Hey guys, i am currently in preparation for my S.A.T exam, and i find it difficult to write something meaningful in the allotted time which is 25 minutes. anyone has suggestions?
Kadesha,
The best advice I can give you is to do several practice tests and write all the essays that come with them IN THE ALLOTED TIME.In my experience,this really helped me to score well on the essay portion.
Give yourself the first 5 min to read and understand the question to make sure you produce a relevant response(An off topic essay will score zero).Once satisfied,start brainstorming and scribble down every idea,example and anecdote you can think of."Mind Maps" can also help in this regard.Then use the next 2-3 min figuring out the structure of your essay and the sequence,paragraphing e.t.c,sort of a sketchy draft.. After this,start writing as fast as you can! Leave about 2-3 min at the end to check grammmar,spelling and the general use of language.You can also use this time to throw in a good phrase/vocab you may not have thought off.
Good Luck:)!
Thank you so much...would definitely take your advice! :)
Great ideas, Simbarashe!
I also suggest this:
Look at the prompt, and then write several sentences that come to mind. Explore your ideas, and write sentences that pertain to the prompt.
Each sentence might be helpful to support your MAIN THEME for the essay. When you know that theme, tell it at the end of the intro paragraph.
Take some of your sentences you wrote and let them be TOPIC SENTENCES for paragraphs. Google this: how to write good topic sentences.
The way to turn a sentence into a paragraph is to let it be the first sentence of the paragraph and then add sentences after it: examples, elaboration, explanation, quotes, facts, etc.
I think you should be able to write a great essay in even just 15 minutes!!!! :-)
What always helped me was setting up my essay in a specific way:
Intro (very basic - just what I'm going to be writing about)
Example 1 (usually personal experience)
Example 2 (usually literally)
Short Conclusion
Personal Experience is usually a pretty easy thing to write about since it's all about you! But for the second example, if you're strong at current events or history, go with that! But for me, I just tried to think about my favorite books and apply them to the prompt (I have applied The Kite Runner to so many different prompts!) because it is a lot easier to write about a book that you love than one that was a struggle to understand.
Good luck!
I took a Kaplan course last summer on writing SAT essays 101, and my teacher told me that you have to persuade the reader that you know what you're talking about. The easiest way to give that impression, in my opinion is to give personal examples. Try that out. (remember- they don't necessarily have to be true, but plausible.)
ok thnks guys....kevin i usually do it the way you explained.... practicing it right now!...
