SAT Essay Outline & Tips

Total time: 50min

Total Score: Writing 8 marks / Reading 8 marks / Analyze 8 marks

Writing an SAT essay consists of four major stages:

1. Reading: 5-10 minutes

2. Analyzing & Planning: 7-12 minutes
3. Writing: 25-35 minutes
4. Revising: 2-3 minutes

1. Introduction and Conclusion

Both should briefly mention the author’s argument and the examples you're using to
support your thesis, but everything else is up to you. Some students write about the
concept in general, and others just try to restate the thesis in different ways. Even a
couple of sentences is better than nothing—try to scribble something in even if you're
running out of time.

Sample Introduction Paragraph

In the article “Foreign News at a Crisis Point,” Peter S. Goodman eloquently argues that
news organizations should increase the amount of professional foreign news coverage
provided to people in the United States. Goodman builds his argument by using facts
and evidence, addressing the counterarguments, and couching it all in persuasive and
compelling language.

2. Body Paragraphs (2~3 Paragraphs)

Start with a transition:

In addition to employing facts to his argument’s advantage, Goodman also cunningly

discusses the counterargument to his position.

Then (briefly) introduce your topic:

 By writing about how social media and man-on-the-ground reporting has assisted the
state of foreign news reporting, Goodman heads off naysayers at the pass.

Explain the example’s context and relationship to your thesis:

It would have been very easy for Goodman to ignore the whole issue of citizen
reporting, but the resultant one-sided argument would have been much less
convincing. Instead, Goodman acknowledges things like “the force of social media
during the Arab Spring, as activists convened and reacted to changing circumstances.”
As a result, when he partially refutes this counterargument, stating the “unease” many
longtime profession correspondents feel over the trend of ‘citizen journalism’ feel, the
reader agrees.

Clearly state, in one sentence, how it is proof of your thesis:

Knowing that Goodman takes the power of social media seriously will make the reader
more inclined, in turn, to take Goodman’s concern about the limits of social media
seriously.

Body Paragraphs Outline

P: Point
E: Explanation
E: Example
L: Link
 Tips for Writing an SAT Essay

#1: Give a Clear Thesis

The SAT essay rubric states: "The response includes a precise central claim.”

What this means is that your essay needs to make a clear argument that the reader can
easily identify. All you have to do to create your "precise central claim" is to identify the
main idea of the passage and list the methods the author uses to support it.

#2: Include Both an Introduction and a Conclusion

The SAT essay rubric states: "The response includes a skillful introduction and conclusion.”

Including an introduction paragraph in your essay is absolutely essential to getting a

Writing score above a 4 (out of 8). The introduction paragraph introduces the reader to
what you’ll be talking about and allows you to set up the structure for the rest of the essay.
Plus, an introduction can be a pretty good indicator of the quality for the rest of the
essay—a poorly constructed introduction is often a warning that the essay that follows
will be equally discombobulated.

It's best to have both an introduction and a conclusion, but if you’re running short on time
and can only have one, definitely pick the introduction. The main reason for this is that a
good introduction includes your thesis statement. For the SAT essay, your thesis (or your
"precise central claim") should be a statement about what devices the author uses to build
her/his argument.

Introductions can be tricky to write, because whatever you write in that paragraph can
then make you feel like you’re locked into writing just about that. If you’re struggling with
the introduction paragraph, leave yourself 10 blank lines at the beginning of the essay and
jump into writing your body paragraphs. Just make sure you remember to go back and
write in your introduction before time’s up!

#3: Use Effective Language and Word Choice

The SAT essay rubric states: “The response has a wide variety in sentence structures. The
response demonstrates a consistent use of precise word choice. The response maintains a formal
style and objective tone.”
This basically boils down to: don't be repetitive and don't make grammar mistakes. In
addition, you should avoid using first person statements like "I" or "My" in the essay, along
with any other informality. You're writing the equivalent of a school paper, not an opinion
piece.

Bad (Too informal):

“I think that Sam’s super persuasive in this article cause she’s just so passionate. It
made me feel kinda bad that I don’t really monster it up in my everyday life.”

Good (Formal):

“Lindsay’s passionate defense of how drawing monsters 'allows us to laugh at our

personal foibles' causes her audience to put themselves in her shoes and empathize
with her position.”

Try to use different words to describe the same idea—don't use "shows" 15 times. Take the
chance to show off your vocabulary (if, and only if, the vocabulary is appropriate and makes
sense). This component is the biggest reason why revising your SAT Essay is essential—it's
fast and easy to change repeated words to other ones after you're finished, but it can slow
you down during writing to worry about your word choice. If you're aiming for a top score,
using advanced vocabulary appropriately is vital.

#4: Only Use Information From the Passage

All the relevant information is in the passage, so avoid getting drawn into the topic and
using your outside knowledge—you want to be sure to show that you’ve read the passage.

In real life, there are many ways to support a thesis, depending on the topic. But on the
SAT, there's one kind of correct support: specific details drawn from the passage you’re
asked to analyze.

