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    Joined: May 2006
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    cym Offline OP
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    Thanks passthepotatoes--yes, the immediate need is to improve SAT writing scores--he's actually going to take the ACT writing for the first time next month as well.

    Cricket2--yes, he took SATs recently and his essay score was lower than when he was in the talent search 3 yrs ago and didn't even try hard. He has hopes of applying to one or two colleges that are tough to get into, so he'll need to work on improving that score.

    cym #65221 01/04/10 07:50 AM
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    Best of luck with the ACT. The questions on the ACT are usually more teen oriented than the SAT. The prompt might be about about dress codes, censorship, school schedules, etc. The College Board has sample essays with critiques that may be helpful. http://www.actstudent.org/writing/sample/index.html

    cym #65222 01/04/10 08:27 AM
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    Originally Posted by cym
    Cricket2--yes, he took SATs recently and his essay score was lower than when he was in the talent search 3 yrs ago and didn't even try hard. He has hopes of applying to one or two colleges that are tough to get into, so he'll need to work on improving that score.
    Ah, got it! This thread has a lot of good tips. I'll bookmark it for dd#2 who took the SAT last year in 6th, is doing the ACT this year, and will probably take the SAT again through talent search before she needs it "for real," too. Good luck to your son!

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    Originally Posted by passthepotatoes
    Take a very clear position and don't worry if it isn't what he believes in his heart.


    Just to clarify...

    My worry here is that kids who don't believe what they're writing often write what they *think* they should say, and that is often surprisingly misguided. Students not schooled in debate tend to have a hard time writing from a perspective that is not their own.

    I agree completely that the topic doesn't have to be something he cares *passionately* about for the College Board tests. Quick and easy is key! But in my experience, trying to write from a point of view that a kid really doesn't completely understand is not a good idea.

    But maybe I'm being too nitpicky there...


    Kriston
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    Not trying to be nitpicky right back at you but...

    They have 30 minutes to write the SAT essay and it is response to an assigned quote. They don't have time to contemplate their heart and there isn't time to really write a nuanced essay where they take a shades of gray position and try to say something meaningful. This can of course be really tough for a gifted student who likes to consider all the shades of gray and say something meaningful and honest!

    We found the best way to cope with this this was to be direct about the terms of the game. The rules are: quickly read the quote, choose a side and plug in prepared examples. There is not time to consider if you believe the ends justify the means or if honest is the best policy. Agree or disagree it doesn't matter just choose something and write. Rather than just declaring this whole exercise pointless because it doesn't really teach anything about writing, we decided instead to treat it as an exercise in understanding how to identify opposing arguments and how to make a fast decision and yes, how to practice writing about topics you don't care about and don't understand!




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    If you have a kid who can do that, then I agree with you wholeheartedly. It sounds like you are advising him on the art of debate, so your son is well prepared. That was one of my concerns, and--if it matters--I'm persuaded that you're addressing it *well*. No worries there. smile

    Certainly, contemplating all the intricacies of all the facets of the issue is NOT what they should be doing with their limited time! That's not the point of the test. On that we completely agree!

    I'm more thinking of the kid who thinks there's some side the test wants the writer to take, and he tries to argue that position even though it ISN'T the easy one for him to write. The point here is that there is no "right" side, and it's often true that a student has thought more about something she herself believes in, and so would have an easier time writing it.

    In the end, we agree that easy and quick are key! Whatever that looks like.


    Kriston
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    Students should understand how the exam is scored and graded. The NYT and LA Times articles I posted should make it clear to the student that the readers don't care about the personal position on the issue and the side they take will have nothing to do with how they score. Understanding the essays are read very, very quickly helps students understand how to write to score well.

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    This is not quite bad-essay writing but it's always a humorous read so I will pass it along, the Bulwer-Lytton contest for best bad writing. http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2009.htm

    Polly

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    Brave Writer offers an online SAT writing class. (I can't recommend as we have not used the classes).

    http://www.bravewriter.com/program/online-classes/class-list/sat-act/

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    I've seen a lot of SAT resources for essay writing. I'll search in on Google, and I'll see what comes up!

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