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Essay Prep on Standardized Tests

Tags

Standardized Test Prep MS/HS/College Strategy

Skills

Working Memory Verbal Reasoning

Essay Prep on Standardized Tests

If your student will be doing the essay portion of the SAT or ACT

What You Need To Know About The Essay

The essay is not a prize for the most clever writing. Test graders are following a very clear rubric. You earn points for meeting the standards, not for being creative.Taking the time to practice writing a few essays under timed conditions will help you determine how much time to spend for organizing your ideas in an outline, writing, and proofreading. All of these steps are essential for writing a high quality essay.

Prepare In Advance

  1. Have a clear plan for writing a straight-forward essay that has an appropriate structure and supporting details.
  2. Since the essay question is a known, prepare your structure and timing in advance. The SAT asks you to read a passage and explain how the author builds an argument to persuade the audience. The ACT asks you to read a prompt and present your own perspective on an issue as well as compare your perspective with at least one of three given perspectives.
  3. Develop a standard outline for any topic that includes a thesis statement, introductory paragraph, three supporting examples, and a conclusion.
  4. If you find that you often have trouble thinking of ideas to write, practice brainstorming at least three different ideas for each practice essay before you start writing. Having multiple ideas for a topic will help you improve on your ability to generate ideas, and you will be better at it on test day. On test day DO NOT spend time brainstorming more ideas than you need.
  5. Determine how much time you need for outlining, writing, and proofreading. On the SAT, include how much time you need to read the passage and annotate. Create a schedule. Memorize the schedule and stick to it on test day.
  6. Be sure to refer to your outline while you write. Use all the details you included in your outline. While it might be easy to remember details when practicing, it's a lot easier to forget details on test day.

Don't Pivot!

  1. Once you start writing your essay, do not allow yourself to change your mind. This is particularly important for students with weaker flexible thinking who are more inclined to want to change their mind.
  2. Remind yourself that if you started with a complete outline, you can be confident that you have sufficient evidence to prove your point of view.
  3. Even if you have an "aha" moment while writing, DO NOT change your mind. You are being assessed on how well you analyze and write, regardless of the perspective you chose. Even if you realize mid-way you prefer a different perspective, DON'T CHANGE. You won't have time. Rely on your outline to support your chosen thesis with solid examples and explanation.

Leave Time To Proofread

  1. It is essential that you leave time to check your writing to ensure that your essay is legible, has proper punctuation and grammar, and has a clear organizational structure. This is particularly important for students with weaker attention or working memory.
  2. Budget your time so you leave time to edit your essay, ideally twice.
  3. In your first review of your essay, focus only on content. Do you have clear topic sentences for each paragraph? Do the ideas flow in a logical order? Are there any other key details you can add? Are you uncertain of any details you included? If so, do you have enough other supporting evidence to delete them? Can you add stronger vocabulary?
  4. The SAT essay asks you to read a passage and explain how the author builds an argument to persuade the audience. Make sure your essay directly addresses the "how". Have you supported your explanation with specific evidence from the passage? Make sure you have not added in your point of view, only what is supported in the passage.
  5. The ACT essay asks you to read a prompt and present your own perspective on an issue as well as compare your perspective with at least one other given perspective. Have you clearly stated your perspective and supported it with logical examples? Have you made logical comparisons with at least one other perspective?
  6. In your second review, focus on writing mechanics. Did you use appropriate punctuation and capitalization? Are stray marks fully erased so the paper is legible? Can you include more descriptive vocabulary or action-oriented verbs?
  7. An effective strategy to self-correct writing is to read it aloud to yourself. If you silently mouth the words, as if to say them aloud in your head, it will help you "hear" what you have written more than reading alone does.