As part of this summer’s alpha test of ePrep’s new SAT prep product, ePrep for the SAT, students were required to submit essays that I agreed to hand-grade. Since grading essays always gets me thinking about some of the common mistakes that keep students from scoring high on the essay, I though I would share a few while they are fresh in my mind. (more…)

Insidehighered.com featured an article today entitled Fooling the College Board. I thought it was very interesting. It’s about an MIT professor, Les Perelman, who allegedly trained a young adult to write a high-scoring essay that contained various types of errors, including misspellings and inaccurate facts. One of Professor Perelman’s points was that students can be trained to write essays that earn high scores without improving their writing skills in a meaningful way. In fact, Professor Perelman argues that the College Board’s essay requirement is doing damage because, instead of working to become better writers, students are spending time merely learning how to ace the SAT’s essay. (more…)

SOME ADVICE ON WRITING:

There is nothing further from the truth than to tell someone there are shortcuts to good writing. There is no magic formula to writing well (or better than you can now) other than to write and write often; good writing comes from working at it all the time. And you will find that the more you work at writing, the more it will give back to you. While I can think of no writer who would ever say that writing is “easy,” I can think of several students of mine who would say that the difficulty writing posed for them was worth it when they realized how much they’d improved in the expression of their ideas. Writing is hard work, but it is (more…)

What makes a good writer?

It’s a question that appears to have some magical, formulaic answer. For better or for worse, it doesn’t. A Princeton graduate and accomplished writer, John McPhee (’53), gave the best answer to this question: “Perseverance.” Of writing, McPhee said, “You have to stay with it.” Great writing doesn’t simply happen; it takes time, struggle, and a willingness to accept that sometimes you won’t know where you’re headed.

When will I know when I’ve gotten there (to where my writing is “good”)?

As in any other pursuit (more…)

I am excited to announce the addition of two new Guest Experts: Seamus Malin and PK Kennedy.

Seamus, a former administrator at Harvard University, will join Fred and Don in sharing thoughts and insights on topics related to admissions and financial aid. PK, a current lecturer in the Princeton University Writing Program, will share her thoughts on becoming a better writer for college applications, standardized tests, and high school classes.

Both Seamus and PK are amazing people whose energy, wisdom and generosity will surely add to ePrep.com’s wealth of free resources. If you are motivated to learn about college planning and test preparation, you have come to the right place. At ePrep.com, we are committed to making expert advice available to everyone. And remember, an ePrep.com expert is not just someone who knows a lot about a given topic; an ePrep.com expert is someone who is able to communicate his or her mastery in ways that are easy to understand. I hope you come back to ePrep.com again and again to “Connect with an Expert.”

When you have a chance, please click on the bios of our two new guest experts for more details about their impressive backgrounds.

Quiz: What is Seamus widely known for aside from being a former high-ranking administrator at Harvard University? The answer is not in his bio. See if you can figure it out.

We’ve covered guessing on the SAT Math questions and Critical Reading sections. Now it’s time to discuss the dreaded SAT Writing section, particularly the multiple choice questions (you had better not “guess” on the essay) (more…)

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The SAT Writing includes a mandatory hand-written essay.  Today, I’d like to give you the actual essay “rubric” that’s used to score the SAT essay. (See below.)  Remember, your essay will be scored by two qualified essay graders. Based on the rubric below, each grader will score your essay on a 1-6 scale. (more…)

A recent New York Times article discusses the tendency of many colleges to ignore SAT essay scores when reviewing applications. Some colleges are even ignoring results of the Writing section completely. (Note: While it is scored separately on a 0-12 scale, the essay accounts for 30% of the Writing section’s 800 points.)

“We didn’t look at even one of the essays” or consider their scores, says Lee Stetson , dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, echoing the sentiments of colleagues at Harvard, Brown and Dartmouth.

The article bears out what I have seen on a small scale and somewhat anecdotal basis — colleges are not sure what to make of the new SAT Writing section and its 25-minute essay.

Ah…the finish line. If you haven’t watched Lessons 1, 2, and 3, stop reading this and go watch those videos! Vocabulary for the SAT can be a royal pain in the you-know-what. But the dividends of a broad vocabulary are even greater than a higher SAT score. Stick with me as we come to the finish of our little focus on SAT vocabulary. (more…)

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In this prepcast video, I tackle the SAT essay section and focus on the fundamental do’s and don’ts to maximize your score. How is the SAT essay like being a good or bad bus driver? What is the SAT essay rubric (or how the College Board scores your SAT essay)? Watch and find out…. (more…)

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