Writing The SAT Essay
The essay writing part of a standardized test assesses students’ abilities to develop ideas and express them effectively. The time limit creates pressure to manage time wisely. For the SAT, there are 25 minutes in which one should aim to write five paragraphs. The best way to improve essay writing skills is to evaluate sample essays and to practice writing essays for various prompts. It is also important to know what the graders are looking for and how you can provide it. Graders spend about 45 seconds on each essay, quickly detecting keywords, a coherent idea, and a few “million dollar words” carefully placed, before moving on. If you grab them in the beginning, hold on to them in the body, and provide a strong sense of closure, you might keep the grader interested for longer, maybe for even a whole minute!
Time4Writing’s free writing resources cover how to write a good essay for a standardized test. The games, printables, and presentation supplement Time4Writing’s online courses. Designed to help students improve their writing skills, regardless of academic grade or proficiency level, Time4Writing’s 8-week courses provide more in-depth practice and one-on-one instruction by a certified teacher.
