tips for sat essay

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Thinking about tackling the SAT Essay? Here's what you need to know: you'll be asked to read a text (typically a speech or editorial of some sort) and discuss how the author effectively builds an argument. This might be a familiar task if you’ve done it in school, but if not, don’t worry. The format is straightforward, and with some practice, you can learn how to write a great SAT essay.

What is the SAT essay?

The SAT essay is optional and costs an additional fee of $17.00. Currently, only 25 colleges and universities require the SAT essay. You can find a searchable list of school requirements for the essay here . If there is any chance that you might apply to one of those schools, you should sign up for the essay. If you are not sure where you will apply, you should strongly consider signing up for the essay. Your essay score will appear on every score report you send to colleges, regardless of whether or not the school requires an essay.

Here are 5 tips for writing a killer SAT essay, should you decide to add on that section:

1. Stay Objective

The thing to remember here is that ETS (the company that writes the test) is not asking you for your opinion on a topic or a text. So be sure to maintain formal style and an objective tone. Tip: Avoid “I” and “you.

2. Keep It Tidy

Handwriting is becoming a lost art. Unfortunately, this is one occasion where your skill with a pencil matters. Graders read tons of essays each day. If they cannot decipher your script, they will lower your score. Do yourself a favor and write legibly.

3. (Indented) Paragraphs Are Your Friend

Remember the basic essay structure you learned in school: introductory paragraph, body paragraphs and a conclusion? The SAT essay graders love it! Your introduction should describe the text and paraphrase the argument being made, as well as introduce the specific elements of the passage and argument that you will discuss in the essay. Your conclusion should restate the goal of the passage/argument and sum up the points you made.

4. For Example…

Use your body paragraphs to back up your thesis statement by citing specific examples. Use short, relevant quotes from the text to support your points.

5. Don't Worry About the Exact Terms for Things

Blanking on terminology? When describing how the author builds his or her argument, “appeal to the emotions” is fine instead of specifically referencing “pathos.” And “comparison of two things” can be used instead of referring to a metaphor. If you do know the official terms, though, feel free to use them!

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Absolutely Essential SAT Writing Strategies

tl;dr: The SAT essay is graded on three metrics — Reading, Analysis, and Writing — each on a scale from 1-4. To score an 8/8/8 on the SAT essay, you need to understand the rubric and keep in mind the three important parts of the essay: analyzing the prompt, outlining, and writing. Analyzing the prompt requires you to identify the author’s claim, purpose, tone, and persuasive elements that help build the argument. Outlining helps you answer the three questions for each device—why, how, and affect—to ensure you have strong analysis. Finally, when writing the essay, make sure to include an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. With these tips, you can write a great SAT essay and get the top score!

❓ What are the SAT Sections?

In the SAT, you will have 4-5 sections on the test (depending on whether you choose to take the essay section or not)! The sections are:

Check out this video with an overview of the reading section of the SAT .
Writing and Language (aka the Grammar section)
Make sure to watch this video with tips and tricks for the grammar section of the SAT .
Math (No-Calculator)
Review the important aspects of the math section with this SAT math review part 1 and part 2 .
Math (Calculator Allowed)
Writing/Essay (⚠️OPTIONAL ⚠️)

If you signed up for the essay portion of the SAT, you have a relaxing 2-minute break after the math calculator section. You're going to need it, as you have 50 minutes to write a rhetorical analysis essay. ⏲️

If you are taking AP Lang or have already taken the exam, you should be pretty familiar with this format of essay. It is very similar to FRQ 2, or the rhetorical analysis essay. 📰

✍️ Mastering the Rubric

Your essay is graded on these three metrics on a scale from 1-4:

Two readers will score your essay , so the highest score you can receive is an 8 on each of the three sections. Unlike the other SAT sections, there is no percentile for the SAT essay nor a composite score (the three categories aren't "added"). 💯 Let's break down each of these three scoring categories and how you can score an 8 in all three.

This scoring category covers comprehension! Essentially, the scorers want to see if you understand the relationship between the main idea(s) and important details. To get an 8 in this scoring category, you cannot misstate facts from the passage, nor make an interpretation about facts not in the passage.

One of the main things that SAT Essay scorers will check is to ensure you have textual evidence (quotations and/or paraphrases) throughout the essay to ensure that you have a true understanding of the text. 📚

What separates an 8 from a lower score in this category is whether you have thorough (as opposed to effective) comprehension of the text and whether you are making skillful (as opposed to appropriate) use of textual evidence. The line between thorough and skillful is drawn at your consistency; if you make a misrepresentation of text in just one place, that may lower you to a 6.

To earn a 8 in the analysis category, you should be accomplishing the following:

Offering an insightful analysis of source text.
Evaluating the author's choice of evidence, reasoning, stylistic & persuasive elements, and/or other features that you noticed.
Using relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for your claims or points.
Consistently focusing on features that are most relevant to addressing the task.

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-W8zVtyEt9prQ.png?alt=media&token=df846954-6fef-4657-a1c6-c7babb0245bc

What separates an 8 in analysis from a lower score is whether you have strategically chosen support for claims and whether your essay is consistent in its analysis and its focus on "features most relevant to addressing the task."

The writing rubric category is exactly what it sounds like—checking your ability to write an essay! There are a number of guidelines that SAT essay scorers will be looking at, and here are a few of them that will help you earn an 8:

A cohesive essay that effectively uses and commands language
A precise central claim
Skillful introduction and conclusion
Progression of ideas that is highly effective both within paragraphs and throughout the essay
Wide variety in sentence structures
Consistent use of precise word choice
Formal style and objective tone
Strong command of English conventions, an essay free of errors

Consistency is also key to getting a high score in this category. Having a mostly cohesive essay or including a few errors could bump your score down to a 6 or below!

📖 Analyzing Prompt and Passage

On test day, you're not going to see the rubric or even the three scoring categories. All you will get is the prompt and passage. It's important you analyze and annotate the prompt and passage to ensure you can write an effective essay.

On test day, you'll see this at the beginning of the essay.

The most important thing to do before you even start reading the passage is to read the given context. In this example, we know that the article is from the Huffington Post and the author Peter Goodman is writing about crisis and foreign policy. 🔥

Then, you'll read a passage about an argument written for a broad audience. In that passage, the author will make a claim, and use different techniques to persuade the audience of that claim.

Since you will be writing about how the author uses different techniques in the passage to make their argument more persuasive, that is exactly what you should look out for while writing your essay. 🔍

When reading the passage, you'll want to look at the three bullet points given in the prompt: specific factual evidence or examples, reasoning that connects evidence and claims, and other stylistic or persuasive elements that helps the author build the argument. 🚧

Here's a short bullet list of stylistic or persuasive elements that you can look out for:

Shifts of any kind (in diction 🗣️, tone 😤, imagery 🖼️, etc.)
Appeals to emotion 💕, logic 🧠, or credibility 👩🏽‍🎓
Syntax (organization of paragraphs 📑, length of sentences ↔️)
Unique diction or imagery (make sure to describe diction/imagery with an adjective )

After you find the rhetorical devices you want to analyze, you'll need to answer three important questions:

Why does the author use this device or strategy?
How does this device or strategy help them achieve their purpose?
How does the device or strategy affect or change the audience?

You can strengthen your analysis and answer these three questions for each of your devices by outlining.

🗒️ Outlining

There are a few components to an outline that will help you secure an 8/8/8 on the SAT essay:

Identifying audience & author's purpose
Writing a thesis
Identifying rhetorical devices
Answering the three important "analysis" questions for each rhetorical device

On test day, find some white space under the article (or on the next page) to write your outline. Knowing and writing down these elements will make the writing process go a lot smoother!