#5: Focus Your Essay on Relevant Details

You don’t have to mention every single detail that makes the argument effective. In fact,
your essay will be more coherent and more likely to score higher in Analysis if you focus
your discussion on just a few points. It's more important to show that you're able to pick
out the most important parts of the argument and explain their function, that is to be able
to identify every single persuasive device the author used.
#6: You Should Write More Than One Page

This has always been true for the SAT essay, but for the first time ever, the College Board
actually came out in The Official SAT Study Guide and explicitly said that length really does
matter. Here's the description of a one-paragraph, 120-word-long student response that
received a Writing score of 2/8 (bolding mine).

“Due to the brief nature of the response, there is not enough evidence of writing ability
to merit a score higher than 1. Overall, this response demonstrates inadequate
writing.” (source: The Official SAT Study Guide, p. 176)

You’ll have one page for (ungraded) scrap paper that you can use to plan out your essay,
and four pages of writing paper for the essay—plan on writing at least two pages for your
essay.

#7: Support Your Points With Concrete Evidence From the Passage

The best way to get a high Reading score for your essay is to quote from the passage
appropriately to support your points. This shows not only that you’ve read the passage
(without your having to summarize the passage at all), but also that you understand what
the author is saying and the way the author constructed her argument.

As an alternative to using direct quotations from the passage, it’s also okay to paraphrase
some of what you discuss. If you are explaining the author's argument in your own words,
however, you need to be extra careful to make sure that the facts you're stating are
accurate—in contrast to scoring on the old SAT essay, scoring on the new SAT essay takes
into account factual inaccuracies and penalizes you for them.

#8: Keep Your Essay Organized

The SAT essay rubric states: “The response demonstrates a deliberate and highly effective
progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay.”

The main point to take away from this is that you should follow the standard structure for
an SAT essay (introduction-body-body-conclusion). Using a basic four- to five-paragraph
essay structure.

Furthermore, you should connect each paragraph to each other through effective
transitions.
Examples of Evidence
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.

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

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[.]

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 their
own personal experience or personal experience of someone they know or have heard of,
that's anecdotal evidence.

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.
How Can You Identify It?

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.

“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.
Model Student Response

In response to our world’s growing reliance on artificial light, writer Paul Bogard argues
that natural darkness should be preserved in his article “Let There be Dark”. He effectively
builds his argument by using a personal anecdote, allusions to art and history, and
rhetorical questions.

Bogard starts his article off by recounting a personal story – a summer spent on a
Minnesota lake where there was “woods so dark that [his] hands disappeared before [his]
eyes.” In telling this brief anecdote, Bogard challenges the audience to remember a time
where they could fully amass themselves in natural darkness void of artificial light. By
drawing in his readers with a personal encounter about night darkness, the author means
to establish the potential for beauty, glamour, and awe-inspiring mystery that genuine
darkness can possess. He builds his argument for the preservation of natural darkness by
reminiscing for his readers a first-hand encounter that proves the “irreplaceable value of
darkness.” This anecdote provides a baseline of sorts for readers to find credence with the
author’s claims.

Bogard’s argument is also furthered by his use of allusion to art – Van Gogh’s “Starry
Night” – and modern history – Paris’ reputation as “The City of Light”. By first referencing
“Starry Night”, a painting generally considered to be undoubtedly beautiful, Bogard
establishes that the natural magnificence of stars in a dark sky is definite. A world absent
of excess artificial light could potentially hold the key to a grand, glorious night sky like Van
Gogh’s according to the writer. This urges the readers to weigh the disadvantages of our
world consumed by unnatural, vapid lighting. Furthermore, Bogard alludes to Paris as “the
famed ‘city of light’”. He then goes on to state how Paris has taken steps to exercise more
sustainable lighting practices. By doing this, Bogard creates a dichotomy between Paris’
traditionally alluded-to name and the reality of what Paris is becoming – no longer “the
city of light”, but moreso “the city of light…before 2 AM”. This furthers his line of
argumentation because it shows how steps can be and are being taken to preserve natural
darkness. It shows that even a city that is literally famous for being constantly lit can
practically address light pollution in a manner that preserves the beauty of both the city
itself and the universe as a whole.

Finally, Bogard makes subtle yet efficient use of rhetorical questioning to persuade his
audience that natural darkness preservation is essential. He asks the readers to consider
“what the vision of the night sky might inspire in each of us, in our children or
grandchildren?” in a way that brutally plays to each of our emotions. By asking this
question, Bogard draws out heartfelt ponderance from his readers about the affecting
power of an untainted night sky. This rhetorical question tugs at the readers’ heartstrings;
while the reader may have seen an unobscured night skyline before, the possibility that
their child or grandchild will never get the chance sways them to see as Bogard sees. This
strategy is definitively an appeal to pathos, forcing the audience to directly face an
emotionally-charged inquiry that will surely spur some kind of response. By doing this,
Bogard develops his argument, adding guttural power to the idea that the issue of
maintaining natural darkness is relevant and multifaceted.

Writing as a reaction to his disappointment that artificial light has largely permeated the
presence of natural darkness, Paul Bogard argues that we must preserve true, unaffected
darkness. He builds this claim by making use of a personal anecdote, allusions, and
rhetorical questioning.

More Model Essays: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sample-questions/essay/1