2400Expert SAT Essay Manual

SAT ES SS SA AY Y MA AN NU UA AL L Shaan Patel www.2400 www.2400expert expert.com .com

*SAT is a registered tr ademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of this product.

Excerpted from Shaan Patel’s SAT 2400 in Just 7 Steps © © McGraw-Hill 2012

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T OF TA CO AB BL L E E O F C ON NT TE EN NT TS S Introduction………………...……………………………………….……………….. 3 Essay Topics……………………………………………………….……………….... 6 Essay Format ……………………………………………………….…………….….. 9 Essay Scoring…………………………………………………….………………..... 13 15 Impress Your Readers ………………………………………………….………....15

Amaze Your Readers…………………………………………………………….…18 Essay Material ……………………………………………………………….……... 26 My Own Material …………………………………………………………….…….. 29 Write the Essay Before You See the Topic!................................................. 34 39 My ACTUAL 2400 SAT Essay …………………………………………………..…. 39

Perfect Practice Problems ……………………………………………………..…. 43

Unauthorized copying or reuse of any part of this page is illegal. !2012 www.2400expert.com


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T OF TA CO AB BL L E E O F C ON NT TE EN NT TS S Introduction………………...……………………………………….……………….. 3 Essay Topics……………………………………………………….……………….... 6 Essay Format ……………………………………………………….…………….….. 9 Essay Scoring…………………………………………………….………………..... 13 15 Impress Your Readers ………………………………………………….………....15

Amaze Your Readers…………………………………………………………….…18 Essay Material ……………………………………………………………….……... 26 My Own Material …………………………………………………………….…….. 29 Write the Essay Before You See the Topic!................................................. 34 39 My ACTUAL 2400 SAT Essay …………………………………………………..…. 39

Perfect Practice Problems ……………………………………………………..…. 43



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IIN NT TR RO OD DU UC CT TIIO ON N Imagine you are calmly sitting in English class and the bell rings to indicate the beginning of the period. Your teacher stands at the front of the room and unexpectedly proclaims: “Today class, we are going to have an impromptu in-class essay!” Suddenly, your stomach hurts, heart races, and mood shifts to a feeling of unease. When your teacher hands out the essay booklet, you realize that you have never seen the longwinded two-paragraph topic before. The instructions say that you only have 25 minutes to complete the essay. And to make matters worse, the booklet contains two blank pages. How on earth does your teacher expect you to write more than a page page when it took you five minutes just to read the topic!? You You hastily begin to write down a few thoughts, but

midway through the third sentence you get writer’s block. You begin to rely on some personal experiences that barely relate to the topic. You notice there are two minutes left on the clock, so you stick a vague one-sentence conclusion after the one body paragraph you completed. Finally, you turn in an unorganized, !-page essay that is surely doomed. Well be prepared, because this is what happens to most students on every administration of the SAT.



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When I was in high school, there is nothing that I feared more than an in-class essay. For me, it was like being thrown into the deep end of a pool, but not knowing how to swim. Therefore, I can understand why most students would fear the composition composition portion of the SAT. The essay is the first section section on every SAT examination. Although the SAT Essay only makes up approximately 240 out of the 2400 points possible on the SAT, you still want to approach this section as the most important. How well you do on the SAT Essay sets the tone for how well you do on the rest of the exam. If your heart is racing and mind is frantic during the essay portion, then chances are you will anxious during the other sections as well. However, if you are positive that you have just written an articulate essay, then you will likely be confident for the rest of the test. The advice and strategies found in this 2400 Expert Complete SAT Essay Manual will will assure that you are the latter case. No matter whether you would

rather do 1000 math problems than write an essay, or think you’re the next J. K. Rowling, I will help you succeed on the SAT Essay. SAT composition is much different than a high school essay. I was once the poor writer without a plan at the beginning of this section; however, with key strategies and practice, I trained myself to ace the SAT Essay. And now you can too!


Excerpted from Shaan Patel’s SAT 2400 in Just 7 Steps © McGraw-Hill 2012

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*Note: This portion of the 2400 Expert Superb Strategy Guide differs from the rest because Perfect Practice Problems are only at the end of the whole section, instead of after each Superb Strategy . Since the SAT Essay is viewed as one large question type on the SAT exam, you should understand all of the Superb Strategies before tackling actual SAT Essay questions yourself!