📝 Writing the Essay

Let's break down how to write each section of the SAT essay portion: the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

Introduction

There are a few elements that you should explicitly include in your introduction:

Author's claim in the passage
Author's tone & purpose
Audience of passage
Specific rhetorical choices or persuasive elements in the passage that "enhance logic/persuasiveness" of the argument

One example template for an introduction is:

Here's an example:

Writer Marcus Stern in his article, "How to Prevent an Oil Train Disaster," asserts that new Obama-era regulations in 2015 were insufficient in protecting the public's safety and needed to be expanded. Stern adopts a critical tone to persuade his audience, the general public, of his purpose of supporting stricter, comprehensive regulations that reduce oil volatility. To achieve his purpose, Stern utilizes a variety of rhetorical techniques, including but not limited to specific credible evidence, appeals to the general public's fear of disaster, and emotional word choice that enhances the logic and persuasiveness of his argument.

Body Paragraphs

Your body paragraphs should create a line of reasoning , which is just a fancy of way of saying that it should follow the structure you outline in the essay. For instance, from the introduction paragraph above, I would make my first body paragraph about the "specific credible evidence," my second body paragraph about the appeals to the general public, and so on. 🤩

⚠️ Note: There is no minimum or maximum number of body paragraphs that you should include —focus on developing solid body paragraphs rather than including as many as possible!

You should include the following in a body paragraph to earn high scores on reading, analysis, and writing:

A strong introduction sentence tied to the thesis
Embedded quote or paraphrase with context
Why the author uses this rhetorical strategy or persuasive element
How it affects the audience and/or how it helps the author achieve their purpose
Link back to thesis

Let's see these five elements in an example!

Stern furthers his argument by appealing to the general public’s fear of disaster.
He invokes specific visual imagery when asserting that an oil tanker rupture would send a “mushroom-shaped fireball” into the sky. In fact, Stern further builds his argument by citing the “nine other places in North America” in which oil tanker explosions materialized.
Stern uses these appeals to logic and emotion primarily because they highlight a somber reality of the impacts of continued inaction.
Because Stern includes multiple instances of oil explosions, the audience feels logically impacted. This sense of urgency communicated by the visual imagery makes the audience more convinced that action must be taken, specifically because it could harm them very soon.
Ultimately, Stern successfully leaves the audience convinced that lax oil restriction could lead to devastating consequences that could harm the audience, which strengthens the persuasion of his argument that we should enact strict regulation that decreases volatility.

US Coastguard extinguishing fire in ocean

You may hear sometimes from your teacher that the conclusion is not that important, or that it can simply be one sentence. This is not true for the SAT; in fact, you could get points taken off the writing section with an oversimplified or non-existent conclusion.

However, you can score highly with a slightly reworded introduction! Here's what you should include in your conclusion:

Author's central claim (reworded from intro)
Persuasive elements/rhetorical choices
Audience & author's purpose

Here's an example conclusion paragraph that includes those elements (and you can see its parallel to the intro):

Author Olmer Stern communicates to the general public that there is a necessity for stricter safety regulations that decrease oil volatility. To convince the audience of his purpose, Stern effectively invokes fearful emotion of the general public, cites specific evidence from the oil industry, and communicates powerful diction about the imminent oil threat to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument.

📂 Resources and Example Essays

There are some fantastic ways to practice for the SAT essay! Here are some useful resources and example essays :

Two sample SAT Essay prompts from College Board's website
50 CrackSAT Practice Essays and Prompts

Guide Outline

Related content, sat math: guide to quadratic equations & radicals, sat math: guide to linear equations, sat math: how to use your calculator, sat reading: guide to the social science passage, how to study for the sat/psat english sections, sat language: guide to word choice & passive flow.

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Articles & Advice > Test Prep > Blog

8 Smart Tips to Improve Your SAT Essay

The SAT Essay is often the most daunting part of the test, so go into it with confidence using these tips on writing your best essay!

Last Updated: Mar 20, 2024

Originally Posted: Feb 25, 2020

This blog originally appeared on brainly.com .

You’ve inevitably felt the pressure of a big test before. When it comes to the SAT Essay, you may be at your wits’ end. Don’t worry! You’re in the right place to learn how to approach the SAT Essay component with confidence instead of fear. Preparing yourself for what to expect can make all the difference. Here are eight tips that you can use to maximize your score on the optional Essay component.

1. Know the prompt

If you’re a student who values practice prompts, there’s good news. CollegeBoard.com offers not only sample SAT Essay prompts but also examples of student responses coupled with their scores and feedback.

Before each SAT Essay passage, you’ll notice a generic prompt. This prompt acts as a guide, encouraging you to consider the bulleted items of what to take note of as you read. Be sure to take this seriously and scour the passage for them. Why? Because the rest of the prompt, found after the reading, will ask you to reference these ideas in your essay.

Essay prompts are all structured in this way, and each asks you to explain how an author accomplishes a given task through the passage.

2. Detail the how, not the what

Before getting into how to approach the passage, the prompt, and tips for writing the best possible essay in 50 minutes, there’s one tip that will immediately set you on the path to writing success: the SAT Essay prompt will never ask you to retell what you’ve read.

When pressure mounts, you may be tempted to summarize the passage or explain why you agree or disagree with the author’s points. Avoid both at all costs! They’re called the “what” of the passage.

Instead, the SAT graders want to know if you can analyze the “how” of the passage. How does the author persuade? How do they use devices to make a point? How does the message come across to the audience? How can the reader tell that the author is passionate about this message?

3. Know your terminology

This is where your English classes may come to your rescue; if you haven’t yet, study up on the stylistic and persuasive devices that you’ll have to use in your SAT Essay. If you’re not familiar with many, here is a detailed list that you can use to study.

Don’t just memorize the definitions of these terms; find examples of them being used in pieces of literature and try using them yourself. Students who apply concepts rather than rely on muscle memory often find it easier to take notice of them in the passage on test day.

4. Let the full prompt guide your reading

Read both parts of the prompt before you start reading. To make sure you stay focused on the prompt throughout the entire writing process, here are some quick tips:

Underline everything that the prompt asks you to do. Then, as you brainstorm, you can refer back to the underlined portions of your prompt to make sure you’re staying focused.
Take notes directly on the passage, including underling sections the prompt told you to consider and making brief notes in the margins of any ideas you might be able to use in your essay.
Glance frequently back at the prompt to remind yourself of what you’re looking for.

You’ll be surprised how much easier it is to stay focused on your task if you’re annotating and referencing the prompt frequently. Practice these techniques on a sample SAT Essay and see how they help you regain control over this seemingly daunting task.

Related: 5 Common SAT Reading Mistakes You're Likely Making

5. Always brainstorm

Like the strategy above, brainstorming is essential to creating a focused essay . Without a little bit of planning, your essay will lack the depth and detail that leads to a high score. When students don’t spend enough time brainstorming, they approach the essay component without confidence, causing them to spend even more valuable time going back to the passage and rereading.

So, what does a successful brainstorm look like? Luckily, it doesn’t matter. As long as you scribble down ideas and organize them in a way that makes sense to you, you’re good to go. Since you don’t have a lot of time, you don’t need to make this part look nice.

6. What to focus on

Make sure the following aspects of your writing take up the majority of your energy and focus.

Relevant ideas

Your ideas are everything! That’s why you should frequently check yourself, making sure that your points align with the prompt and the mission of your essay. Your essay’s success hinges on whether your ideas relate to and address the question or task posed in the prompt.

