First things first: The new SAT Essay comes with a ton of instructions, like a full
page of them. However, the instructions are basically always the same. Read
through the standard instructions carefully on a practice test (or two or three), so
that you know what they ask and can skip reading them on the actual test. But
for now, in a nutshell, the instructions ask you to consider how the author of the
passage uses:
• Evidence, such as facts or examples, to support his or her claims.
• Reasoning to develop his or her ideas and to build an argument.
• Stylistic or persuasive elements (word choice, cadence, or appeals to
emotion) to add power to the ideas expressed.Got that? Now, after reading those instructions, we want you to do something
a little strange: Forget ’em. Actually, don’t totally delete the instructions from
your memory banks, but put them aside. We’ll come back to them later. For now,
you should kick back (not literally, the proctor will yell at you) and read this like
you would any newspaper article. Don’t go searching for stylistic moves or the
underlying argument. Just read to understand the main idea. Give it a go:
Remember—try to convince yourself that you are truly interested in the passage’s topic. It will make reading it less of a chore!
—Samantha
ADAPTED FROM BERNIE KRUMPF,
“THE REAL DANGER OF VIDEO GAMES”
© 2010 by The Mississippi Tribune. Originally published
April 10, 2010.I encountered my first physics problem in the woods of Massachusetts in
- I was six years old at the time, and wanted what all young boys
want: a stick that would travel downriver faster than my brother’s stick. I