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E ES TO SS SA AY YT OP PIIC CS S SAT Essay topics are general. This means you do not need to know some specific knowledge in order to answer the prompt. The SAT will not ask you about the 16th century Protestant Reformation or selected works by Robert Frost. You can breathe a sigh of relief now. Instead SAT Essay topics will look something like this: Can triumph be devastating? Is innovation lacking in the world? Is attempting to prove others wrong a path to success? Does challenging those in power create a better civilization? Is privacy essential for society? As you can see, SAT Essay prompts are very broad and give you a lot of room to choose the direction of your response. However, SAT Essay topics will not appear as concise and clear on the actual SAT as they do above. Instead, the essay topic on your SAT will look something like the following. The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can develop and express ideas. You should, therefore, take care to develop your point of view, present your ideas logically and clearly, and use language precisely. Your essay must be written on the lines provided on your answer sheet—you will receive no other paper on which to write. You will have enough space if you write on every line, avoid wide margins, and keep your handwriting to a reasonable size. Remember that people who are not familiar with your handwriting will read what you write. Try to write or print so that what you are writing is legible to those readers.



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You have twenty-five minutes to write an essay on the topic assigned below. DO NOT WRITE ON ANOTHER TOPIC. AN OFF-TOPIC ESSAY WILL RECEIVE A SCORE OF ZERO. Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. ‘The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.’ - Albert Einstein

Assignment: Does curiosity benefit us? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experiences, or observations.

Wow, that was wordy. If you read all of that, kudos. However, make sure you never do that again. There is nothing useful in the SAT Essay instructions other than the advice that you should stay on topic. This brings me to the first strategy I ever learned for the essay. SAT Essay Superb Strategy #1

Do not read any of the SAT Essay instructions except the question that immediately follows “Assignment.”

Yes, you can ignore everything on the directions page of the SAT Essay except one question. In this case that question would be “ Does curiosity benefit us? ” This is the only question you need to ponder when composing

your essay. Do not worry about the excerpt in the box either. SAT “box excerpts” are irrelevant and you do not need to use any of the information



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contained within them in your essay. Congratulations, you have just saved five minutes on the SAT Essay that other students would have wasted reading the directions. Now that you have one question you can focus on, your job becomes much simpler. All you have to do is pick a position. Either agree with the question presented or disagree with it. Then support your view with evidence. The SAT Essay is a persuasive essay, so you will need to persuade your reader that your position is right with convincing evidence. But first, how are we going to organize our persuasive essay?



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E ES F O SS SA AY Y F OR RM MA AT T Students are often unsure how to begin their SAT Essay when they are confronted with two blank pages at the beginning of the exam. How many paragraphs should they write? What should each paragraph be about? Should they even use paragraphs or have one long, continuous composition? For the SAT, keep the format standard. High school English teachers may cringe when they hear this, but the SAT Essay should be written in the standard 5paragraph format. No creativity needed. SAT Essay Superb Strategy #2

Build an SAT 5-Paragraph Essay with the following components.

Introduction – Contains your thesis , a sentence or two of generalities, and your plan of procedure (POP) Body Paragraph 1 – Contains the first example that supports your thesis You should include your strongest example here in order to begin your essay convincingly Body Paragraph 2 – Contains the second example to support your thesis Body Paragraph 3 – Contains the third example to support your thesis Conclusion – Should be the shortest paragraph of your essay (only 2-3 sentences). Make sure to restate your thesis in different words



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The thesis should be the first sentence in your essay. What is a thesis? A thesis is the sentence in your introduction that you will prove. On the SAT, this sentence usually describes whether you agree or disagree with the topic. If you are unsure of whether you are asserting a position (thesis) or just making a statement (not a thesis), you should insert your thesis in the following thesis test: “In this essay, I will prove that….[Insert Thesis Here]” If the above sentence makes sense, then you have a thesis. If the above sentence does not make sense, then you are probably stating a fact instead of asserting an opinion. Here are some Personal Explicatory Examples of theses I started some of my high school practice SAT Essays off with:

“The notion that people should make an effort to be more private is absolutely false.” “The presupposition that challenging authority only makes a society stronger is a categorical truth.”



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“The notion that there is hope and opportunity through hardships is an absolute truth.” “The presupposition that an attempt to please everyone will breed success is categorically false.” Notice how you know exactly what the essays were asking me simply by reading my theses. Make sure that you always restate the topic in your thesis as I did. Then pick a position on the topic, which I did by claiming that ideas are “false” or are a “truth.” You can check to make sure my theses are indeed actually theses by putting them to the thesis test. The last sentence of your essay introduction should be your plan of procedure. What is a plan of procedure (POP)? An ordered list of the examples you will use in your body paragraphs to support your thesis. Here are some Personal Explicatory Examples of POPs I used on practice SAT Essays:

“Three classic archetypes that show how privacy can be a vice are Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the tragic Holocaust, and the current state of North Korea.”



