Hello Guyz… Welcome once again to F.A.C.T. – SAT Writing TIP!
Starting with SAT – Essay Writing Section!
One thing that you MUST always keep in Mind is that You MUST always KNOW the DIRECTION before hand, and do not waste your valuable time in reading Direction during your EXAM.
So Lets, start with few basic things KNOWING the DIRECTION : http://sat.collegeboard.org
The SAT essay measures your ability to:
- develop a point of view on an issue presented in an excerpt
- support your point of view using reasoning and examples from your reading, studies, experience, or observations
- follow the conventions of standard written English
The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can develop and express ideas. You should, therefore, take care to develop your point of view, present your ideas logically and clearly, and use language precisely.
Your essay must be written on the lines provided on your answer sheet — you will receive no other paper on which to write. You will have enough space if you write on every line, avoid wide margins, and keep your handwriting to a reasonable size. Remember that people who are not familiar with your handwriting will read what you write. Try to write or print so that what you are writing is legible to those readers.
You can practice writing essays using the essay prompts from the most recent SAT from http://sat.collegeboard.org. website.
Few Very Important COLLAGE BOARD RULES :
Important THINGS During exam :
- A pencil is required for the essay. An essay written in ink will receive a score of zero.
- Do not write your essay in your test book. You will receive credit only for what you write on your answer sheet.
- An off-topic essay will receive a score of zero.
- If your essay does not reflect your original and individual work, your test scores may be canceled.
How does it look ??
SAMPLE ESSAY : The SAT examination begins with a 25-minute writing task: The essay; You have no choice of topic: you have to write on the prompt ESSAY TOPIC given in a text box. For example you may see something like this:
Underneath the prompt is the assignment a statement that clarifies what you are supposed to do. For example, after the issue given in the prompt above, you might see: Assignment: Plan your response, and then write an essay to explain your views on this issue. Be sure to support your position with specific points and examples. (You may use personal examples or examples from your reading, observations, or, knowledge of subjects such as history, literature, science.)
The examiners tell us in the Official Guide to the SAT that there is no formula for writing an effective essay. I suggest that you practice a few practice essays within a set TIME.
BRAINSTORMING :NOW HERE IS HOW TO FRAME YOUR ESSAY :
Since the Essay is of 25 Minutes spend around 2 or 3 minutes making OUTLINES OR DRAWING notes and organizing your thoughts. Spend about 20 minutes writing your essay. Spend 1 or 2 minutes for proofreading your essay. Use & Divide your Time very Efficiently!
Think over the following things:
- What claims does the author make?
- Why do they sound good? Is it the logic, the sources, the writing, the structure? Is it something else?
- What evidence does the author present? (Look for his Examples)
- Why does the evidence sound credible? How does the author present facts, and what is his/her approach to telling a story with facts?
- Is the logic sound or faulty, and why?
- Why is the logic sound? Does the author back up his/her claims with examples that are easy to follow?
——————-@–@–@–@–@——————
Scrutinize your ESSAY Carefully!
- You have in all ONLY 25 minutes to plan effectively and write an essay on the assigned topic. You will have line space for writing notes to help you organize your thoughts, write within that only , as you will not be provided with extra sheet.
- Use Quotations related to the TOPIC of prompt issue at hand.
- Keep a tab on TIME, plan your time during the practice test itself !!!
- Notice that this topic, or prompt, features a quote about an issue to which you are asked to respond. It is written with the intent that you will be able to respond quickly regardless of your background or interests.
- The Topic, or prompt, could have a one quote or a pair of quotes (two quotes) about an issue at hand to guide you better.
- Try not be over smart by using Large writing, filling pages, it does not serve the purpose,Try not to leave extensive wide margins.
- The assignment will ask you to give your view on a topic. Support your point of view with reasoning and specific details or examples out of your experience drawn by you over the years.
- Any Drift from the Topic mentioned to write on will not fetch you marks. So, Make sure that the essay you write is on the mentioned topic only.
- Use Correct Grammar, make it a point that you use correct form of Standard written English Grammar and your PUNCTUATIONs are used well.
- You are expected to write of Minimum of 3 to 4 Paragraph of ESSAY. Very short essays will receive very low scores. Aim for at least three paragraphs.
- Be clear & specific to your Point / idea / argument, not vague . Your readers are not, as you may suppose draw inference from your writing. They are looking for Clear,Logical & Specific details,with concrete evidence of some kind used to support your point of view and ideas.
- Remember: Your essay should be clear and effective.
- Do not forget to write the CONCLUSION, Without a proper conclusion it looks incomplete you may loose points on it!
- Do not forget to PROOFREAD it, you might notice that Facebook & Wass app has ruined your English Writing with all the Shortcuts! as , wen U mght Bf9 with it! (Avoid it – Rather NOTICE IT)
- Last but not the least, Quality Matters NOT the QUANTITY! , So don’t write lengthy essay write quality essay.
——————–@–@–@–@–@——————
CREATE OUTLINE OF YOUR ESSAY within 2-3 Min.
Brainstorm and assemble, anther collect your Ideas into an outline. Write a topic sentence for your main ideas. Then, underneath, make bullet points for every Paragraph and list your supporting evidence as per requirement. Generally, you want a min. of 3 arguments or pieces of evidence to support each main idea.
Explain, in your own words, what the issue is. Include a thesis statement, which is a clear statement of your point of view/ idea / argument.
Paragraph 2: Point one in support of your thesis Statement
- Example 1 : ABCDEFG
- DETAIL : …… Explain the point you are making with the aid of a specific example with detail, Write the point & example you want to use in 1 -3 words. Explain every point you make is related to the Question or Issue / Topic asked. Look at the ideas / points/ examples that you came up with. Choose one to three of your strongest ideas that supports your topic the best. You should be able to support these ideas with evidence from your ideas/ experiences & studies drawn from over the years.
Paragraph 3: Point two in support of your thesis statement
- Example 1 : ABCDEFG
- DETAIL : …..Explain the point you are making with the aid of a specific example, again write the point & example you want to use in 1 -3 words supporting your IDEA!
- Use Correct TRANSITION WORDS to connect two Paragraphs.
- Example 1 : ABCDEFG
- DETAIL : …… Explain that, under certain circumstances, the opposite point of view might be correct. (This is to show that you are aware of all aspects of the issue, even though you are 80-90% convinced of your thesis.) [Sometimes this paragraph is replaced by another point and/or further discussion or reasoning.]
Paragraph 5: Reinforcement of thesis / CONCLUSION
Show how your idea / argument/ viewpoint, despite the qualification you have just made, is more persuasive under the present circumstances.Draw your themes together.
————————@–@–@–@–@———————-
I hope you got how to Write an effective Essay for SAT or GRE. Plan & Write effectively!
Tell us about your Experience, Tips, Ideas on SAT / GRE ESSAY – see you soon with New TIPS on Other Writing Topics!
Have Fun! Gracias , Amigos! 🙂
Gurukulonweb's Blog 