer’s position on
the topic boldly and clearly. In only a few words, it carves out
the position that the essay will take on the very broad, vague topic:
learning from failure yields success.
The Essay Summary:
After the thesis statement, the rest of the first paragraph should
serve as a kind of summary of the examples you will use to support
your position on the topic. Explain and describe your three examples
to make it clear how they fit into your argument. It’s usually best
to give each example its own sentence. Here’s an example:
The United States of America can be seen as a success that emerged from failure: by learning from the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, the founding fathers were able to create the Constitution, the document on which America is built. Google Inc., the popular Internet search engine, is another example of a success that arose from learning from failure, though in this case Google learned from the failures of its competitors. Another example that shows how success can arise from failure is the story of Rod Johnson, who started a recruiting firm that rose out of the ashes of Johnson’s personal experience of being laid off. |
Three sentences, three examples. The grader knows exactly
what to expect from your essay now and is ready to dive in.
The Meat: Three-Example Paragraphs
Each of your three-example paragraphs should follow this
basic format:
- Four to five sentences long.
- The first sentence should be the topic sentence, which serves as the thesis statement of the paragraph. It explains what your example is and places it within the context of your argument.
- The next three to four sentences are for developing your example. In these sentences you show through specific, concrete discussion of facts and situations just how your example supports your essay thesis statement.
For now we’re just going to show you one “meat” paragraph.
As we continue through the chapter, you’ll see several more, some
that are good, some that are bad. This one is good:
The United States, the first great democracy of the modern world, is also one of the best examples of a success achieved by studying and learning from earlier failures. After just five years of living under the Articles of Confederation, which established the United States of America as a single country for the first time, the states realized that they needed a new document and a new, more powerful government. In 1786, the Annapolis convention was convened. The result, three years later, was the Constitution, which created a more powerful central government while also maintaining the integrity of the states. By learning from the failure of the Articles, the founding fathers created the founding document of a country that has become both the most powerful country in the world and a beacon of democracy. |
The best meat paragraphs on the SAT essay are specific.
The SAT’s essay directions say it loud and clear: “Be specific.”
In its topic sentence, this paragraph states that the United States
is one of the great examples of “a success achieved by studying
and learning from failures.” It then uses the specific example of
the Articles of Confederation, the Annapolis convention, and the
Constitution to prove its position. It’s specific throughout and
even includes a few dates.
Transitions Between Meat Paragraphs:
Your first meat paragraph dives right into its thesis
statement, but the second and third meat paragraphs need transitions.
The simplest way to build these transitions is to use words like another and finally.
That means your second meat paragraph should start with a transitional
phrase such as, “Another example . . .”
A slightly more sophisticated way to build transitions
is to choose examples from different sources, such as from history
and business. If the first paragraph is about a political instance
of learning from failure and the second is from business, make that fact
your transition: “As in politics, learning from failure is a means
to gaining success in business as well. Take the case of. . . .”
The Bottom Bun: Conclusion
The conclusion of your essay should accomplish two main
goals:
- Recap your argument while broadening it a bit.
- Expand your position. Look to the future.
To accomplish these two goals, your
conclusion should contain three to four sentences.
Recap Your Argument:
The recap is a one-sentence summary of what you’ve already
argued. As in the thesis statement, the recap should be straightforward, bold,
and declarative. By “broadening” your argument, we mean that you
should attempt to link your specific examples to wider fields, such
as politics, business, and art. Here’s a recap example:
The examples of the Constitution, Rod Johnson, and Google make it clear that in the realms of politics and business, the greatest successes arise from careful considerations of the lessons of failure. |
Expand on Your Position:
The last two or three sentences of the essay should take the
argument you just recapped and push it a little further. One of
the best ways to push your argument further is to look to the future
and think about what would happen if the position that you’ve taken
in your essay could be applied on a broader scale. Here’s an example:
Failure is often seen as embarrassing, something to be denied and hidden. But as the examples of the U.S. Constitution, Google, and Rod Johnson prove, if an individual, organization, or even a nation is strong enough to face and study its failure, then that failure can become a powerful teacher. As the examples of history and business demonstrate, if everyone had the courage and insight to view failure as a surefire way to learn from mistakes, success would be easier to achieve. |
The bottom bun wraps up the entire SAT essay. And there
you have it! If you follow the template we just provided, and break
down the essay into its core ingredients, your SAT essay will be
strong, clear, and easy to write.
