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The Essay You will have 25 minutes to write your essay. The
biggest mistake you can make is to just start writing. When you look at
the way the essay is graded you will see that organization is important.
If you take just five minutes to organize your essay you will improve
your score greatly. You must
write your essay in the space provided on your answer sheet. Remember:
you paid for this test; use the test booklet to write your outline. Find
a blank space in which to organize your thoughts. Read the
prompt carefully, and make sure you write on the topic given. Essays not
on topic will receive a zero. Decide your
viewpoint on the topic. If you have trouble focusing on the main
point, try completing this sentence: "When people finish reading my
essay, I want them to understand that…." The words you use to
fill in that blank might well become part of your thesis statement. Spend five
minutes on planning. Use your test booklet to create a quick
sentence outline. Begin with the thesis from the approach above. You
have only 25 minutes to write your essay, so don't spend too much time
outlining. A little planning time, however, may be essential to make
sure that your essay does not wander off topic or stray from your
focused thesis statement. Vary the
sentence structure in your writing. Good writing uses a variety of
sentence types to make the writing more interesting while showing the
relationships between ideas. To give your prose a mature character, vary
the sentence structure that communicates how your ideas are related to
each other. Use clear, precise, and appropriate vocabulary.
Appropriate words are accurate and specific, not necessarily long and
obscure. Leave time to review what you've written. Although you won't have time for full-scale revision, do leave a few minutes for rereading your essay and making minor changes in the wording or even in the structure of what you have written Follow these
steps:
Directions for the Essay section
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. 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
assignment below: A sense of happiness and fulfillment, not personal gain, is the best
motivation and reward for one's achievements. Expecting a reward of
wealth or recognition for achieving a goal can lead to disappointment
and frustration. If we want to be happy in what we do in life, we should
not seek achievement for the sake of winning wealth and fame. The
personal satisfaction of a job well done is its own reward. Assignment: Are people motivated to achieve by personal satisfaction
rather than by money or fame? 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, experience, or
observations. Scoring
Guide
SAT
Writing essays are scored by experienced high school teachers and
college faculty members who primarily teach English, composition, or
language arts courses, or who teach a course in another subject that
requires a substantial amount of writing. Readers
will use the Scoring Guide in conjunction with sample essays selected
for training. The Scoring Guide provides a consistent and coherent
framework for differentiating between score points. Each
essay will be scored independently by two qualified readers on a scale
of 1 to 6, with 6 being the highest score. The combined score for both
readers will range from 2 to12. If the two readers' scores are more than
one point apart, a third reader resolves the discrepancy. SCORE
OF 6
An
essay in this category is outstanding, demonstrating clear and
consistent mastery, although it may have a few minor errors. A
typical essay §
effectively and insightfully develops a point
of view on the issue and demonstrates outstanding critical thinking,
using clearly appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to
support its position §
is well organized and clearly focused,
demonstrating clear coherence and smooth progression of ideas §
exhibits skillful use of language, using a
varied, accurate, and apt vocabulary §
demonstrates meaningful variety in sentence
structure §
is free of most errors in grammar, usage, and
mechanics SCORE
OF 5
An
essay in this category is effective, demonstrating reasonably
consistent mastery, although it will have occasional errors or
lapses in quality. A typical essay §
effectively develops a point of view on the
issue and demonstrates strong critical thinking, generally using
appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its
position §
is well organized and focused, demonstrating
coherence and progression of ideas §
exhibits facility in the use of language,
using appropriate vocabulary §
demonstrates variety in sentence structure §
is generally free of most errors in grammar,
usage, and mechanics SCORE
OF 4
An
essay in this category is competent, demonstrating adequate
mastery, although it will have lapses in quality. A typical essay §
develops a point of view on the issue and
demonstrates competent critical thinking, using adequate examples,
reasons, and other evidence to support its position §
is generally organized and focused,
demonstrating some coherence and progression of ideas §
exhibits adequate but inconsistent facility in
the use of language, using generally appropriate vocabulary §
demonstrates some variety in sentence
structure §
has some errors in grammar, usage, and
mechanics SCORE
OF 3
An
essay in this category is inadequate, but demonstrates developing
mastery, and is marked by one or more of the following
weaknesses: §
develops a point of view on the issue,
demonstrating some critical thinking, but may do so inconsistently or
use inadequate examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its
position §
is limited in its organization or focus, or
may demonstrate some lapses in coherence or progression of ideas §
displays developing facility in the use of
language, but sometimes uses weak vocabulary or inappropriate word
choice §
lacks variety or demonstrates problems in
sentence structure §
contains an accumulation of errors in grammar,
usage, and mechanics SCORE
OF 2
An
essay in this category is seriously limited, demonstrating little
mastery, and is flawed by one or more of the following
weaknesses: §
develops a point of view on the issue that is
vague or seriously limited, and demonstrates weak critical thinking,
providing inappropriate or insufficient examples, reasons, or other
evidence to support its position §
is poorly organized and/or focused, or
demonstrates serious problems with coherence or progression of ideas §
displays very little facility in the use of
language, using very limited vocabulary or incorrect word choice §
demonstrates frequent problems in sentence
structure §
contains errors in grammar, usage, and
mechanics so serious that meaning is somewhat obscured SCORE
OF 1
An
essay in this category is fundamentally lacking, demonstrating very
little or no mastery, and is severely flawed by one or
more of the following weaknesses: §
develops no viable point of view on the issue,
or provides little or no evidence to support its position §
is disorganized or unfocused, resulting in a
disjointed or incoherent essay §
displays fundamental errors in vocabulary §
demonstrates severe flaws in sentence
structure §
contains pervasive errors in grammar, usage,
or mechanics that persistently interfere with meaning SCORE
OF 0
