Although the essay portion of the SAT became optional in 2016, many students still chose to write it to demonstrate strong or improved writing skills to prospective colleges.
In June 2021, the College Board opted to discontinue the SAT essay. Now, only students in a few states and school districts still have access to — and must complete — the SAT essay. This requirement applies to some students in the SAT School Day program, for instance, among other groups.
Whether or not to write the SAT essay is not the biggest decision you will have to make in high school, but it is certainly one that requires thought on your part. Here are three things you should know about the 50-minute SAT essay as you decide whether to complete it:
— To excel on the SAT essay, you must be a trained reader.
— The SAT essay begs background knowledge of rhetoric and persuasive writing.
— A growing number of colleges are dropping standardized test requirements.
To Excel on the SAT Essay, You Must Be a Trained Reader
The SAT essay prompt never comes unaccompanied. On the contrary, it follows a text that is about 700 words long or approximately one page. Before test-takers can even plan their response, they must carefully read and — ideally — annotate the passage.
[READ: 3 Students Who Should Opt to Write the SAT Essay.]
The multifaceted nature of the SAT essay prompt can be distressing to students who struggle with reading comprehension. But the good news is that this prompt is highly predictable: It always asks students to explain how the author builds his or her argument. In this case, “how” means which rhetorical devices are used, such as deductive reasoning, metaphors, etc.
Luckily, the author’s argument is usually spelled out in the prompt itself. For instance, consider this past SAT prompt: “Write an essay in which you explain how Paul Bogard builds an argument to persuade his audience that natural darkness should be preserved.”
Due to the essay prompt’s straightforward nature, students should read the passage with an eye toward specific devices used by the author rather than poring over “big ideas.” In tour SAT essay, aim to analyze at least two devices, with three being even better.
The SAT Essay Begs Background Knowledge of Rhetoric and Persuasive Writing
Since your SAT essay response must point to specific rhetorical devices that the author employs to convince the reader, you should make it a point to intimately know 10-15 common ones. The more familiar you are with rhetorical devices, the faster you will become at picking them out as you read texts.
Once you have read the passage and identified a handful of noteworthy rhetorical devices, you should apply many of the same essay-writing techniques you already use in your high school English classes.
[Read: How Long the SAT Is and How to Manage That Time.]
For instance, you should start by brainstorming to see which devices you have the most to say about. After that, develop a concise thesis statement, incorporate quotes from the text, avoid wordiness and other infelicities of writing, close with an intriguing conclusion, and do everything else you could imagine your English teacher advising you to do.
Remember to always provide evidence from the text to support your claims. Finally, leave a few minutes at the end to review your essay for mistakes.
A Growing Number of Colleges Are Dropping Standardized Test Requirements
In recent years, some of America’s most prominent colleges and universities — including Ivy League institutions like Harvard University in Massachusetts, Princeton University in New Jersey and Yale University in Connecticut — have made submission of ACT and SAT scores optional.
While this trend began as early as 2018, the upheaval caused by COVID-19 has prompted many other schools to adopt a more lenient testing policy, as well.
[Read: How the Coronavirus Is Pushing Colleges to Go Test-Optional.]
Advocates for educational fairness have long expressed concerns that standardized admissions tests put underprivileged students at a disadvantage. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, which restricted exam access for almost all high school students, colleges have gotten on board with this idea by placing more emphasis on other factors in a student’s application.
To assess writing ability in alternative ways, colleges now place more emphasis on students’ grades in language-oriented subjects, as well as college application documents like the personal statement.
The fact that more colleges are lifting their ACT/SAT requirement does not imply that either test or any component of it is now obsolete. Students who must write the SAT essay can still stand to gain from doing so, especially those who wish to major in a writing-intensive field. The essay can also demonstrate a progression or upward trajectory in writing skills.
The SAT essay can give a boost to the college applications of the few students to whom it is still available. If the requirement applies to you, be sure to learn more about the SAT essay and practice it often as you prepare for your upcoming SAT.
More from U.S. News
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What to Know About the Optional SAT Essay originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 03/28/22: This article has been updated with new information.