The Universal SAT Essay Template
To make sure you really get the essay organization, the
following chart sums it all up. Here’s the SAT essay outline you
should use, no matter what topic you get or what position you take:
| Length | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| The Introduction | ||
| Thesis Statement | 1 sentence | Describe your argument clearly and concisely. |
| Essay Summary | 3 sentences | Lay out the three examples you will use to support your thesis statement. |
| Example Paragraph 1 | ||
| Topic Sentence | 1 sentence | Describe your example and fit it into the context of your overall thesis statement. |
| Example Development | 3–4 sentences | Use specific facts to show how your example supports your argument. Be as specific as possible. |
| Example Paragraph 2 | ||
| Topic Sentence | 1 sentence | Describe your example and fit it into the context of your overall thesis. Provide a transition from the previous example paragraph. |
| Example Development | 3–4 sentences | Use specific facts to show how your example supports your argument. Be as specific as possible. |
| Example Paragraph 3 | ||
| Topic Sentence | 1 sentence | Describe your example and fit it into the context of your overall thesis. Provide a transition from the previous paragraph. |
| Example Development | 3–4 sentences | Use specific facts to show how your example supports your argument. Be as specific as possible. |
| The Conclusion | ||
| Recap | 1 sentence | Summarize your argument and examples, and link the examples to broader things like politics, history, art, or business. |
| Broaden Your Argument | 2–3 sentences | Expand your position by contemplating what would happen in the world if people (or nations, or businesses) followed the argument you make in your essay. |
4. Command of Language
Taking a clear position and defending it with solid, detailed
examples is a strong start to a successful SAT essay. But the SAT-graders
also care about the mechanics of your writing, which we call your
“command of language.” Think of your command of language as your
fast food essay’s Special Sauce—it’s the sprinkling of perfect word choice,
grammar, sentence structure, and spelling that must ooze through
your entire essay. An SAT essay with a clear position and strong
examples won’t get a perfect score without the Special Sauce, so
pay close attention to these three facets of your essay (the actual
SAT essay-grading guidelines mention them specifically):
- Variation in sentence structure
- Word choice
- Grammar and spelling
A Variation in Sentence Structure
Sentence structure is very important. Sentence structure, if done well, can keep your readers engaged and help make your essay exciting and easier to read. Sentence structure, if it is monotonous and unchanging, can make your essay sound boring and unsophisticated. Sentence structure is important on the SAT essay. Sentence structure is also important in essays you write for school. |
Did you notice how dull that entire last paragraph became
after the first two sentences? That’s because every one of those
sentences not only started in the same way but also all had the
same straight-ahead plodding rhythm.
Now go back and look at the earlier sample meat paragraph
on the Constitution. Notice how the various sentences
start differently and also have different internal rhythms. These
variations in sentence structure keep the writing vibrant and interesting.
Focus on changing the structure of your sentences as you write the
essay. You don’t have to invert every clause, but you should be
careful not to let a few sentences in a row follow the same exact
structure. You’ve got to mix it up. Here’s the boring first paragraph
of this section rewritten with varied sentence structure:
Sentence structure is very important. Varying the structure of your sentences keeps your reader engaged and makes your writing easier to read and more exciting. Monotonous and repetitive sentence structure can make your essay sound boring and unsophisticated. Mixing up your sentence structure is crucial on the SAT essay—it’s also important to consider when writing essays for school. |
Much easier to read and far less repetitive, right?