Essays
not written on the essay assignment will receive a score of zero. Samples of Essays Score: 6 Essay
Even though we live in a capitalist society, I still
cannot help but believe, despite my own cynicism, that people are more
motivated to achieve something for personal satisfaction rather than
monetary gains. Look at Chekov's short story, "The Bet." A man
agrees to sacrifice fifteen years of his life in prison in exchange for
a million dollars. Obviously his motivation for such an extreme bet is
wealth, but by the end of the prison sentence, the man could care less
about the money. After years of introspection, of reading Shakespeare,
The Bible, and textbooks, the man actually comes to despise the money he
once sought; the money he signed away fifteen years of his life for. He
does not collect his money from the banker, he runs away to be on his
own and continue to live the life of solitude he has learned to love,
free of money and possessions. Also, in a psychology class, one of the first things
students study when they come to the topic of motivation, is external
stimulus versus personal drive. Any textbook will tell one that studies
show that a child is more likely to put as much energy as possible into
completing a task when it is something that makes him happy, than if he
was doing it for a physical reward. A child is more likely to get good
grades, if it makes him feel good about himself, than if his parents
offer to pay him every time he makes the honor roll. I agree with this
theory on motivation because I see it play out everyday in my life. If
my older sister had been concerned with money and fame, which reality
television tells us every night is important, she would have gone to
college after graduating high school. She knew though, that school and
learning did not make her happy, and she was not going to suffer through
four more years of school just because a college degree could lead to a
more successful job. Right now she does not make as much money at her
job, but she likes her life and the way she lives; she has more fun
answering phones and dealing with other people at work than she would
behind a desk in a classroom. This past year I myself have been forced
to look at my priorities as well. I have worked hard in school all my
life and have made honor roll semester after semester, because I enjoy
it. I have not filled up my schedule with classes I did not want because
calculus and economics look good on a college transcript. I had a high
enough GPA to join the National Honor Society, but I chose not to join
because even though it might have impressed some admissions officers, it
was not something that was going to make me happy. Instead I spend my
time studying Creative Writing, Art History, and the other subjects I
feel truly passionate about. There is a pleasure principle in psychology, which
basically means that one will do whatever will make them most happy or
least unhappy. I think that is true, and I feel that the happiness most
people seek out is not about money or luxury. Maybe it looks like that
from the media, because advertising says that people want to be like
Donald Trump, but that is not real life. Real life is my next door
neighbor who gardens as a second job for small fees because he loves to
be outside, working with his hands in the nice weather. I am sure no one
would mind winning the lottery, but to say that it is our primary
motivator in life is sad and untrue. A person who is happy and making
minimum wage is likely to live longer than someone who spends his or her
life working sixty four hour weeks at a stressful job to make money hand
over fist. Are some people very driven by money? Yes. Is that more
important than the personal satisfaction that comes from doing something
good? Literature, psychology, and our personal lives tell us no, and I
hope it stays that way. Why
this Essay Received a Score of 6
This outstanding essay insightfully and effectively
develops the point of view that, "Even though we live in a
capitalist society, I still cannot help but believe ... that people are
more motivated to achieve something for personal satisfaction rather
than monetary gains." The writer demonstrates outstanding critical
thinking by focusing on clearly appropriate examples from
"Literature, psychology, and our personal lives" to support
this position. The essay begins by describing Chekhov's "The
Bet" as a short story that, through its main character's changed
priorities after "years of introspection" in prison,
ultimately places higher value on a "life of solitude ... free of
money and possessions" than on wealth. The writer continues to
demonstrate outstanding critical thinking by offering as evidence the
psychological principle of "external stimulus versus personal
drive" and several examples of how this principle has been borne
out in a sister's and the writer's own lives. The essay concludes by
once again drawing on psychology, this time the concept of the
"pleasure principle," to reinforce the idea that "the
happiness most people seek out is not about money or luxury" but in
"the personal satisfaction that comes from doing something
good." This well-organized and clearly focused essay demonstrates
coherence and progression of ideas. The essay consistently exhibits
skillful use of language and demonstrates meaningful variety in sentence
structure ("After years of introspection, of reading Shakespeare, The
Bible, and textbooks, the man actually comes to despise the money he
once sought; the money he signed away fifteen years of his life
for"). Thus, this essay demonstrates clear and consistent mastery
and is scored a 6. Score: 1 Essay
My view of the idea that it is personal satisfaction
rather than money or fame that motivates people to achieve is sometimes
wrong because in sports some people do it for personal satisfaction
because they love the game and some people do it for the money because
it pays well. For example, in the NFL there are two types of people, one
plays for the check and the other plays for the ring. Why
this Essay Received a Score of 1
Offering little evidence to support the writer's point of
view ("My view of the idea that it is personal satisfaction rather
than money or fame that motivates people to achieve is sometimes
wrong"), this response is fundamentally lacking. The sparse
supporting evidence provided is weak ("in sports some people do it
for personal satisfaction because they love the game and some people do
it for the money") and repetitive ("For example, in the NFL
there are two types of people, one plays for the check and the other
plays for the ring"). The essay consists of only two sentences, and
one of these sentences displays flawed structure ("My view of the
idea that it is personal satisfaction rather than money or fame that
motivates people to achieve is sometimes wrong because in sports some
people do it for personal satisfaction because they love the game and
some people do it for the money because it pays well"). To merit a
higher score, this essay needs to exhibit more control over sentence
structure as well as demonstrate stronger critical thinking by providing
further focused and detailed evidence to adequately develop the point of
view. Overall, this essay demonstrates very little mastery and is scored
a 1.
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