Private Tutor Sat Writing 2013-2014 Prep Course

129

The Scoring ............................................................................................

Your essay will be read and graded by two live readers: Teachers or college professors who have gone through
a training program that makes them “expert” SAT graders. In other words, the system is flawed, because no
matter what set of guidelines these graders are given, there is no black-and-white, right or wrong essay. The
whole grading process is inherently subjective. This can work both for and against you.

ETS uses holistic scoring to grade your essays. Translation: Readers are told to score your essay based on the
WHOLE, as opposed to penalizing you for every little thing you do wrong. They aren’t supposed to dock points
for minor grammatical errors, although if your essay contains glaring grammatical errors or a plethora of minor
mistakes, you will be penalized. Readers are also told not to judge an essay by its length, but you can bet that
the 4 or 5 paragraph essay is going to get a higher score than the 3 paragraph one.

Here’s how it works: Two teachers give you a score on a scale of 1-6. 6 is the highest and 1 is the lowest. So if
one reader gives you a 6 and the other gives you a 6, you have an essay score of 12, which is the best possible
score. If one reader gives you a 6, and the other a 5, then you have an essay score of 11. If one reader were to give
you a 5, and the other were to give you a 3, ETS calls in a third reader to determine which score is more on target.

You are shooting for a 10 or above. Here’s why: A 10 may help your grammar score, and it for sure won’t hurt
your grammar score. A score of 9 or below will pull down a high multiple choice score (a score of 8 or 9 will
only help a very low multiple choice score).

The Guidelines:

The essay scoring guide can be found in the The Official SAT Study Guide or online at the College Board
website (www.collegeboard.org).

Let’s break down the differences between a 6, 5, 4, and so on.

• Read the Assignment and Brainstorm Examples

Note: Brainstorming your examples first helps you pick your thesis. Your thesis

should be chosen based on your strongest examples.

• Write your Thesis and Explanation of your Thesis


• Write Intro Paragraph


• Write Body Paragraphs


• Write Conclusion

The Pacing ..............................................................................................

The following is a suggested pacing plan for writing your essays.

2 minutes

1 minute

5-6 minutes

12-13 minutes

3-4 minutes