Writing the SAT Essay
Your personal game plan for writing the SAT Essay
Welcome one and all to the wonderful world of SAT Essay writing! To a good portion of us that world isn't so wonderful. Think the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog's bloodied lair—nightmarish. So, we created this short SAT Essay course to assuage your essay-writing worries and woes. This course, in essence, is your holy hand grenade.
Though the twenty-five minute time limit may sound like a threat bellowed from the throat of Full Metal Jacket's Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, this course is anything but. Here, we'll guide you through the SAT's Essay section, breaking it down into manageable, bite-sized pieces for easy digestion. With Shmoop's SAT Essay course, time is on your side.
With this course, you'll get:
- A step-by-step guide and outline to writing a superb essay in under twenty-five minutes
- Three sample SAT Essay prompts in tandem with scaffolding instruction toward mastering the essay
- Shmoop's secret recipe for acing the Essay
Unit 1. Writing the SAT Essay
In four lessons, we'll take you through:
- What the Essay section looks like
- Brainstorming your response
- Outlining and essay structure
- Writing and Proofreading
Sample Lesson - Introduction
Lesson 3: Outlining and Structure
Remember that five-step process we gave you earlier? Well, now that you are brainstorming rock stars, we can move on to the next step in the process. Nope, we know you're frothing at the mouth to get that essay written and done with, but we're not going to start writing yet. We're going to take those key ideas we settled on in the brainstorming process and turn them into a nice, logical outline.
In this lesson, we're going to walk through the kinds of things an outline should include and how they should look. And we'll let you in on a little secret: The best way to prepare to outline an essay is to actually outline an essay. Did we just rock your world, or what? Then prepare to be rocked even further by this activity, where you'll have the opportunity to outline an essay just like you would for the SAT.
And this is one opportunity you don't want to pass up, or you risk getting trapped in the middle of the SAT writing maze with no way out. Think of this activity as your map. For, as the great Chaucer himself once said, "I doth outlin'd my books, prior to writing them, and that's why I became assign'd high school reading." Or something like that.
Sample Lesson - Reading
Reading 1.3: Why You Should Love Outlining as Much as We Do
We already mentioned that outlining is superior to not-outlining. Here are a few more things that outlining can do for you:
- It can prevent your thoughts from devolving into senseless madness. You think you're smart and producing good writing, and then you go back to read it and it's like that one scene in The Shining.
- It can organize your arguments and ideas so that the most important points and the supporting evidence for them become clear.
- It can reveal gaps in your thinking. As you make an outline, it'll become clear what sections you might need to think through a little better.
- It can help you structure your writing the way the College Board will expect it to look. Most academic writing has a pretty basic layout: introduction, main points of the argument with sub-claims to support these main points, and then conclusion. When you outline your work, you get to participate in a legit style of writing.
Okay, got it. But how should the essay actually be structured? Well, Shmooper, we're glad you asked.
Overall Structure and Organization
A successful essay contains at least four paragraphs and could contain five if you're feeling sufficiently spectacular. Keep this in mind as you move through the structure section. Your essay needs to have the following structural elements to keep everything in line and your ideas flowing smoothly like the butter in a Paula Dean cooking show:
Paragraph 1: Introduction. This is where you state your thesis and (briefly) the examples you will use to prove it. This doesn't need to be a long paragraph. One or two sentences to draw your reader in, followed by one or two sentences with your main argument and supporting examples are plenty.
Paragraphs 2 and 3: Body Paragraphs / Examples. The next two paragraphs must contain specific examples pulled from the text to support your main argument. If your thesis was, "Throughout his essay, Randy Higglebotham uses statistical data and powerful repetition to support his claim that there are real dinosaurs living in New York City," then devote one body paragraph to statistical data and another to repetition. Make sure that each part of your claim is compelling enough to clearly and effectively prove your thesis. Is that "powerful repetition" an important enough element that you can write a paragraph explaining its significance and function in the argument? Also, avoid bringing in any personal and/or outside knowledge: Ranting about your annoying family trip to the Grand Canyon where you comically tried to go home with another family, for example, is not a good way to prove much of anything. Focus on the source text and steer clear of personal opinion.
Paragraph 4: Conclusion. In this paragraph, you sum up all you have already discussed. It's okay to be a little repetitive here so you can end your essay with a bang. The College Board readers know you are facing a time crunch. All you have to do here is restate your thesis in new words and finish it off with some snappy, intelligent statement that ties everything together with a pretty bow...figuratively speaking.
The Fifth Element (Paragraph). If you find through timed practice that you write quickly and clearly enough to have time for a fifth paragraph, by all means, go ahead and include one. This fifth paragraph should be a third body paragraph, right after your second body paragraph and right before the conclusion. It should be another example of a literary element the author uses in the source text or explain how the elements you've already discussed work together to bolster the author's claim. With 50 minutes to write your essay, we're confident you can squeeze in that third body paragraph.
