CHAPTER

6

The Not-So-Optional Essay

DOES OPTIONAL REALLY MEAN OPTIONAL?

There have been many, many changes made to the SAT Essay in the last year,
but the most glaringly obvious change is that the SAT Essay is now described as
“optional.” That’s a pretty strange description for a test section, isn’t it? Because
if the Essay Test were truly optional, then our answer would be “Thanks, but no
thanks.”
Unfortunately, describing the Essay as “optional” is exactly the same tactic
your mother uses when she wants you to do the dishes. “It is absolutely your
choice,” she says, “you’re nearly an adult, and you are free to make your own
decisions about what is fair and what is not. If you think that I have not done my