Organization

There are so many different ways to organize an essay. For an analytical essay like this, consider organizing your paragraphs in one of the following ways:

Chronologically: Make sure the ideas in your essay are placed in the same order that they appear in the passage.
By topic: Group paragraphs based on the type of method the author used to persuade the reader.

If you come up with an organizational structure that works better for you, go for it—just as long as you use one. You will be scored on your ability to organize your thoughts.

Scorers are trained to ignore handwriting when grading essays. Still, remember that you’re trying to communicate your point of view to someone else. If they can barely read it, this will be difficult to accomplish.

Related: 3 Ways to Improve Your Test Prep for the New Digital SAT

7. What not to focus on

Spelling, grammar, mechanics, and usage are always necessary . However, graders are not trained to take a point off here or there for every minor error. So don’t spend too much time worrying about misspelled words or small grammatical mistakes. Your ideas are more important. (That said, an essay full of errors will undoubtedly receive a lower score, so don’t be too careless.)

8. Make sure it’s complete

SAT graders will be checking to make sure you’ve submitted a complete essay. In other words, you’ll need to have an introduction, several body paragraphs (two to four), and a conclusion.

There are a few ways to ensure that your essay appears to be complete, even if you end up struggling with time.

Indentation: Make sure you indent the first line of each paragraph to clearly show that you’ve got the right structure. Your scorers will conclude that your content lacks depth and organization if you don’t.
Conclusion: Even if you’re strapped for time, write a conclusion. Your graders know that you’ve only got 50 minutes to read, annotate, brainstorm, and write, so they’re trained to place more emphasis on the body of your essay anyway. Even if your conclusion restates your main points in one or two sentences, it’s better than leaving it out.
Verbosity: It’s important to write as much as possible. Response length is one of the easiest metrics for a grader to quickly measure.

Before you take a look at what other students wrote for the College Board SAT Essay prompt examples, try to write your response to the sample essay using the strategies we outlined above. Then compare your answer with the sample responses. It could provide you with some valuable insight into your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the SAT Essay. Study hard, use these strategies, and watch your score go up!

Read the full blog here , and find more SAT tips in our Test Prep section.

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SAT Essay: Writing Tips, Test Scores & Examples

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FAQ About SAT Essays

1. how long is the sat with an essay and without an essay.

The SAT without essay usually takes up to four hours. If you have to complete a writing assignment, you will be given extra 50 minutes for it. As for SAT essay length, it is 550-750 words.

2. What is a good SAT essay score?

The highest SAT essay scoring you can earn is five points for reading, analysis, and writing respectively. 3-4 scores on each task are average. 1-2 scores are a low result.

3. What colleges require the SAT essay?

The most famous institutions requiring the SAT essay include but aren't limited to:

4. Should I take the SAT essay?

Despite being an optional task, it is still better to take the SAT essay. If you have a chance to improve your score and you know how to handle this task, take the fullest advantage of this opportunity.

Read and analyze — 10 minutes. For the first time, read the passage quickly to get an overall sense of its main idea. Then, re-read it more slowly. Highlight any arguments or opinions that stand out to you. This is critical because if you don't have an idea of what exactly an author is trying to say and what persuasion approaches they use, then it will be hard for you to write an effective analysis based on their argumentation.
Outline — 10 minutes. Follow a standard essay structure of introduction-body-conclusion. Pay the most attention to the body. Draft three-four paragraphs, following one paragraph — one statement rule. Here, SAT essay practice doesn’t differ from writing any other type of paper.
Write — 20 minutes. Next, proceed with writing being guided by your outline. We recommend getting started right with a body paragraph. Pick up the writing or reasoning technique an author uses in the passage and explain it, using examples from the test. Do it three-four times discussing different approaches of a writer and highlighting their weak and strong points. Sum up everything in your conclusion. Here you can also briefly state your opinion. Then, get back to the intro. You will feel how easy it is to write it after you have fully understood the passage and analyzed it in your body.
Proofread and edit — 10 minutes. Don't skip this step! It's very important for your essay to be flawless in terms of spelling and grammatical correctness. So, make sure to provide enough time for essay revision and check everything twice before submission. Although the SAT have an essay as an optional assignment, do your best to show your paper writing skills.
Briefly introduce a topic
Mention a passage you're going to analyze and its author
State your thesis statement
State your first supporting point – how an author uses a specific persuasion technique
Provide evidence for supporting your point – cite an example for a passage directly
Explain how the evidence supports your point
Transition to the next paragraph
Follow the same structure as shown above
Elaborate on different points until you reach the necessary essay length
Restate your thesis
Summarize your supporting points
End with a strong concluding statement
Review successful SAT examples. The best way to get started is by reviewing past essays that got a good SAT essay score. Pay attention to topics and ways other students express themselves in response.
Practice at home before taking a test. Pick up prompts you like and try writing a piece at home. Exercise with different topics several times. Next, find a passage you've never read before. Set a cutdown timer and try to write an SAT essay under time pressure.
Read the passage twice. The first time through, focus on understanding what an author is saying and how they're saying it. The second time around, pay more attention to their logic and argumentation.
Highlight important points during the second reading round. Mark these points with a pencil. So, you can easily find them later when you're writing your essay.
Focus on analysis. Instead of simply stating your opinion or offering an example, explain why your opinion or example is valid based on what an author has written. You should be able to support your position with evidence from a passage. If there isn't enough evidence in the passage itself, draw from outside sources that support your argument (such as real-world experience).
Use specific evidence from the passage. Instead of making up your own ideas about what an author was trying to say, use specific examples from a text to support your point of view.
Use strong vocabulary. SAT essay is a very formal, academic writing prompt, so you need to write with that in mind. Choose words that are more advanced than those you'd use in conversation.
Proofread and edit twice. Once you've finished your draft, go back and read through it again. Making sure there are no typos or grammatical errors. Be very attentive since during your SAT test, you will not be able to use online tools for grammar and readability checks.
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What Is the SAT Essay?

Purpose of the sat essay, how to write an sat essay, sat essay outline, sat essay template, sat essay prompts, sample sat essay prompt 1 & answer, sample sat essay prompt 2 & answer, how is the sat essay scored , tips for writing the sat essay, bottom line on sat essay writing.

SAT essay is required to make sure you can think critically, and you can't just write about what you've already read. You should form your own opinions and explain them when writing the SAT essay.

10 Tips for the SAT Essay

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1. Follow the rules. Don’t score a zero for failing to follow instructions. Use the essay paper that is provided. Do not write in your booklet. Do not change the question. Do not use a pen.

2. Divide your time. You will have twenty-five minutes to write your essay . As soon as you begin, make a note of the time and give yourself benchmarks and limits. For example, give yourself five minutes to brainstorm for main points (which will become topic sentences), one minute to come up with a great introduction, two minutes to organize your examples into paragraphs, etc.

3. Take a stance. You will be writing about an issue. Readers judge essays on the depth and complexity of the argument you make (and you will be taking a side), so be sure to show that you understand both sides of the issue you’re writing about. However, you can’t be wishy washy!

You will pick one side and explain why it is right. Demonstrate that you understand both sides, but pick one and explain why it is correct.

4. Don’t get hung up if you don’t actually have strong feelings one way or the other on a subject. You don’t have to feel guilty about saying things you don’t really believe. Your task is to show that you can craft a complex argument essay. That means you will have to make specific statements about your position and expound upon your individual points. Just take a side and argue it !

5. Don’t try to change the subject. It may be tempting to change the question to something that is more to your liking. Don’t do that! Readers are instructed to assign a zero score to an essay that doesn’t answer the question provided. If you try to change your question, even slightly, you are taking a risk that the reader will not like your answer.