Transition Between Sentences
One great way to vary your sentence structure while increasing
the logical flow of your essay is to use transitions. Transitions
are the words that provide the context necessary to help readers
understand the flow of your argument. They’re words, phrases, or
sentences that take readers gently by the hand, leading them through your
essay. Here are some different kinds of transitions you can use
to spice up your sentence structure:
- Showing Contrast: Katie likes pink nail polish. In contrast, she thinks red nail polish looks trashy.
- Elaborating: I love sneaking into movies. Even more than that, I love trying to steal candy while I’m there.
- Providing an Example: If you save up your money, you can afford pricey items. For example, Patrick saved up his allowance and eventually purchased a sports car.
- Showing Results: Manuel ingested nothing but soda and burgers every day for a month. As a result, he gained ten pounds.
- Showing Sequence: The police arrested Bob at the party. Soon after, his college applications were all rejected, and eventually Bob drifted into a life of crime.
Overly Complex Sentences
Sometimes students think writing long complicated sentences
will impress teachers. Maybe, but it won’t impress SAT essay-graders.
Keep your sentences short and simple. Complex sentences are difficult
to understand, and your SAT essays should be as clear and easy to
read as possible.
We could fill an entire book with rules about
creating simple and succinct prose. Instead, we give you two handy
rules to simplify the sentences that you write on the SAT essay:
- Never write a sentence that contains more than three commas. Try to avoid sentences with more than two commas. (Unless you need to include a list.)
- Never write a sentence that takes up more than three lines of SAT-essay paper.
Those rules are certainly not foolproof, but abiding by
them will keep you from filling your SAT essay with overly complex
sentences and will ultimately make your essay easier to understand.
Word Choice
When students see that “word choice” plays a
part in their essay score, they think it means that they have to
use tons of sophisticated vocabulary words in order to score well.
That belief is wrong and potentially damaging to your SAT essay
score. If you strain to put big fancy words into your essay, you’re
bound to end up misusing those words. And misusing a sophisticated
word is a worse offense than not using one at all.
Word choice doesn’t mean that you have to go for the big
word every time. It means you should go for the proper word,
the best word, the word that makes your essay as clear as possible.
Let’s look at part of the paragraph about the Constitution:
The United States, the first great democracy of the modern world, is also one of the best examples of a success achieved by studying and learning from earlier failures. After just five years of living under the Articles of Confederation, which established the United States of America as a single country for the first time, the states realized that they needed a new document and a new, more powerful government. In 1786, the Annapolis convention was convened. The result, three years later, was the Constitution, which created a more powerful central government while also maintaining the integrity of the states. By learning from the failure of the Articles, the founding fathers created the founding document of a country that has become both the most powerful country in the world and a beacon of democracy. |
This is 6-level writing, but it isn’t teeming
with five-syllable words. What the passage does is use every single
word correctly. When it does reach for an uncommon word, like beacon,
it uses the word appropriately and effectively. Now that’s good
word choice.
So don’t try to use a word unless you know what
it means. Don’t go throwing around tough words in the hope that
you’re going to use it correctly and impress your reader. The likelihood
is that you’re going to use the word incorrectly and give the grader
a bad impression. Instead, keep it simple and stick to words you
know well.
Grammar and Spelling
A few grammar or spelling mistakes sprinkled throughout
your essay will not destroy your score. The SAT understands that
you’re bound to make minor mistakes in a rushed 25-minute essay.
Graders are instructed to look out for patterns of
errors. If a grader sees that your punctuation is consistently wrong,
that your spelling of familiar words is often incorrect, or that
you write run-on sentences again and again, that’s when your score
will suffer.
You need to be able to write solid grammatical sentences
to score well on the essay. As for learning the grammar, well, you’re
in luck. We cover all the important grammar you need to know in
“Beat Identifying Sentence Errors” and “Beat Improving Sentences.”
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