Transitional elements are essential to any successful essay. Students often fall into the "also" trap. They begin every new paragraph with, "Also, there is blah blah blah," never varying their structure from one paragraph to the next and thereby lulling their graders into a state of semi-consciousness as if watching C-SPAN at 4 a.m. This is not an optimal situation for your essay grade. Similarly, we have the "first, second, third, last" trap. This is also a clichéd way to begin your paragraphs. The best way to start each paragraph is with a different construction. We've compiled some snazzy options for you to choose from because we're so considerate like that.
Typical Transitional Phrases of Agreement:
- In addition to
Sometimes, you will have to compare two different ideas that contradict one another. In this case, you need to use transition words of disagreement.
Typical Transitional Phrases of Disagreement:
- By contrast
Finally, you will often need to use transition words that summarize your point, either at the end of each paragraph or at the end of your entire essay.
Typical Transitional Phrases of Conclusion:
- In conclusion
- In essence
- In short
- After all
- All in all
When you outline your essay, you want to figure out what goes in each section and in what order. It's all about nailing down the organization up front so that you don't end up wasting your time writing a rambling hot mess, and instead are able to write a tight, coherent essay where you spend your time laying out main points and how they support your analysis of the source text. Stay tuned to the activity where we lay it all out in a fill-in handout.
Sample Lesson - Activity
Activity 1.3a: Actually Outline an Essay, Part One
All good SAT essays start with one really simple thing: reading the prompt. Read this prompt we've designed to closely approximate what you're likely to encounter in the SAT essay section. In the name of authenticity, we even included a notable lack of humor. (Yes, it hurt.)
Read the passage below, carefully considering how Joseph L. Wright uses
- Evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims.
- Reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence.
- Stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to emotion, to add power to his ideas.
The following passage is adapted from Joseph L. Wright, "Making Bullying Prevention Part of the Medical Profession's DNA." Originally published July 22, 2015. (Source)
As a pediatric emergency medicine physician for more than 20 years, seeing sick and injured kids in and out of your emergency department can be difficult, but it's part of the job. Knowing you can help them, and being able to make them feel better is why we do what we do. Sadly, many of the children I was seeing with preventable injuries from fighting or assaults were a result of bullying or retaliatory behaviors. I needed to know what I could do to help, to turn the tide, and I have spent the last 10 years of my career focused on this issue. However, bullying still remains a bit of a mystery to many medical professionals.
Medical professionals play an important role in bullying prevention, as they are often the first people to see the physical or emotional impacts of violence among youth. Many medical professionals deal with children who are involved with bullying, but are unaware of its risk factors and, more importantly, its consequences. Bullying results from a complex interaction between individuals and their broader social environment, including their families, peers, school, and community.
As medical providers, we are obligated to understand the causes of injuries and address their roots appropriately. However, in order to do this effectively, pediatricians and other medical professionals need to confront childhood bullying by advocating for awareness by teachers, school administrators, parents and children. By making the case for new legislation and policies that could address bullying, coupled with encouraging adoption of evidence-based prevention programs, medical professionals can best activate their voice in the public health conversation around this issue.
The fact is, medical professionals are seen as leaders within their communities and hold tremendous potential to promote the health and well-being of children and youth. For example, families trust their pediatricians, in many cases more than any other adult outside of the home. We should be at the forefront of planning community prevention strategies and developing multidisciplinary partnerships with community leaders and professionals to promote the well-being of children and families beyond the ones we already have close relationships with. Bullying happens anywhere children and youth gather, learn, and socialize. It is not confined to the playground or high school locker room. This is why pediatricians, physician assistants, nurses and public health officials alike need to engage a variety of stakeholders in bullying prevention.
Our society has normalized bullying as part of growing up. However, pediatricians recognize that bullying is not a developmental milestone, nor should it be addressed as such. Pediatricians in particular have a long-standing history of preventing violence among youth. In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a detailed policy statement outlining the important role pediatricians play in preventing violence among children and youth. While awareness of youth violence has increased in recent years, largely due to tragic school shootings, AAP survey results show that pediatricians want more training and support when it comes to preventing youth violence, especially bullying.
AAP has begun to meet the needs of the profession by issuing a 2009 policy statement encouraging pediatricians to address the threat of youth violence, including bullying, and taking an active role in its prevention. The policy statement provides clear recommendations for pediatricians to address bullying within four domains: clinical practice, advocacy, education, and research. Meanwhile, Connected Kids: Safe, Strong, Secure, a program launched by the AAP in 2005, helps pediatricians integrate violence prevention strategies into routine child health care check-ups and visits. Bright Futures, which is led by the AAP and supported by HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration is another great resource which helps medical professionals address children's health needs in the context of family and community.
I am holding out for the day when preventable injuries are actually prevented, and I don’t see these children coming through emergency departments for treatment anymore. Together, we can make that happen.
Instructions: Write an essay in which you explain how the author builds an argument to persuade the audience that medical professionals should take an active role in bullying prevention. In your essay, analyze how the author uses one or more of the features listed above (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of the argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most relevant aspects of the passage.