6. Work with an outline! Use the first few minutes to brainstorm as many thoughts as possible; organize those thoughts into a logical pattern or outline; then write as quickly and neatly as you can.

7. Talk to your reader. Remember that the person scoring your essay is a person and not a machine. As a matter of fact, the reader is a trained educator—and most likely a high school teacher. As you write your essay, imagine that you are talking to your favorite high school teacher.

We all have one special teacher who always talks with us and treats us like adults and actually listens to what we have to say. Imagine that you are talking to this teacher as you write your essay.

8. Start with a fabulous or surprising introductory sentence to make a great first impression. Examples: Issue: Should cell phones be banned from school property? First sentence: Ring, ring! Note: You would follow up on this with well-crafted, fact-filled statements. Don’t try too much cute stuff! Issue: Should the school day be extended? First sentence: No matter where you live, the longest period of any school day is the last one.

9. Vary your sentences to show that you have a command of sentence structure. Use complex sentences sometimes, mid-sized sentences sometimes, and two-word sentences a few times to make your writing more interesting. Also--don’t keep repeating the same point by rewording it several ways. Readers will see right through that.

10. Write neatly. Neatness counts to some degree, in that the reader must be able to read what you’ve written. If your writing is notoriously difficult to read, you should print your essay. Don’t get too hung up on neatness, though. You can still cross out mistakes that you catch as you proofread your work.

The essay represents a first draft. Readers will like to see that you did, in fact, proof your work and that you recognized your mistakes.

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25 Tips and Tricks for the SAT

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The SAT remains an important aspect for most college admissions processes. Schools use it as one factor to determine a student’s college readiness, and it can even help students qualify for merit scholarships. There are a lot of reasons why you should do your best on this test, so we’ve compiled some of our expert advice to help you improve your score.

When Should Students Prepare for the SAT?

Most students take the SAT in their junior and senior year of high school, but you can start preparing for it earlier than that. Although they aren’t the exact same test, preparing for the PSAT can go a long way in helping you be more prepared for the SAT.

Generally speaking, we suggest that students take the SAT as early as possible in their junior year. That way, you can compare your score to the average scores of admitted students on your college list and see if you want to retake the test to improve your score.

Whether you’ve never taken the SAT or you’re planning to retake it, you should definitely spend some time preparing for the test. But how much time should you spend? The answer, although you may not like it, is that it depends.

There is no wrong amount of time to spend preparing for the SAT. Some students spend months, while others cram their studying in to a couple of weeks. To gauge how long you need, it’s a good idea to take a free practice test available from the College Board and score it. Compare your scores—the total score and your section scores—to the scores of the schools you plan on applying to. The lower your score is compared to the school scores, the more time you should allot for studying and preparing.

Of course, strategy matters when it comes to making the most of your test prep. That’s why we’ve included a few tips and tricks to help you get started.

General Tips

There are some tips that apply to the SAT as a whole. These have to do with your approach to the test and how you study in general.

1. Some anxiety is normal.

Some students think that if they experience any test anxiety, then they are doomed to a poor test performance. But it’s normal to experience some level of anxiety. Anxiety is a part of the fight-or-flight response which allows you to focus and think more quickly—both good for a testing situation. Instead of trying to get rid of your anxiety, keep a more balanced approach; don’t let the anxiety get to the point of panic, but there’s also no need to overly control your emotions. For more advice about how to manage your test anxiety, check out our post 10 Ways to Overcome Test Taking Anxiety

2. Have a plan for each section.

The Reading Test, Writing and Language Test, and the two parts of the Math Test each have their nuances. While some strategies overlap across tests, you also want to develop ones that are unique for each section. Maybe you struggle with motivation when you reach the last section, which is the Math Test, or maybe you have trouble gearing up to start the test with Reading. We’ll give some specific advice in the sections below.

3. Don’t do the questions in order.

This is my favorite strategy, but it takes some practice to get used to. In order to build up your confidence and avoid any test panics, answer all of the easy questions first, and then go back to answer increasingly difficult questions. Decide quickly, after reading a question, whether you will solve it or skip it. You’ll find that when you go back to take on “hard” questions, some of them will be easier because you’ve warmed up through the easy questions.

4. Know what it takes to achieve your goals.

You should have some idea of what kind of a score you’d like to achieve before you start studying. But beyond that, use the free SAT practice test scoring guides to give you even greater insight. For example, if you’re aiming for a 650 on the SAT Math, you’ll need to get around 41 questions right out of 58. This can help you prioritize which questions you answer (with Tip #3) to make sure you get to at least 41 that you actually attempted and are confident in your choice.

5. Don’t study everything at once.

If you’re like most students at the start of their test prep journey, then you have a lot of different areas you could improve in. However, you’re better off zeroing in on a few key concepts and mastering them, rather than trying to hit a little bit of everything. By progressing through concepts one at a time, you’ll see more improvements in your score than if you spread your efforts thin.

Reading Test

Some of these tips overlap with the Writing and Language Test, but for the most part they are especially applicable to the Reading Test.

6. Reorder the passages.

While I don’t mean this literally, I do mean that you should do the passages out of order. It’ll take some practice for you to figure out the best order based on subject and skimming for complex language, but it’s important that you do the passages in the order you want. The Reading Test is the first test on the SAT, so starting this test strong can set the tone for your entire testing experience. Note: while I suggested doing the questions out of order in #3, you should complete all of the questions regarding a passage before moving on to the next set of questions in the Reading and Writing & Language test.

7. Read the passage introductions.

The SAT includes a one- or two-sentence introduction before each passage in italics. These introductions often tell you who wrote the passage, when it was written, and where the passage comes from. This contextual information can help you make sense of the passage and more easily answer author-based questions. It also is the biggest key in deciding which passage to attempt first.

8. Come up with your own answer.

Just as you would solve the Math Test questions and find the answer that best fits your own, you should come up with your own answer for the Reading Test questions before looking at the choices. As practice, you may want to do a sample Reading Test untimed to write your own answers to questions and then choose the answer choice based on which is closest to your own. While you may be stumped on some questions (which is totally normal!) this can help you avoid any confusion from long, partially-true answer choices.

9. Identify the “rhetoric” questions.

A little less than half of the SAT Reading Test questions fall under a category the College Board calls “Rhetoric,” which has to do with the structure and development of the passage rather than the ideas and information. These questions should be approached differently, since many ask about the role that different literary elements play, or about the author’s choices. Instead of working with the ideas in the passage, think about how the writing accomplishes the author’s purpose.

10. Refer back to the passage.

To answer most of the Reading Test questions, you should refer back to the passage rather than relying on your memory of the passage itself. There’s no need to base your answers entirely on memory, since this portion of the SAT is structured like an open-book test. In fact, if you do this along with answering the questions from easiest to hardest, then you’ll actually develop a deeper understanding of the passage relatively quickly and feel more confident answering those tough questions.

Writing & Language Test

These tips really focus on pitfalls students make on the Writing & Language Test. Working on this and the Reading Test will boost your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section score .

11. Brush up on grammar.

The Writing & Language Test doesn’t just test your knowledge of grammar, but it makes up a big portion of it. The Standard English Conventions subscore is based on 20 out of 44 questions, or about 5 questions per passage, and I find it is the easier of the two subscores to work on. There are plenty of short books available at public libraries, or you can find grammar lessons online. This is a broad tip, so I’ve included some of the common errors below.

