Planning the Essay Flashcards
Develop an effective process for planning the SAT Essay. This deck will streamline your way to a well organized essay.
What should you try to accomplish in planning your SAT essay?
- Understand the assignment prompt.
- Take a position to answer it.
- Write the main sentence of the essay that directly answers the assigned prompt.
- Generate appropriate and supportable examples.
- Consider an introduction sentence or hook.
For how much time should you plan your essay?
5-7 minutes
Practice planning! The closer to 5 minutes, the more time you can devote to composition and editing.
What parts of the SAT essay page should you skip reading when you’re taking the test?
You should skip the top entirely.
It defines the goals of the essay, and has to be there since there are students who take the test with no preparation at all.
What are the two parts of the essay page upon which you need to focus?
The “assignment” prompt and maybe the quote
Look below quote for prompt. Look inside text box for quote. Always read the prompt first, but only up to the question mark. The sentences that follow tell you to:
“Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on an issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experiences, or observations.”
Read and understand them here, but never waste time reading them during the test.
Is it necessary to read the quote in the text box over this prompt?
Is lying or deception ever a right course of action?
No, you can plan immediately. No need to look at the quote.
If “deception” is not well understood, “lying” gives you enough to begin.
Many students do not often find the quote overall to be helpful to read. So, at best, it might take time away, but, at worst, it might entice you to focus on the keywords in the quote that are not in the assignment.
Is it necessary to read the quote to support the following prompt?
Do you agree that the needs of the individual must be at odds with the needs of the community?
Yes, you may benefit from reading the quote for this prompt.
The quote takes less than half a minute to read, so feel free to use it. Remember though, you answer the wording of the assignment prompt, not the wording of the quote.
Choosing words from the quote instead of the assignment prompt might be called “topic drift”. Doing this damages the score.
Is it necessary to read the quotes to support the following prompts?
(a) Is ambition a step towards nobility or a vulgar impediment to it?
(b) Do you agree with Benjamin Disraeli here?
(a) Yes, it may help to read the quote related to this prompt.
“Ambition”, “nobility”, “vulgar”, and “impediment” are four fairly tough words. Get all the help you can to get the ball rolling for this one.
(b) Obviously, you have to read this quote.
What are the keywords in the following prompt?
Is accepting a limitation of life a first step toward a better existence, or giving up a better existence?
“Accepting limitation”, “first step” or “giving up”
These words should appear in the main sentence of your first paragraph.
What should you do once you’ve identified the keywords in the prompt?
Restate each using your own words.
This technique is called “active reading” and it demonstrates that the prompt has been comprehended.
(We’ll use “active reading” again in the critical reading section.)
Read the following prompt (and the quote, if necessary) and put its keywords into your own words.
Assigment: Is the durability of friendship different within the sexes?
“Men kick friendship like a football, but it doesn’t seem to crack, women treat it like glass, and it goes all to pieces.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Does the friendship of men to men and women to women have a different level of resilience?
“Durability of friendship” refers to how well friendship stands against rough or careless treatment.
“Different within the sexes” refers to how men treat friendships among men and how women treat them among women.
What are the keywords in the following prompt?
Does thinking back on life’s accomplishments and failures do more harm than good?
“Thinking back”, “failure and accomplishment”, “harm or good”
Keywords are often nouns, verbs and adjectives.
What are the keywords in the following prompt?
Is acceptance a sign of a weak set of standards or an indication of a highly evolved person?
“Acceptance”, “sign of weak standards”, “evolved person”
“Acceptance” is an abstraction here. You may need to read the quote before forming your main sentence.
What is the first step in composing your main sentence of the opening paragraph?
Take a definite stand.
In most cases, either side of an argument can be well supported. So pick your side and get on with planning!
How do you pick which side of the issue to support?
Pick the side for which you can quickly produce the better examples that you think will please your essay’s graders.
The best examples from literature or history are those that demonstrates you can apply the knowledge that you acquired to real life.
What makes a good main sentence to an SAT essay?
A good main sentence takes clear position, uses keywords from the prompt (not from the quote), and some explanation why you hold this position.
Example: The needs of the individual should always take precedence over the needs of the group, because creativity and innovation are in the domain of the individual.
How can you maximize the effectiveness of your main sentence?
Write the sentence fully in your planning space, then review it and rewrite it on your essay.
The main sentence is so important that it’s worth the time to rewrite.
Which is a better answer to…
“Do the powerful have complete freedom to do as they wish?”
(a) To an extent, power grants certain licentious freedoms, but power still comes from supporters who must be satisfied.
(b) The more power a person has, the more his or her freedom dominates.
(a) is the better main sentence.
Main sentence (a) takes a qualified stand with strong word choices and provides a basis for why freedom is limited even for the powerful.
Main sentence (b) restates the question but provides no hint as to why.
Which is better for…
“Do you agree that the more difficult something is to achieve the more we value it?”
(a) When we struggle to earn something by our own worth, we value it much more than we would if someone just handed it to us.
(b) While we value things that serve our needs, we cherish those things that were difficult to attain, because they reflect our own qualities and worth.
(b) is the better sentence.
While both are strong enough to be used in an essay, “b” has better wording (“cherish”, “reflect”) and doesn’t suffer from unoriginal phrasing (“just handed it to us”).
These types of improvements often come on a second writing of the main sentence.
Which is a better for…
“Does persistence bring success to a greater degree than education, talent, or genius?”
(a) Persistence provides the most consistent opportunity for success, more so than talent, genius or education, because success requires action, not just potential.
(b) Persistence pays off when it comes to success more than education, talent, or genius, because it is rarefied.
(a) is the better sentence.
Sentence “a” is clear, on point, and reasonable with good word choices (“consistent”, “potential”).
Sentence “b” gets a little loose with the language (“pays off”), misuses a word (“rarefied”), and is illogical.
Where do you find examples to support your main sentence?
Prior knowledge and experience
History and literature are best, but personal experience and even popular culture are sometimes the right way to go.
How many examples should you try to generate during planning?
5 to 6
Though you’ll only need 2-3, and your gut should tell you if you’ve come up with a really strong example. However, options in writing never hurt.
When should you stop trying to come up with examples?
When you feel that two or three examples in the planning space are strong and about five minutes have passed.
At the five minute point, you are beginning to lose time in composition, so be shrewd about adding examples as options here. If the ones you have are strong enough, go with them.