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“Three prominent archetypes that exemplify how defying power enriches a society are Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the communist state of North Korea, and George Orwell’s 1984.” “Three prominent paradigms which display society’s genius can be found in the Normandy Invasion of World War II, the engendering of more efficient energy sources, and Fredrick Douglass’ amazing struggle to learn how to read.” As you can see, POPs are pretty straightforward: simply “plan” out what is to come. The first example refers to what you will write about in the first body paragraph, the second example refers to what you will write about in the second body paragraph, and the third example refers to what you will write about in the third body paragraph. Follow the guidelines above, and your SAT Essay format will never need to change!



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E ES SC SS SA AY YS CO OR RIIN NG G Understanding how the essay is scored is important in order to appreciate the SAT Essay Superb Strategies that follow. Two separate human readers grade your SAT Essay. Each reader will give your essay a score between 1-6 based on a number of different criteria. You should simply know that they are looking for the following: A logical argument Transitions to help the flow of your essay Strong evidence to support your argument The two readers’ scores are then added together. Therefore, the range of the SAT Essay’s “raw score” is between 2-12. If the two readers give your essay scores that differ by more than one point, i.e. one reader gives your essay a score of 4 and another gives your essay a score of 6, a senior third grader will assign the final score. The SAT Essay raw score will then be scaled to account for 30% of your total Writing score out of 800 (approximately 240 points). As a rough approximation, each “raw” point you earn on the SAT Essay section accounts for 20 points on your total Writing score. For example, if you score a “10” on the essay section, we can reasonably estimate that 200 points of your total Writing score are due to your SAT Essay. The above is all seems reasonable enough. But what I really want you to remember about SAT Essay scoring are the conditions under which your



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essay is read. The College Board hires professionals with backgrounds in

writing and teaching (often high school English teachers) to score the SAT Essay after putting them through “reader training” so that students’ scores are consistent. However, unlike high school where English teachers can spend hours examining essays for brilliant subtleties and original insights, your SAT Essay is hastily looked at for about 1-2 minutes. The readers have to score hundreds of essays per day and do not have more time to grade each essay. Also remember, the readers have no idea who you are, how smart you usually are, or how well you can normally write if given more time. Knowing this key information, you need to give readers quick clues to identify yourself as an intelligent high school student. The SAT Essay Superb Strategies that follow will show you how to signal these hints in your essay.



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IIM YO RE MP PR RE ES SS SY OU UR RR EA AD DE ER RS S This section will cover the two major SAT Essay Superb Strategies you will need in order to quickly impress your readers. Here is the first. SAT Essay Superb Strategy #3 –Use BIG words often and early in your essay.

If you have had high school English teachers like I did, this tactic goes against everything they ever preached. I remember my English teacher lecturing my classmates and I about how important quality ideas are in essays, and not to get caught up trying to use a big vocabulary. This is not the case for the SAT. If you were an SAT Essay grader, what do you think would be one solid way to tell if a student is intelligent or not? That’s right: vocabulary. This Superb Strategy is especially important in the first paragraph where you should throw in at least two to four big words. You need to use big words in the beginning of your essay because readers will make a first impression of you as a writer a few seconds after reading your first paragraph. After they have read that far, they will have an almost unchangeable impression of your writing ability and will read the rest of your essay looking to reaffirm their initial judgment. If you can give them a good first impression, you have immediately boosted your essay score! What do I mean by “big” words? I am not necessarily referring to words that contain a lot of letters. Instead, I am talking about “intelligent” words that are not often used in everyday high school language, but that you



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would perhaps see in an academic journal or scholarly article. Don’t worry, you do not have to go read ten articles to figure out which words to use. Most words from the 2400 Expert Vocabulary Book or 2400 Vocab updates (on Facebook/Twitter) would work, which is another perk of memorizing vocabulary words! When I was in high school, I had a set list of words that I would try to incorporate into my SAT essay. You should also prepare a similar list. To do this, think of words that would be common in your essay, then use a thesaurus to find “big” words for otherwise simple words. Here is a Personal Explicatory Example of the list of words I used: Instead of “idea,” I used notion or presupposition or premise Instead of “example,” I used archetype or paradigm Instead of “statement,” I used assertion Instead of “bad thing,” I used vice or depravity Instead of “good thing,” I used virtue Instead of “narrow view,” I used dogmatic or provincial view Instead of “create,” I used engender or breed Instead of “harmful,” I used deleterious Instead of “absolute,” I used categorical Instead of “idealistic,” I used romantic Instead of “poor,” I used impoverished or destitute



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Instead of “generous,” I used philanthropic or altruistic I did not use all of these words on a single essay. Instead, I knew I could use a few of these words in my essay in order to sound smart! Make your list of 10-15 words in the Essay section of your Routine Review Notebook (given to students enrolled in the 2400 Prep Course). Review them once a week and try to use them in your high school writing or everyday speech (as nerdy as that seems). Your list does not have to be extensive. The next approach will also quickly impress your readers. SAT Essay Superb Strategy #4: Write a lot. Fill up both blank pages.