12. Watch out for agreement.

Errors in subject-verb or pronoun-antecedent agreement are difficult for students to catch. Often, the sentence separates the two related parts using prepositional phrases, parentheticals, or appositives. If there is a pronoun or a verb in the underlined portion, find the antecedent or subject it corresponds to and makes sure it matches.

For example: When any one of these changes occur, it is likely the result of careful analysis conducted by transportation planners.

The verb “occur” corresponds to the subject “one”, so it should be changed to “occurs.” The pronoun “it” has the antecedent “one,” so this agrees and should be left alone. Some students would be tempted to choose an answer with “they are” instead of “it is” because the noun “changes” is closer to the pronoun and is plural, but pay attention to the meaning of the sentence.

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13. Commas and in-sentence punctuation.

Many students are uncomfortable with commas and other types of in-sentence punctuation like dashes, semi-colon, colons, and parentheses. If you find yourself in this situation, learn when you can use each type of punctuation and when you can’t. Many of these are interchangeable, and depend on the meaning that the author wants to convey or their style. Just know that the SAT won’t give you a question where all of the punctuation marks are interchangeable—either one of those is right, or the correct choice is no punctuation in the underlined portion.

14. Figure out the style.

The passages on the Writing & Language Test are unfinished drafts, and they each have a different intended audience or level of formality. While very formal English is appropriate for highly academic texts, casual writing often “breaks” some grammar rules, such as starting sentences with prepositions or including sentence fragments. Don’t assume that the very formal or “fancy” answer is the right one for each question, since each part should fit into the whole.

15. Consider the whole passage.

Speaking of a passage’s style, you should consider the passage as a whole. Many students only look at the particular sentence for each question, and maybe the sentences surrounding it before deciding their answer. However, if you do this, you may miss out on the bigger picture and have difficulty answering questions about whether sentences should be included or omitted, or how a passage can be restructured to strengthen it. If you have the time, try reading the passage once quickly to get the gist before answering the questions.

Math Test, No Calculator

Many of these tips also apply to the Math with Calculator portion, but because they greatly improve your performance on the no-calculator portion, I’ve included them here.

16. Memorize key facts.

On this particular section, knowing “math facts” can help you solve questions more quickly and efficiently, especially since you’ll likely be using at least some pencil and paper to find answers. Some of the facts I recommend students review and brush up include exponent rules and the common squares and cubes of numbers. We’ve dedicated a whole post to 30 SAT Math Formulas You Need to Know to help you out.

17. Review working with fractions.

This one is especially important for students who are used to solving every question with a calculator. Calculators allow you to easily work with decimals, so many of the no-calculator questions use fractions specifically. You should feel comfortable rewriting fractions, finding least common denominators, and how to divide fractions.

18. Get comfortable with variables.

Along the same lines as fractions, many questions don’t give explicit values but instead use only variables, or they use values that are often treated like variables such as pi or e (Euler’s number). You may need to rewrite equations or inequalities in terms of another variable, or understand how changing a variable would alter the result of the equation. Algebra is a huge portion of both the no-calculator and calculator section, so it’s in your best interest to know how to do math with variables.

19. Use easy numbers.

While some SAT variable questions require you to work with the variables as variables, you can sometimes substitute numbers to help you find the answer when you are truly stuck. For example, consider question 12 from SAT practice test 2 below:

You can manipulate the equation using algebra to find the solution, or you can replace R, N, and F with numbers that satisfy the first equation. I’m going to replace F with 2 and N with 3, which gives me an R of 2/5. Plugging 2, 3, and 2/5 into the answer choices, I find that B is the only answer choice where the equation is true, and that is the right answer.

Make sure to choose single-digit numbers or numbers like 10. Avoid choosing 1, since 1 has special mathematical properties that can lead you with two “correct” answers.

20. Don’t confuse equations and inequalities.

Many of SAT problems involve equations, but word problems tend to deal with inequalities rather than equations. Phrases like “at most” or “at least” tip you off that you’re dealing with an inequality, and you need to see if the end of the range is included in the answer as defined in the problem. For example, if the question states that a value can be “no more than” a certain number, then you need to choose the next lowest number, rather than the number that would yield an equality.

Math Test, with Calculator

Of the two parts to the Math Test, students tend to feel more confident when they get to this section. Here’s how you can make the most of it.

21. Don’t overuse your calculator.

Virtually every question in this section can be solved without a calculator. I recommend that you try solving as many questions as you can on your own before you bust out the calculator to figure out the remaining questions. As with many of the tips, you should practice this untimed so you can see how much you solve without a calculator. Not only does it sharpen your mathematical thinking overall, but it helps boost your confidence for the no-calculator section.

22. Plug and chug.

This is a tried-and-true test-taking method, and because it works, we mention it here. This type of strategy should be used only when you think it is the fastest way to solve a problem (calculators make short work of this, but see Tip #21), or when you have no other idea how to solve the problem.

23. Slow down with percents.

More than ratios or rates or its related concepts, percents trip students (and adults) up. Most of this has to do with the fact that you need to convert percents to decimals and then back to percents, which can lead to careless errors.

Some students also, in their speed, lump percent increases and decreases together, which does not work. If a problem says that a lamp is discounted at 40% and then a customer has a 10% off coupon, the lamp is not 50% off. Instead, you apply the 40% discount first to get your new value, and then 10% of the new value is discounted with the coupon. Take each percent increase and decrease one step at a time, being careful to do the percent of the new value at each step.

24. Not all questions require “math.”

The calculator portion of the SAT includes questions that have to do with statistics, but many of these don’t require explicit calculation of any kind. Instead, these test your reasoning skills as it applies to statistical concepts, such as sampling techniques, margin of error, standard deviation, and reasonable conclusions that can be drawn. These problems tend to pack a lot of information into a few short sentences, so pay attention to what is and isn’t included.

25. Familiarize yourself with circles.

Although circles, their graphs, and their equations are part of the more advanced topics covered on the SAT, there is usually at least one question on the SAT that deals with circles. You should be able to recognize and interpret the equation of a circle and rewrite the equation into different forms. If you want a top score, then this is a must.

Wrapping it Up

We hope that this has given you a great starting point for your test prep endeavors. While you can certainly improve your score on your own, it’s much easier to do it when you work with an expert who can give you personalized guidance.

Preparing for the SAT? Download our free guide with our top 8 tips for mastering the SAT.

Want to know how your SAT score impacts your chances of acceptance to your dream schools? Our free Chancing Engine will not only help you predict your odds, but also let you know how you stack up against other applicants, and which aspects of your profile to improve. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to gain access to our Chancing Engine and get a jumpstart on your college strategy!

For more information about the SAT, check out these posts:

What Does the Math Section of the SAT Test?

How to Get a Perfect Score on the SAT Essay

What is a Good, Bad, and Excellent SAT Score? Here’s How to Think About It.

How to Write an SAT Essay

A winning SAT essay requires a range of specific skills for the top result. In this article from the cheap essay writing service EssayPro, we will discuss how to write SAT essay and get that SAT essay score for college admission. This includes the definition, preparation steps, time-management, SAT essay outline, tips, and examples.

What Is an SAT Essay?

So what is the SAT essay writing task in general terms? SAT writing is very much similar to your regular college paper. In fact, it’s not what you’re asked to write about. It’s how you’re graded on it that makes it stand out from the rest of the academic writing tasks you are surely familiar with.

Many people question: what schools require this type of assignment? The colleges that require the SAT essay are institutions like Stanford, Stanford, Yale, and many more. Considering most colleges with high reputations require this entrance exam, it is essential to learn how to write a great SAT essay if you want to enter college.

Before You Start Writing an SAT Essay...

