Twenty minutes is a ridiculously short amount of time in which to write an essay. In fact, we’ll go on record as saying that it is impossible to write a great essay in twenty minutes. ETS knows this. They made the time allowed for essay writing so brief because they know this. They are creating a test that tests your ability to write, but they don’t want to spend all the money it would take to hire graders to analyze and grade five-page essays. Never forget that while this essay portion of the SAT II Writing requires an essay, the essay it requires is designed by people who normally write formulaic multiple-choice questions. It should not come as any surprise that these people want the essays to be as formulaic as possible. So don’t get cutesy with your essay; don’t get super-creative; don’t fly into flights of fancy. They want a solid essay written in a precise and particular way. Give it to them.