Once again, this goes against the sermons of high school English teachers around the country. But on the SAT, it’s about quantity more than quality. A reader may not know you, but they do know that in general, smarter students have more to say. And by human nature, a reader would have to score two pages of writing higher than one page. Filling up two full notebook pages of material in 25 minutes is no easy task, so make sure that your pencil is constantly moving! These two Superb Strategies , using big words & filling up both pages, will account for the biggest score gains on your SAT Essay. Following these two simple principles is a quick, sure-fire way to impress your readers.



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A AM YO RE MA AZ ZE EY OU UR RR EA AD DE ER RS S Now that you understand the two major ways to impress your readers, you are ready to take your writing skills to the next level and ace the SAT Essay. SAT Essay Superb Strategy #5: Take the first two to three minutes after you

have read the prompt to brainstorm an outline of your essay. This Superb Strategy actually goes hand in hand with the previous one. In order to fill up both pages of the essay, you need to avoid getting stuck. In order to be able to constantly write even under the pressure of the SAT, you need a have a roadmap that can serve as a guide so you don’t get writer’s block. Your brainstorm really only needs to consist of your position (thesis), the examples you will be using, and a few words about how each example relates to the topic so that you can prove your position (thesis). Here is a Personal Explicatory Example of what my outline looked like for a practice essay I did in high school regarding the topic of whether or not privacy is good. “Position:

No.

Ex. 1 World War II – concentration camps, Holocaust, closed door policy should have been lifted, few gov. officials knew



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atrocities taking place. Ex. 2 North Korea – Kim Jung Il, insurgents with video cameras need to get information of mayhem onto internet but gov. doesn’t allow Ex. 3 Scarlett Letter – Dimmesdale destroys his well-being, secretiveness eats him alive, goes crazy, hallucinates, vs. Hester who confessed and is living well even though confined” Don’t worry if that brainstorm did not make sense to you. It’s not supposed to. In fact, the only person that it should make complete sense to is me because it is my roadmap. Notice how in the brainstorm I jotted down incomplete thoughts in a few words instead of using full sentences. Each phrase gives me a sentence to write about and will serve as the substance of my body paragraphs. Also note that each phrase describes how my example relates to my thesis that privacy is not good. For example, “closed door policy should have been lifted” prompted me to write the following Personal Explicatory Example in my essay:

“During World War II, America had a “closed door policy,” which meant that only a select few immigrants, excluding those from



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Mexico, were allowed to come into the United States. This policy indirectly caused the murder of millions of people in the Holocaust. If only American officials knew of the atrocities taking place in concentration camps in Germany, they would have lifted this anti-immigration policy.” Note how a simple phrase in my outline caused me to start a train of thought, elaborate on ideas, and fill in details. Although you may forget many particulars as you write your essay, your outline phrases should trigger those details in your mind. Keep your facts on paper, not in your head! SAT Essay Superb Strategy #6: The topic sentence of each body paragraph

needs to introduce your example and relate it to your thesis. Many students start an SAT Essay body paragraph by summarizing what their example is about. I certainly did when I first started practicing for the SAT Essay. Do not do this on your SAT. Here is an Explicatory Example of what I mean by “summarizing” an example in a topic sentence (do not do this):

“The Scarlet Letter is a book by Nathaniel Hawthorne about the consequences two characters, Hester & Dimmesdale, must face after committing adultery in a Puritan village.”



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What is wrong with this topic sentence? Well, nothing on the surface. However, the student has not connected the example to his or her thesis and only describes what the literary work is about. Instead, topic sentences need to immediately connect your example to your thesis. Here are Personal Explicatory Examples of the three topic sentences I used in my privacy

essay that show how I connected each example to my thesis that “privacy is bad”:

Topic Sentence 1 - Dimmesdale’s lack of confession and secretiveness drive him to insanity and show how privacy is a vice in The Scarlet Letter. Topic Sentence 2 – Another paradigm that prominently displays the detrimental effects of privacy is the lack of knowledge America had about the Holocaust while it was taking place. Topic Sentence 3 – A situation that parallels that of World War II and shows the negative effects of privacy is the current condition of North Korea. Notice how I use different words in each topic sentence to restate my same basic thesis: “privacy is bad.” I also state that each example proves my point. Referring back and always connecting examples to your thesis,