While studying for the entrance exam, consider the question: ‘how long it takes to write an SAT essay?’. Time management is an essential part of the test and something to consider while writing the examination. Usually, writing time is made up of four examination stages:

There are different variations of these stages. Some people are faster with reading than they are creating an outline, and some are very quick writers. But regardless of how long it takes, the general approach to essay writing is the same.

Throughout the first stage, you familiarize yourself with the tasks you're going to deal with. 5 minutes is more than enough. But don’t rush through it. Missing some key details during this first stage can lead to failing the entire task before you even get to writing.

After you’ve got all the info you need - you can start planning. A plan of action will help you stay on track throughout the writing process. You can even draw up a schematic to reference as you go.

Writing will take up the majority of your time. Consult your outline and start filling it out step by step. Do not get bogged down. If you can’t get through some section of your outline - move on to the next one and return later.

Proofreading is one of the most important parts of essay writing. You should always try your best to leave as much time as possible for post-editing. The task is finished; now you have to relax and look through your text a couple more times to weed out any mistakes.

Whichever way your mind thinks, SAT essay practice is always the right way to go, so you’re able to find the most reliable timing combination that works for you within the set duration of the exam.

It is important to consider that the writing segment takes up a large portion of the 50 minutes. The reading and creating outline segments play a vital role in the completion of the SAT essay.

Our argumentative essay writers are ready to help you any time. Order essay or leave us a message ' Do my math homework '.

Things Your SAT Essay Needs

Now, let’s talk about how to write SAT essay tasks in a little more detail. To write a winning SAT essay outline , it is important to know what to include in it. Any paper regarding this examination should include these elements:

Introduction:

First impressions count;
Remember to avoid argumentative language;
Discuss, briefly, the analysis methods that the author has used;
Address the author’s points;
Examiners want to see an understanding of the source, a quote might be in order;

Feeling Overwhelmed Writing an Essay on Your Own?

We only need your paper requirements to create a plagiarism-free paper prompt.

Use examples that support your claims;
Quote the passage where the writer has used vivid language;
A short quote will suffice, no need to cite entire paragraphs;
Follow your evidence up with supporting claims;
Talk about what makes your arguments strong;
Explain why the examples are compelling to the reader;

Conclusion:

Restate the thesis;
Briefly talk about how your examples support it;
Be aware that this is not a place to write more in-depth text or more examples;
End with a conclusive sentence;

This outline should give you a pretty good idea of how to SAT when it comes to essay writing tasks.

SAT Essay Outline

In recent years, a new SAT essay format has been created. Take a look at how applicants tackle this assignment in 2022.

Introduction

This introduction paragraph is 2-5 sentences;
Write about the purpose of the source material;
Write a few lines describing the techniques used in the rest of the paper.
Usually, the body is made up of 2-3 paragraphs;
Each paragraph is around six sentences;
Your first sentence is a transition from the previous paragraph.
Paraphrase the thesis;
Mention the arguments discussed in the assignment;
End with a conclusive sentence.

Get more info about: HOW TO WRITE AN INTRODUCTION

Tips on How to Write an SAT Essay

For a high SAT essay score, consider these SAT essay tips below to get a good feel of how to create a great exam paper. They’ll give you a solid understanding of how to SAT in order to get a decent score.

How to Get a Good Score on SAT

SAT Essay Prompts Are Essential. Analyze the provided promptly. It can give you hints about the writer’s intent.
Introductions Are Essential. Ease your reader into the topic. Focus their attention and remember - it sets the stage for the rest of your essay.
Use Your Vocabulary & Effective Language. Only use formal language. Don’t repeat points, and watch your grammar. Avoid using simple words, slang, and writing in the first person.
Avoid Going Off-Topic. Keep your essay precise in regards to the source. It is essential to show the examiner that you have read and understood it.
Practice Makes Perfect. Looking at SAT essay examples will help you understand how the essay should be written. Practice writing your paper using an SAT essay sample as a reference.

What Is an Average SAT Essay Score?

An average SAT essay score is 5\4\5 (for reading\analysis\writing). But you don’t really want to aim for an average SAT essay score. You need to land above that if you want your application to benefit from it.

You have to consider several factors if you want to get a good SAT essay score. Here they are:

You have to demonstrate your proficiency in all three in order to get a perfect score. First, you have to show that you have a thorough understanding of the subject matter of your essay. There is no place for even the slightest missteps. You want to show that you have knowledge of the facts and can interpret them well.

Analysis has to do with the personal conclusions you draw in your essay. You have to show that your writing is not just a stream of consciousness. Your thesis should be well-thought-out and supported by relevant and strong evidence.

Finally, the writing aspect is about presentation. Here you need to show that you have a strong command of language. It’s not only about grammar. Even the particular choice of words matters. How well you form your thoughts will determine your writing score. You should also watch your writing style. For a serious academic paper like this one, it should always be formal. No matter the subject.

So what is a good SAT essay score? It’s the result of your careful consideration of source material, your argument, and your form.

Is SAT Now Optional?

SAT is indeed optional. Very few colleges still practice this approach to applicant screening. But you can still take this test if you’d like to showcase your formidable writing skills. Will it help you when applying to top universities? For example, does Harvard require SAT essay submissions? Ivy League institutions like Harvard have also opted to take SAT test score submission during the application process optional. If you want to get an edge in a competitive environment like this, you have to research modern methods of applicant assessment. Like writing a personal statement.

Should I Take SAT?

Well, that depends on your goals. For example, if you are going for a major that has to do with analytical writing - an SAT test with an essay is a great way to show your skills and talent. But you shouldn’t obsess over it if you’re not entirely sure you’d be able to get a good score. There are alternative ways to show your writing off.

SAT Essay Examples

Check out these SAT essay examples to get a further grasp of how to write an outstanding paper. Feel free to use them as a reference.

Paul Bogard’s “Let There Be Dark” illustrates a large variety of rhetorical writing methods to create a key message. The message being: before the almost infinite list of benefits of the night’s natural darkness is completely lost, people should make more effort to decrease light pollution.

Dr. John’s “The Classics” argues that the enthusiasm of modern children of English literature in the classroom is at the lowest it could possibly be. He argues that there can be some extreme consequences for the survival of classic texts. The claim, itself, mentions classroom surveys that have taken place in high schools across the country.

Don’t Know How to Start?

Have you read the whole article and found yourself in a situation where you type " write my essay online "? Start from structuring your ideas. Writing an outline and a pinch of professional writing help can put you onto the right path to writing your SAT essay paper.

You can also look for SAT essay prompts if you want to practice a bit before the actual exam.

SAT Topics: Best Ideas

The best ideas for an SAT practice essay come in the form of prompts. You are unlikely to find the same exact prompt you have been practicing with on your SAT exam. But it will give you enough experience to feel confident in your writing abilities.

Write an essay in which you explain how Volodymyr Zelensky builds an argument to persuade his audience that the democratic countries must unite to help the Ukrainian cause.
How does the availability of information influence our perception of global issues?
Analyze and evaluate societal constructs and stereotypes in regard to different age groups
Analyze and evaluate the importance of factors of competition and cooperation in relation to humanity’s technological progress.
Consider and analyze potential issues of creating a new society in isolation from the rest of humanity. For example, a colony on a faraway planet.

The SAT test is slowly going out of fashion. The pandemic has only reinforced this trend. Despite that, it still remains a pretty comprehensive way to gauge one’s abilities. So, while it’s not mandatory to take the SAT test anymore, you can certainly take it anyway if you think it will help you showcase the skills relevant to your education.

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 6 sat essay examples to answer every prompt.

