caught it on camera—it’s hilarious.
Incredulous: disbelieving, often in reaction to surprising news. Example: You’re
telling me that the moon really is made of cheese? Ha! I’ll believe it when I see
it . . . or taste it.
Jocular: joking, playful, inoffensively humorous. Example: If the moon is a ball
of cheese, I’ve eaten four moons already today.
Laudatory: praising someone or something, often to excess. Example: Your
interpretive dance was delivered with conviction, elegance, and grace; I am
convinced you are the single most talented interpretive dancer alive.
Pedantic: intended to instruct or preach, often in an unneeded or annoying way.
Example: You asked me for a copy of the magazine my short story was featured
in, but it’s actually called a literary journal. It’s a very important distinction, and
I felt it was my duty to enlighten you.
Authoritative: speaking with knowledge or experience; confidence, often
earned through specialized knowledge or experience. Example: In the course of
getting my PhD in television, I have watched the entirety of every TV show ever
made, scored them against my Super-Advanced TV Quality Criteria, and polled
literally every TV viewer in the world. Now, I can firmly say that Game of
Thrones is the best show ever.
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T HATE THE ESSAY
The new SAT Essay is not easy. It is long, and it comes at the end of a taxing
standardized test. It asks you to dig pretty deep into a text. The only way to make
this section easier is to practice. Luckily, there are a number of practice essay
prompts, as well as sample essays at collegereadiness.college
board.org/sat/inside-the-test/essay.
Difficulty aside, we here at Up Your Score think the new Essay is pretty
excellent. Here’s why: It asks you to do precisely the same kind of thinking you
will do in a college humanities course. The ability to look closely at a text, take
it apart, and discover what makes it tick will give you an enormous leg up in