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especially in topic sentences, will help bring coherency and organization to your SAT Essay. SAT Essay Superb Strategy #7: Always use the active voice in your essay, not

the passive voice. What is the active voice? In an active sentence, the subject is doing the action. The active voice is often in the form: [Subject doing verb]….[Verb done by subject]…[Object] Here are some Explicatory Examples of the active voice: “[John] [caught] [the ball].” “[The dog] [scared] [the baby].” “[The note] [reminded] [me] of my appointment.” “[The politicians] [have agreed] on [the policy].” Notice how the subject of active sentences does the action of the verb, while the object of active sentences receives the action of the verb. On the SAT Essay, make sure that your sentences begin with subjects that are performing the verbs. What is the passive voice? In a passive sentence, the subject is receiving the action. The passive voice is often in the form: [Subject]….[Verb done by object]…[Object doing verb] Here are some Explicatory Examples of the passive voice: “[The ball] was [caught] by [John].”



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“[The baby] was [scared] by [the dog].” “[I] was [reminded] of my appointment by [the note].” “[The policy] [has been agreed] upon by [the politicians].” Notice how the subject of passive sentences receives the action of a verb, while the object of passive sentences performs the action of a verb. Also note, most passive voice sentences contain the preposition “by.” If you find that you are often placing an object doing a verb after “by,” just change that object to the subject of the sentence to make it active. This will assure the verb comes after the noun performing the action. Passive voice is seen as wordy and awkward on the SAT, so try to use the active voice! SAT Essay Superb Strategy #8: Use transitions to improve the coherency and

flow of your essay. Transitions are an important aspect of writing because they signal relationships between ideas. You should incorporate at least 3-4 transitions into your SAT Essay. Not only will they assist you in developing your own thoughts, but they will also help the reader quickly comprehend where you are going in your essay. Here are some Personal Explicatory Examples of transitions I would often use in my practice SAT Essays in high school: Transitions to further explain “Furthermore,” “Moreover,”



“Additionally,” “Therefore,” Transitions that introduce examples: “For example,” “Another paradigm…” “For instance,” Transitions to compare similar ideas: “Similarly,” “Accordingly,” Transitions to contrast dissimilar ideas “Nevertheless…” “Although…” “On the other hand,” “Conversely,” “However,” Transitions to conclude “In conclusion,” “In summation,” “Finally,” “Consequently,”


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Transitions can also help you get unstuck. If you get writer’s block during your essay, just think of a few of the above transitions. Immediately, ideas should come into your mind about where to take the direction of your essay next! SAT Essay Superb Strategy #9: Don’t get personal.

Do not use any of the following words in your SAT Essay: “I, me, you, our, we, us, myself, yourself, ourselves” Using any of the above words in your essay could be detrimental to your score. Even if the essay topic asks something like: “Should we follow leaders?” You still should not use “we” in your essay. Instead, you should write about “society” or “civilization.” You now have all of the SAT Essay Superb Strategies necessary to impress and amaze your readers on the SAT Essay, but you’re not done yet! You still need to figure out what you are going to write about!?



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E ES MA SS SA AY YM AT TE ER RIIA AL L So what examples should you use in your essay to support your thesis? Most students have no idea. Good news for you though, I am going to tell you exactly what material you need to build your SAT Essay with. In the ideal situation, you need to use 1 example from a literary work (book/poem/short story), 1 example from a historical event/character, and 1 example from a current event. However, you may use 2 literary works & 1 historical event, 2 current events & 1 literary work, or mix and match if you cannot think of 1 solid example of each type. What is important though is that you have 3 examples total from these categories. Now, you might be worried because you know that there is no way you can think of such varied, academic examples in under 25 minutes. Don’t worry, I have more good news: you will not have to think of any examples during the exam. You will already have your examples ready before you enter the testing room!

In order for this to happen, you will need to prepare a list of 4-7 literary works, 4-7 historical events/characters, and 4-7 current events to put into the Essay section of your Routine Review Notebook . The list should consist of examples that you have a thorough knowledge of. Many of the literary works can come from your English class. Have you read a novel, short story, or poem recently in class (does not matter if the work is well known or not)? If so,



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put it in your list. And if you are currently taking a history class, you can use the events, anecdotes, and characters you learn about in lecture as examples for your list as well. If you do not already read the news, you should check out the headlines once or twice a week and pick stories that interest you to add to your list. You do not need to complete your list in one sitting. Depending on how much time you have, you can add 2 or 3 examples to your list every day, week, or even month! Do it at your own pace. Once you have your list of 12-20 examples ready, you are prepared for any SAT Essay topic. You should be able to apply at least 3 of your examples to any SAT prompt you see. This works because SAT Essay topics are so general that you can find a connection between the examples you know and the topic given. But the key is to know each of your examples in depth enough that you can focus on a certain aspect of your example so that it is applicable to the topic. This process takes out the work of ever having to think of spontaneous examples off the top of your head during the exam! Not only will you have a wide array of intelligent examples, but you will also be able to cite specific details such as authors, characters, settings, plots, timeframes, etc. which will be very impressive to your reader.