Just as with most essays, the major secret to excelling on the SAT essay is to pre-plan the examples and evidence you want to use.

"But wait!" I hear you cry. "Can you do that on the new SAT essay? Isn’t the point of the essay that you’re supposed to be using information from the passage in your answer, which you don’t know about ahead of time?"

The answer: Yes and no. While the specifics of each example will obviously change, depending on the passage, the types of examples you choose to discuss (and the way you explain each example builds the author’s argument) can be defined, and thus prepared for, ahead of time.

In this article, we give you 6 good SAT essay examples you’ll be able to find in nearly every prompt the SAT throws at you. By assembling a collection of these reliable types of evidence that can be used to answer most prompts, you'll cut down on planning time and significantly increase the amount you can write, making you able to walk into every SAT essay confident in your abilities.

feature image credit: 1 to 9 mosaic , cropped/Used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 .

UPDATE: SAT Essay No Longer Offered

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In January 2021, the College Board announced that after June 2021, it would no longer offer the Essay portion of the SAT (except at schools who opt in during School Day Testing). It is now no longer possible to take the SAT Essay, unless your school is one of the small number who choose to offer it during SAT School Day Testing.

While most colleges had already made SAT Essay scores optional, this move by the College Board means no colleges now require the SAT Essay. It will also likely lead to additional college application changes such not looking at essay scores at all for the SAT or ACT, as well as potentially requiring additional writing samples for placement.

What does the end of the SAT Essay mean for your college applications? Check out our article on the College Board's SAT Essay decision for everything you need to know.

Why You Can Prep SAT Essay Examples Before Test Day

The SAT essay prompts have several important things in common:

They’re all passages that try to convince the reader of the veracity of the author’s claim
They’re all around the same length (650-750 words)
They’re all meant to be analyzed and written about in a relatively short period of time (50 minutes)

This means that you can have a pretty good idea ahead of time of what types of argument-building techniques you might see when you open the booklet on test day.

The main techniques the author uses aren't going to be overly complex (like the first letter of every word spelling out a secret code), because you just don’t have the time to analyze and write about complex techniques. B ecause of that, you can prepare yourself with SAT essay examples that’ll be likely found across persuasive passages about many different issues .

Naturally, for each passage you're going to want to play to its particular strengths—if there are a lot of facts/statistics, make sure to discuss that; if it dwells more on personal anecdotes/appeals to emotion, discuss those. However, if you struggle with analysis in a short period of time, memorizing these categories of examples ahead of time can give you a helpful checklist to go through when reading the SAT essay prompt and point you in the right direction.

Below, we've chosen two examples of evidence, two examples of reasoning, and two examples of stylistic/persuasive elements you can use as stellar evidence to support your thesis .

For each example below, we also show you how you can use the type of evidence to support your thesis across a range of prompts. This flexibility should prove to you how effective pre-planned examples are.

So, without further ado, onto our list of multipurpose support for any SAT Essay prompt.

Examples of Evidence

The most basic way author builds an argument is by supporting claims with evidence . There are many different kinds of evidence author might use to support her/his point, but I'm just going to discuss the two big ones I've seen in various official SAT Essay prompts. These two types of evidence are Facts and Statistics and Anecdotes .

Example Type 1: Facts and Statistics

Employing statistics and facts to bolster one's argument is one of the most unassailable methods authors can use to build an argument. This argument-building technique is particularly common in essays written about scientific or social studies-related topics, where specific data and facts are readily available.

How Can You Identify It?

Statistics usually show up in the form of specific numbers related to the topic at hand —maybe as percents, or maybe as a way to communicate other data.

Here are a couple of examples of statistics from an official SAT essay prompt, "Let There Be Dark" by Paul Bogard :

Example : 8 of 10 children born in the United States will never know a sky dark enough for the Milky Way

Example : In the United States and Western Europe, the amount of light in the sky increases an average of about 6% every year.

Factual evidence can also be in the form of non-numerical information. Often, you'll see facts presented with references to the research study, survey, expert, or other source from which they're drawn. Here's another example from "Let There Be Dark":

Example : Already the World Health Organization classifies working the night shift as a probable human carcinogen[.]

Why Is It Persuasive?

Facts and statistics are persuasive argument building techniques because the author isn't just making up reasons for why his/her argument could possibly be true— there's actually something (data, research, other events/information) that backs up the author's claim .

In the case of the examples above, Bogard presents specific data about issues with light pollution (8 in 10 children won't be able to see the Milky Way, light in the sky increases 6% annually) to back up his statements that light pollution is real, then goes on to present further information that indicates light pollution is a problem (working the night shift puts humans at risk for cancer).

By presenting information and facts, rather than just opinion and spin, Bogard empowers the reader to connect the dots on her own, which in turn gives the reader ownership over the argument and makes it more persuasive (since the reader is coming to the same conclusions on her own, rather than entirely relying on Bogard to tell her what to think).

Example Type 2: Anecdotes

Another form of evidence that is often used as an alternative to actual facts or statistics is the anecdote. This type of evidence is most often found in speeches or other sorts of essay prompts that are written as a personal address to the reader.

An anecdote is a short story about a real person or event . When an author discusses own personal experience or personal experience of someone they know or have heard of, that's anecdotal evidence.

Here's an example of (part of) an anecdote from an official SAT essay prompt that was adapted from a foreword by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter :

One of the most unforgettable and humbling experiences of our lives occurred on the coastal plain. We had hoped to see caribou during our trip, but to our amazement, we witnessed the migration of tens of thousands of caribou with their newborn calves. In a matter of a few minutes, the sweep of tundra before us became flooded with life, with the sounds of grunting animals and clicking hooves filling the air. The dramatic procession of the Porcupine caribou herd was a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife spectacle. We understand firsthand why some have described this special birthplace as “America’s Serengeti.”

Even though anecdotes aren't statistics or facts, they can be powerful because it’s more relatable/interesting to the reader to read an anecdote than to be presented with dry, boring facts. People tend to put more faith in experiences if they can personally connect with the experiences (even though that doesn't actually affect how likely or not a statement is to be true).

In the example above, rather than discussing the statistics that support the creation of wildlife refuges, Jimmy Carter instead uses an anecdote about experiencing the wonder of nature to illustrate the same point—probably more effectively.

By inviting the reader to experience vicariously the majesty of witnessing the migration of the Porcupine caribou, Carter activates the reader's empathy towards wildlife preservation and so makes it more likely that the reader will agree with him that wildlife refuges are important.

Examples of Reasoning

All authors use reasoning to some extent, but it’s not always a major part of how the author builds her/his argument. Sometimes, though, the support for a claim on its own might not seem that persuasive—in those cases, an author might then choose to use reasoning to explain how the evidence presented actually builds the argument.

Example Type 3: Counterarguments and Counterclaims

One way in which an author might use reasoning to persuade the reader to accept the claim being put forward is to discuss a counterargument, or counterclaim, to the author's main point. The discussion (and subsequent neutralization) of counterarguments is found in prompts across all subject areas.

A counterargument or counterclaim is simply another point of view that contradicts (either fully or partially) the author's own argument. When "some might claim," "however," or other contrast words and phrases show up in an essay prompt, the author is likely presenting a counterclaim.

Here's an example of an effective presentation (and negation) of a counter claim from an official SAT essay prompt, "The Digital Parent Trap" by Eliana Dockterman :

“You could say some computer games develop creativity,” says Lucy Wurtz, an administrator at the Waldorf School in Los Altos, Calif., minutes from Silicon Valley. “But I don’t see any benefit. Waldorf kids knit and build things and paint—a lot of really practical and creative endeavors.”

