One way to write a good essay

Your essay is technically worth of your Writing score, but in practical terms its worth less than that. Thats because the technical range of possible scores for your essay is 0-12, but most essays fall within a range of 6-10. So all those points that would come from scores 0-6 are basically free points for you, provided you put in the minimal effort needed to score at least a 6. If youre able to increase your score from an 8 to a 10, say, thatll append about 40 extra points on your Writing score, assuming your multiple choice score stays the same*. Your score is determined by two independent readers, who are educators at either the high school or university level who have been hired by The College Board. They wont know each others scores, nor will they know your name. They will each assign a grade from 0-6 to your essay (based on this rubric). Those scores are added, and thats how you get your score on the 12 point scale. If your readers disagree by more than one point (this is unusual), a third grader is called in to settle the score (not someone in third grade, a third person who will adjudicate your essay). Its important to state, right at the outset, that theres no one way to write a good essay; there are many paths to a good score. However, Ive found that the following format produces reliably good results.

SAMPLE ESSAY SKELETON

Intro (2-3 sentences) a. Sentence 1 is your thesis. Waste no time getting to it! b. Sentence 2 (if you like) elaborates a bit on your thesis to make it stronger. If youre going to argue that hard work is necessary for success, for example, then maybe you make your second sentence something about failure stemming from lack of hard work. That way youve approached your argument from two different angles. c. In Sentence 3, mention your examples so your reader knows whats coming. Example 1 - Your stronger example (7-10 sentences) . Sentence 1 is a mini-thesis. Basically, it introduces your example again and relates it directly to your main thesis. a. The rest of your sentences are a mix of relevant details (if your example is literature, for example, then you need to mention relevant plot points) and gentle reminders to your reader that these details support your thesis. See if you can reference your thesis in some way at least twice in this paragraph. The outline you jot down before you start writing should have at least 3 bullet points for relevant details you want to include about your example. Example 2 - Your weaker example (7-10 sentences) . Sentence 1 is, again, a mini-thesis. This one should, however, also contain some kind of transition. Example (transition from a literary example to a personal one, on the topic of careful planning for important events): Like the Joad family in Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath, I was once forced to leave my home because of a giant, never-ending dust storm, so I know firsthand the value of careful planning. a. The rest of this paragraph should again be a combination of relevant details and pointers back to the main thesis. If this example is a little shorter than the last one, thats fine, but make sure you still cram in as much specificity as possible. Conclusion (OPTIONAL, but if you decide to do one no more than 1-2 sentences) . Dont introduce any new information here, just wrap your essay up with 1-2 sentences by reminding the reader once more what your thesis is, and that both of your carefully chosen examples are strong support for that thesis. Example: Both Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath and my familys experience surviving a zombie apocalypse suggest that it is difficult to overstate the value of preparedness for difficult situations. 1.

Some more notes about the essay

Youve got a lot of latitude in selecting your examples, but you should try to use at least one (ideally two) example that will impress your reader. That means Literature (with a capital L like a book you read in school and can discuss in depth), a historical event or figure, or a personal event that will resonate with an ADULT reader. o Its a good idea, while were thinking about examples, to have a few on reserve at all times. In fact, take a minute right now and jot some down that you think you can use for a variety of different prompts. Go ahead...Ill wait. y Nobodys fact-checking you. This means you can make stuff up if you need to. Please know, however, that although theyre going to try to ignore it, if your falsities are too blatant, youll distract your reader and thats probably not going to help your score. y You should absolutely take 2-3 minutes before you start writing to outline your essay. EVEN IF you dont usually do that when you write an assignment for school. Remember that you cant easily go back to your intro once youve started writing paragraph 3 and add a sentence without making a huge mess of your page. Erasing is not going to be pretty, and will add stress to a section that is already stressful and short on time. A little planning in advance goes a really long way. y The more you write, in general, the better your score. Get into the habit of filling the two pages, if you possibly can. y Stay away from controversial topics if you can. Remember that you have no idea who your readers are, and although they are instructed to remain neutral to your opinions and grade you on your arguments, you dont want to push them. Try to avoid: o Hotly contested social issues:  Immigration., Abortion., Gay Marriage., Race relations. o Recent politics  President Obama, Bush vs. Gore., Watergate.  Anything, basically, that your reader might remember from her lifetime and have a strong opinion about. o Religion. y Grammar (especially the kind of mistakes they test you on in the multiple choice parts of the test) is pretty important here. Dont write run-ons, and dont make pronoun agreement mistakes. One little mistake wont kill you, but if your essay is full of them, itll cost you. y Its OK to be a little informal here. You can use personal pronouns. In fact, its really difficult to write super-impersonally on a lot of the topics you might be assigned, so avoid the temptation to start saying things like one should always plan ahead, because once you go that way, youre going to have to stay parallel and say one this and one that all over the place. It gets tiring, believe me. Dont go overboard though...make sure all the words you use are real words. No gonna or shoulda or lol. A lot is two words. Remember that. y Avoid cliches, and avoid the temptation to try to open your essay with some broad statement about life and the universe. Just answer the question. For example: In life, In this world, and As humans, are all bad ways to start an essay. y Good vocab is a good idea, but only if you really know how to use it. Rule of thumb: dont try a word out for the first time on your essay. Only use words youve used in conversation before and feel comfortable with. Trying to get fancy and using a word incorrectly will be deleterious to your score.
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