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*Note: Do not use a personal experience to serve as an example for your essay. No matter how moving or traumatizing your personal experience may be, readers will almost always grade students that use convincing literary, historical, and current event evidence higher than students that use their own stories.



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M MY OW MA YO W N NM AT TE ER RIIA AL L Now, to help you get a better idea of exactly what kind of examples are good for your list, I have included a Personal Explicatory Example of the full list of examples I made in high school that I knew I could use for the SAT Essay. (Note: Many of these examples I learned in my specific English and U.S. History classes so you may not be familiar with them, which is perfectly okay.)

Literary Works 1. “To Build a Fire” by Jack London 2. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding 3. Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne 4. 1984 by George Orwell 5. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 6. “Araby” by James Joyce 7. A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 8. The Odyssey by Homer 9. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 10. “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost



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11. Night by Elie Wiesel 12. The Crucible by Arthur Miller Historical Events / Characters 1. Thomas Jefferson 2. Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaron Burr 3. Andrew Jackson 4. Benedict Arnold & General Braddock 5. Eli Whitney’s cotton gin 6. American neutrality & Woodrow Wilson Current Events 1. North Korea – Kim Jung Il 2. Bird Flu 3. Hurricane Katrina 4. Gay Marriage in Spain 5. Creation of more efficient energy sources Notice that I had many more literary examples than historical or current events. This is completely fine. If you are a history whiz, you can have more



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historical events as your examples. If you are addicted to the newspaper, you can have more current events as your examples. It’s really up to you. The exact numbers do not matter as much as having solid examples for each category. However, your list is not done yet. For each example in your list, you will need to make an “entry” in your Routine Review Notebook that consists of details about the item. Structure your entries as I did in these Personal Explicatory Examples below:

Literary Works Title: The Great Gatsby Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald Time Period: Early part of the twentieth century Setting: Long Island Main Characters: Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, & Daisy Key Facts: -Gatsby built a fortune by bootlegging alcohol -Gatsby’s goal: to court Daisy -Gatsby throws lavish parties for upper social class, but doesn’t even know many of the guests -Gatbsy is fooled into thinking he is popular -His attempt to please everyone is futile and he ends up a sad & lonely man Historical Events / Characters Event/Character: American neutrality & Woodrow Wilson Time Period: WWI / early part of the twentieth century



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Key Facts: -Many criticized America for staying neutral during the majority of WWI -Woodrow Wilson stuck to the tenet established by George Washington in the War of 1812 that America should stay out of foreign wars. -Wilson made a “Proclamation of Neutrality” in what was called “the war to end all wars” -Many activists protested Wilson’s proclamation and he was criticized harshly -Woodrow Wilson stood his ground and did not concern himself with trivial opponents, and in the end was successful…because Germany and Allies bought supplies from us. Current Events Event: Creation of more efficient energy sources in the resource-expending society we live in today Key Facts: -BP, Beyond Petroleum, is creating photovoltaic cells that will change the way society is run. -World’s petroleum supply is estimated to run out in 40yrs -However, with hydrogen and solar powered machinery, we may be able to save some of that petroleum for longer -Brazil, one of the most populous countries in the world, is beginning to run cars on ethanol, an extract from corn. -Reusable energy benefits the environment and preserves petroleum supplies



-Britain is another country that is beginning to have cars that run on ethanol + gas The more detail you include about each entry, the better. Once you have completed your entries, review them once a week so that you stay familiar with the examples you are going to use on your SAT Essay.


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W TH TH W R ES BE YO SE TO RIIT TE E T HE EE SS SA AY YB EF F O OR RE EY OU US EE E T HE ET OP PIIC C!! Now you might be skeptical of this section’s claim. How could you possibly write your essay before you see a topic? Well, the truth is you can probably write about 70% of your essay before you ever set foot into the testing room! You know the format and examples you will use on your SAT Essay, which already puts you ahead of most SAT test-takers. Now, I am going to give you the most powerful device that will allow you to know most of what you are going to write before you see a topic: The Essay “Skeleton.” Essay Skeletons will serve as the barebones of your essay that remain

the same no matter what topic you are faced with. There are certain parts of the essay that you can build an Essay Skeleton for including: the introduction, the topic sentence of each body paragraph, and the conclusion. Back in high school after I took many practice SAT Essays, I discovered that I could build Essay Skeletons that were identical from essay to essay. I realized that I could

begin and end any SAT Essay in the same way, and I saved loads of time. The amazing advantage of Essay Skeletons is that they do not have to change. The Essay Skeletons can remain the same every single time you take a practice SAT as well as when you take the real exam because the grader has never read your essay before. No creativity needed!