But it’s not that simple. While there are dangers inherent in access to Facebook, new research suggests that social-networking sites also offer unprecedented learning opportunities.

So how does bringing up an opposing point of view help an author build her argument? It may seem counterintuitive that discussing a counterargument actually strengthens the main argument. However, as you can see in the brief example above, giving some space to another point of view serves to make it seem as if the discussion’s going to be more “fair.” This is still true whether the author delves into the counterargument or if the author only briefly mentions an opposing point of view before moving on.

A true discussion of the counterargument (as is present in Dockterman's article) will also show a deeper understanding of the topic than if the article only presented a one-sided argument . And because the presence of a counterargument demonstrates that the author knows the topic well enough to be able to see the issue from multiple sides, the reader's more likely to trust that the author's claims are well-thought out and worth believing.

In the case of the Dockterman article, the author not only mentions the opposite point of view but also takes the time to get a quote from someone who supports the opposing viewpoint. This even-handedness makes her following claim that "it's not that simple" more believable, since she doesn't appear to be presenting a one-sided argument.

Example Type 4: Explanation of Evidence

In some cases, the clarity with which the author links her evidence and her claims is integral to the author's argument. As the College Board Official SAT Study Guide says,

Reasoning is the connective tissue that holds an argument together. It’s the “thinking” — the logic, the analysis — that develops the argument and ties the claim and evidence together."

Explanation of evidence is one of the trickier argument-building techniques to discuss (at least in my opinion), because while it is present in many essay prompts, it isn't always a major persuasive feature. You can pretty easily identify an author's explanation of evidence if the author connects a claim to support and explains it , rather than just throwing out evidence without much ceremony or linking to the claim; however, whether or not the explanation of the evidence is a major contributing factor to the author's argument is somewhat subjective.

Here's a pretty clear instance of a case where an author uses explanations of each piece of evidence she discusses to logically advance her argument (again from the Dockterman passage):

And at MIT’s Education Arcade, playing the empire-building game Civilization piqued students’ interest in history and was directly linked to an improvement in the quality of their history-class reports. The reason: engagement. On average, according to research cited by MIT, students can remember only 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear and 50% of what they see demonstrated. But when they’re actually doing something themselves—in the virtual worlds on iPads or laptops—that retention rate skyrockets to 90%. This is a main reason researchers like Ito say the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation of a two-hour screen-time limit is an outdated concept: actively browsing pages on a computer or tablet is way more brain-stimulating than vegging out in front of the TV.

Unfortunately, the explanation the Official SAT Study Guide gives for how to discuss an author's "reasoning" is a little vague:

You may decide to discuss how the author uses (or fails to use) clear, logical reasoning to draw a connection between a claim and the evidence supporting that claim.

But how exactly you should go about doing this? And wh y is it persuasive to clearly explain the link between evidence and claim?

In general, when an author explains the logic behind her argument or point, the reader can follow along and understand the author’s argument better (which in some cases makes it more likely the reader will agree with the author).

In the Dockterman example above, the author clearly lays out data ( Civilization leads to improvements in history class), a claim (this is because of engagement with the game and thus the subject material), provides data that back up that claim (retention rate skyrockets when students do things for themselves), and links that smaller claim to a larger concept (actively browsing pages on a computer or tablet is way more brain-stimulating than vegging out in front of the TV). This clear pattern of data-explanation-more data-more explanation enables the reader to follow along with Dockterman's points. It's more persuasive because, rather than just being told " Civilization leads to improvements in history" and having to take it on faith, the reader is forced to reenact the thinking processes that led to the argument, engaging with the topic on a deeper level.

Examples of Stylistic/Persuasive Elements

This final category of examples is the top layer of argument building. The foundation of a good argument is evidence, which is often explained and elucidated by reasoning, but it is often the addition of stylistic or persuasive elements like an ironic tone or a rhetorical flourish that seals the deal.

Example Type 5: Vivid Language

Vivid language is truly the icing on the persuasive cake. As with explanations of evidence, vivid language can be found across all topics of essay prompts (although it usually plays a larger role when the passage is lacking in more convincing facts or logic).

Vivid language is pretty easy to spot—it shows itself in similes, metaphors, adjectives, or any words that jump out at you that don’t seem to have purely functional purposes . Here are a couple of examples—the first is Paul Bogard again:

…show that what was a very dark country as recently as the 1950s is now nearly covered with a blanket of light.

This example is relatively restrained, using the metaphor of "a blanket of light" to add emphasis to Bogard's discussion of light pollution. A more striking example can be found in another official SAT essay prompt, adapted from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "Beyond Vietnam—A Time To Break Silence":

Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube.

Vivid language is an effective argument building device because it puts the reader in the author’s shoes and draws them into the passage . If used in moderation, vivid language will also make the topic more interesting for the reader to read, thus engaging them further.

In the excerpt taken from Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech above, the phrase "demonic destructive suction tube" is startling and provocative, meant to rouse the audience's indignation at the injustice and waste of the Vietnam war. If King had left out the second part of the sentence and only said, "Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money," his point would not have had as big of an impact.

Example Type 6: Direct Addresses and Appeals to the Reader

The last category I'll be discussing in this article are direct addresses and appeals to the reader. These stylistic elements are found across all sorts of different passage topics, although as with the previous category, these elements usually play a larger role when the passage is light on facts or logic.

Direct addresses and appeals to the reader are wordings or other stylistic devices specifically designed to provoke a response (often emotional) in the reader . This category covers many different elements, from appeals to emotion to rhetorical questions. Here's an example of an appeal to emotion, taken again from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech:

Perhaps a more tragic recognition of reality took place when it became clear to me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home. It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and to die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population.

And here's an example of a rhetorical question (from the Paul Bogard article):

Who knows what this vision of the night sky might inspire in each of us, in our children or grandchildren?

Appealing to the emotions , as Martin Luther King, Jr. does in his speech, is an alternate route to persuasion, as it causes readers to emotionally (rather than logically) agree with the author . By describing how the war was causing "their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and die," King reminds the reader of the terrible costs of war, playing upon their emotions to get them to agree that the Vietnam War is a mistake, particularly for the poor.

Rhetorical questions , on the other hand, get the readers to step into the author's world. By reading and thinking about the author's question, the reader engages with the topic on a deeper level than if the reader were just given a statement of what the author thinks . In the case of the Bogard example above, the rhetorical question draws the reader into thinking about his/her descendants, a group of people for whom the reader (presumably) only wishes the best, which then puts the reader into a positive mood (assuming the reader likes his/her descendants).

As you can see, these examples of different argumentative techniques can be extracted from a lot of different article types for a wide range of topics . This is because the examples themselves are so meaningful and complex that they can be used to discuss a lot of issues.

The main point is, you don't have to wait until you see the prompt to develop an arsenal of types of argument-building techniques you can use to support your points. Instead, preparing beforehand how you’ll discuss these techniques will save you a lot of time and anxiety when the test rolls around .

What's Next?

If you're reading this article, you probably want to excel on the SAT essay. We've written a bunch of detailed guides to make sure you do.

Start to scratch the surface with our 15 tips to improve your SAT essay score .

Follow our step-by-step guide to writing a high-scoring essay and learn how to get a perfect 8/8/8 on the SAT essay .

Took the old SAT and not sure how the new essay compares to the old? Start with our article about what’s changed with the new SAT essay , then follow along as we investigate the SAT essay rubric .

Want to score a perfect SAT score? Check out our guide on how to score a perfect SAT score , written by our resident perfect scorer.

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Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.

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