Your essay should not explain whether you agree with the author's claims, but rather explain how the author builds an argument to persuade the audience.
Thoughts swirling around in your head yet? Bust out one of the brainstorming techniques you learned about in the last lesson and spend a few minutes figuring out what you want to write about.
Done? Download our handy SAT Essay Outline handout in either Word or PDF. Then using the ideas you brainstormed on the prompt, outline your essay, keeping in mind the structure we discussed in the reading section earlier.
Word to the wise: for the actual SAT Essay, you'll only have 50 minutes to write your essay. So this is one place where we actually recommend you spend less time on an activity than you might want to (can you believe such a place exists?). Spend no more than ten minutes tops. Shorthand, bullet points, and incomplete sentences are totes okay, too. Your goal is to spit out the blueprints for your essay, not build the whole darn building—that part comes later.
When you're done, upload your filled-in outline below.
Sample Lesson - Activity
Activity 1.3b: Actually Outline an Essay, Part Two
We're about to pull the rug out from under you. Okay, actually, we're about to pull our handy fill-in SAT essay outline out from under you. Just as devastating, huh? But here's the thing: you can't take that with you into the actual test. So stuff it into your brain now. (We'll wait.)
Got your essay structure outline all memorized? Good. Because now, you'll use that structure you stuffed into your brain to write an outline for a potential SAT essay without our fill-in chart to prop you up. Don't you feel more independent already?
Here's your prompt. Once you've read it, take a minute to brainstorm and then spend five minutes or so and outline the essay you would write on this prompt.
Read the passage below, carefully considering how the author uses
- Evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims.
- Reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence.
- Stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to emotion, to add power to his or her ideas.
The following passage is adapted from the U.S. Department of Education's publication A Matter of Equity: Preschool in America. Originally published April 2015. (Source)
Each year, about 4 million children enter kindergarten in the United States. All parents hope their child will start school ready for success, and many parents turn that hope into action, seeking out supportive and high-quality early learning opportunities. Unfortunately, not every parent finds those opportunities, and access differs based on geography, race, and income. As a result, too many children enter kindergarten a year or more behind their classmates in academic and social-emotional skills. For some children, starting out school from behind can trap them in a cycle of continuous catch-up in their learning. We must ensure that all children, regardless of income or race, have access to high-quality preschool opportunities.
Significant new investments in high-quality early education are necessary to help states, local communities, and parents close the school readiness gaps between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers. Across the country, we must expand access to high-quality early learning to ensure that all children graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college, careers, and life.
Advances in neuroscience and research have helped to demonstrate the benefits of quality early education for young children and that the early years are a critical period in children's learning and development, providing the necessary foundation for more advanced skills. For example, children's language skills from age one to two are predictive of their pre-literacy skills at age five.
A robust body of research shows that children who participate in high-quality preschool programs have better health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes than those who do not participate. The gains are particularly powerful for children from low-income families and those at risk for academic failure who, on average, start kindergarten 12 to 14 months behind their peers in pre-literacy and language skills.
Studies also reveal that participating in quality early learning can boost children's educational attainment and earnings later in life. Children who attend high-quality preschool programs are less likely to utilize special education services or be retained in their grade, and are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, and succeed in their careers than those who have not attended high-quality preschool programs. Research also suggests that expanding early learning, including high-quality preschool, provides society with a return on investment of $8.60 for every $1 spent. About half of the return on investment originates from increased earnings for children when they grow up. Providing children with quality early education experiences is not only the right thing to do for America's youngest learners, it's an imperative for strengthening our nation's economy.
While both states and the federal government invest in early learning, these efforts have fallen short of what is needed to ensure that all children can access a high-quality early education that will prepare them for success. Across the nation, 59 percent of four-year olds, or six out of every ten children, are not enrolled in publicly funded preschool programs through state preschool, Head Start, and special education preschool services. Even fewer are enrolled in the highest-quality programs.
Over the last several years, an impressive coalition of education, business, law enforcement, military, child advocacy groups, and faith-based leaders have joined together to support the expansion of high-quality preschool programs. These groups recognize that investing in high-quality preschool means that more students will graduate from high school, go to college or join the armed or public services, and become contributing, productive members of our society with fewer youth and adults entering the justice system.
Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law. President Johnson believed that "full educational opportunity" should be "our first national goal." Without a deliberate focus on children's preschool experiences in our nation's education law, we run the risk of limiting opportunity for a generation of children by allowing educational gaps to take root before kindergarten. As a nation, we must commit to ensuring that all young people, particularly our most vulnerable, are prepared for a future where they can fulfill their greatest potential through a strong education.
Instructions: Write an essay in which you explain how the author builds an argument to persuade the audience of the importance of early learning preschool. In your essay, analyze how the author uses one or more of the features listed above (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of her argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on the most relevant aspects of the passage.
Your essay should not explain whether you agree with the author's claims, but rather explain how the author builds an argument to persuade her audience.
Once you're done with the outline here, upload a copy of it below.