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SAT Essay Superb Strategy #10: Build Essay Skeletons for the introduction,

topic sentences, and conclusion of every SAT Essay you ever write. To clarify exactly what I mean by “ Essay Skeletons ” I have included Personal Explicatory Examples of the actual ones I used in high school below.

Introduction Skeleton “The presupposition that ___(Topic)____ is a categorical truth/false. Although some advocates of ___(Side you are against)__ would argue ___(What opponents would say)___, these romantic critics are too dogmatic in their provincial ideology. (Add a general sentence regarding topic here). Three prominent archetypes that exemplify how ____(Side you believe in)___ are __Example 1 __, __Example 2___, and __Example 3___.” Introduction Skeleton in Action (On topic regarding challenging authority) “The presupposition that challenging authority only makes a society stronger is a categorical truth. Although some advocates of a powerful, central government would argue that a strong authority is what maintains a stable society, these romantic critics are too dogmatic in their provincial ideology. When a civilization is repressed, denizens have no choice but to rebel against authority. Three prominent archetypes that exemplify how defying power enriches a society are Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the communist state of North Korea, and George Orwell’s 1984.” Topic Sentence Skeletons



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“Set in the early/middle/late part of _XXth century, _(Your Example)_ illustrates how _(Restatement of your Thesis)_." "Another paradigm that prominently displays _(Restatement of your Thesis)_ is _(Your Example)_." “Yet another archetype of __(Restatement of your Thesis)__ is established in __(Your Example)__.” Topic Sentence Skeletons in Action “Set in the early part of the 20th century, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby illustrates how the accumulation of wealth actually engenders distress rather than happiness.” “Another paradigm that prominently displays the detrimental effects of privacy is the lack of knowledge America had about the Holocaust while it was taking place.” “Yet another archetype of when challenging authority only fortifies a society is established in George Orwell’s dystopian society of 1984. Conclusion Skeleton In summation, the notion that ___(Side you are against)__ is a fallacy that will often end in failure. It is only by __(Restatement of your thesis)__ that one/society can achieve success/happiness. Conclusion Skeleton in Action



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In summation, the notion that the pursuit of success will result in jubilation and triumph is a fallacy that will often end in failure. It is only by naturally pursuing one’s passion that one can achieve happiness. Now it is your turn to build your own Essay Skeletons that will serve as the templates for your SAT Essay success! Notice some of key aspects of my Essay Skeletons that you should keep in mind when building yours:

The first sentence in my introduction is my thesis The thesis is very straightforward so that my position is clear to the reader The introduction includes many SAT “intelligent” words such as “presupposition,” “provincial,” “romantic,” “ideology,” etc. I include the opposite point of view in my introduction and then shoot it down The SAT loves when you can counter the other side’s opinion because it shows depth of thought The conclusion is short and straight to the point If you are having trouble finding the inspiration necessary to build an Essay Skeleton, do not worry. You will find that your Essay Skeleton will come

to you as you practice doing more timed SAT Essays. In addition, you can use aspects of my Essay Skeletons ! Doing so will not hurt your essay score. This is because the SAT is a standardized test. Essays scored years ago must be



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graded the same as essays written now. In addition, the Official SAT Scoring Guide does not have “creativity” listed as a criterion for grading! We are really beating the test now aren’t we? Essay Skeletons will save you 5-10 minutes other students would waste

thinking of an introduction, topic sentences, and a conclusion. Extra time that you will have to stuff your body paragraphs with clever insights and facts so you can fill up those two pages!



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M MY AC CT TU UA AL L 2 24 40 00 0S SA AT TE ES YA SS SA AY Y Now that you have everything you need to ace the SAT Essay, it is time for you to see how I incorporated all of the 2400 Expert Superb Strategies into my SAT Essay. Below is the actual essay I wrote when I got a 2400 on the October 2006 administration of the SAT. The essay received a score of 12 (It is also possible to get an 800 on the Writing section with an essay score of 10 or 11 if you do well enough on the multiple choice section). The topic of the essay was about questioning those in authority.

The presupposition that it is necessary and important to challenge the tenets of those with authority is an absolute truth. Although some naive critics would argue that those in power are impeccable, they are too dogmatic in their provincial ideology. Three classic archetypes that show why questioning power is important are Vincent Bugliosi’s The Betrayal of America, George Orwell’s 1984, and the current state of conditions in North Korea.



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In The Betrayal of America, Bugliosi engenders a compelling argument which justifies how challenging authority, in this case The Supreme Court, is not only important but also necessary. He questions the basis of the Bush v. Gore Ruling on December 11, 2000 which ruled that a recount in Florida violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment rendering all undervotes in Florida impotent. This inevitably handed the election to George Bush. Bugliosi makes point after point on how this decision was politically motivated by the far right wing and clearly absurd. For example, the five conservative justices would have never stopped a recount if it would have favored Gore, and they most certainly do not favor the equal protection clause unless it is to shoot down affirmative action plans. Not to mention they included a clause that made Bush v. Gore the only Supreme Court case to ever not be referenced again. Even in a society as judicial as our own and a matter as large as the presidency, Bugliosi proves that those in authority must be challenged due to their sometimes ludicrous and self-interested decisions.



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Another paradigm which exemplifies the significance of impeaching authority can be seen in the protagonist Winston in 1984. Although Winston is a member of the Outer Party, he still rebels silently by writing his journal in his room against the Inner Party. He is unable to quite comprehend the injustices and machinations inflicted upon him because of his lack of memory. Nevertheless, he knows that there were better times before and rebels against the authority of the Inner Party. He tries to join the underground society dedicated to undermining the party by contacting “leader” O’Brien, he makes love, and even visits an antique store where the proles live for privacy! His actions, although unknown to him, are important because they gradually pick at the Inner Party’s authority even though he fails at the end. A modern day 1984 with plenty of rebels taking action can be found in North Korea. The proletariat of North Korea is left desolate and isolated from the globe. They are unable to use cell phones, have no connection through the internet to the outside world, and the media is controlled by the government to keep them ignorant. However, this



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ignorance of utter depravity where people lie pallid and dead on the sidewalk will soon be vindicated by rebels who videotape these atrocities. Hopefully their significant challenge to authority will be successful. Ultimately, the impeachment of authority is always necessary and proper to fight against tyranny. However, even if not successful, challenging innate injustices imbedded in society is nevertheless important. -Shaan Patel Notice that my essay is far from perfect. I have many grammatical mistakes, used the passive voice in a couple sentences, and even use “our” at one point! Do not worry, the SAT graders understand that this is not a final copy of an essay and are considerate enough to look over minor errors. Furthermore, if my use of “big words” scared you because you think you are not capable of using such diction, do not fear. I was able to use so many big words because I had just memorized hundreds of vocabulary words in preparation for the SAT, which you will too! Also, notice that I strayed away from my Essay Skeleton in certain areas under the pressure of 25 minutes, which is perfectly fine for you to do as well.



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P PE PR PR ER RF F E EC CT TP RA AC CT TIIC CE EP RO OB BL L E EM MS S Congratulations! You now have all the tools to succeed on the SAT Essay and have seen me use the tools in my own 2400 Essay. Now, it is your turn to practice. Here is a list of Perfect Practice Essay Prompts for you to rehearse what you have just learned: 1 Is innovation lacking in the world? 2 Is attempting to prove others wrong a path to success? 3 Can happiness be achieved without peace? 4 Is creativity necessary in a society? 5 Should people conform to societal values? 6 Can one achieve success without struggle? 7 Is it always better to do what others agree with? 8 Should one focus on personal motives instead of societal goals? 9 Is technology hindering creativity? 10 Can humility work to your disadvantage?

Complete one or two prompts a week, depending on how much time you have before your SAT. Remember that when you practice for the SAT Essay, you need to time yourself for 25 minutes. Do this using a wristwatch that you will wear during the actual exam. This will get you in the habit of building an outline and writing quickly in order to fill up two pages. Make sure you have one notebook sheet in front of you that you will need to fill up



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both the front and back of when you practice. Do not worry if you have trouble filling up two pages in the beginning, so did I. With more and more practice, you will learn how far into your essay you need to be when 5, 10, and 20 minutes have elapsed on your wristwatch so that you can fill both pages. Make sure that you have practiced all 10 SAT Essay prompts before test day. Finally, the most important aspect of practicing for the SAT Essay is weekly Routine Review of the essays you have written. Evaluate how well you are following SAT Essay Superb Strategies and identify areas where you can improve.

Heck, once you have practiced the SAT Essay enough, you might even find yourself excited the next time your English teacher says the three words most students dread: “In class essay!”


2400Expert SAT Essay Manual

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