SAT Essay is Eliminated

Big news from the College Board: the SAT (Optional) Essay will be eliminated after the June 2021 test. 

And the College Board will no longer offer SAT Subject Tests effective immediately (though international students can still take them in May and June of 2021 but not beyond). 

The writing was on the wall for the SAT Subject Tests. Over the past several years, fewer colleges required these tests. And some estimated that only about 10% of all test takers also took SAT Subject Tests. 

However, the elimination of the essay on the SAT is a major shift. Not since the current SAT format was launched in 2016 has the College Board made such a bold change to the testing experience. 

For students, this is huge. There will no longer be any need to prepare for the essay. This will save students time, money and energy in test preparation. 

As for the College Board, the assumption is that the cost of administering the essays did not yield the benefit. Consider that the College Board had to hire and train hundreds of essay readers. With revenue down because of COVID-19, it is safe to say that this is a likely a cost-cutting measure. 

Besides, as much as the SAT Essay scoring system was standardized, scores were assigned by different individuals thus making any true standardization virtually impossible. 

So win, win for all. Right? It would sure seem so. 

Yet maybe the losers in this are the students who wanted an opportunity of an essay or a subject test to demonstrate proficiency. Or maybe colleges, like those who used test scores to supplement other rigorous academic assessment, will need to find some other metrics. 

The question now is: what will the ACT do? Drop the essay too? Or will with the ACT Essay (also optional) serve as a unique point of differentiation between two very similar tests? 

Follow news about the SAT and ACT by connecting with CROSSWALK, the Monterey Peninsula's local resource for test prep and academic tutoring. 

5 Keys to a Better SAT and ACT Essay

On the surface, the SAT and ACT essay prompts look remarkably different.

The SAT essay asks students to first read an article then write an analysis of how the author uses evidence, reasoning and stylistic elements to persuade an audience. The ACT essay asks students to first consider three perspectives on a debatable topic then write about which perspective makes most sense to them while also addressing why the other perspectives don't make sense.

Despite this seemingly vast difference, the path to a good essay score on both the SAT and the ACT is quite similar. 

To get a good essay score on either the SAT and the ACT, students must do all of the following:

1) Address the Prompt

If a student writes off topic, there is no way s/he can score well. Often students get caught up in the argument on the SAT and debate the author's point instead of analyzing the author's persuasiveness. To maximize your essay score, be sure you are answering the question.

2) Organize Your Thoughts

Logical structure on both the SAT and ACT is a major scoring category. For either essay, start with a thesis statement and then build paragraphs to support this thesis statement with evidence. Each paragraph must be a coherent argument that adds to the overall thesis statement. Finish with a strong conclusion that summarizes the main points. The old five-paragraph essay structure is not necessary but certainly offers an excellent way to organize your thoughts.

3) Vary Your Vocabulary

You don't need to use fancy words, just the right ones. Use signposts to tell the reader where you are going with your argument. Phrases like "for example," "nevertheless," and "furthermore" are simple yet effective phrases that help your organization and demonstrate mastery of key writing structures. Throw in a couple more words from a good SAT/ACT vocabulary list and you should be in good shape.

4) Cite Evidence

Any strong argument is supported with evidence. The nice thing about the SAT is your evidence is from the passage. Cite specific examples of reasoning, facts, stylistic elements and other pieces of evidence the author uses to make your point stronger. ACT evidence can come from your studies, things you have read, movies you have seen, current events or even personal experiences. Evidence is the key to getting your point across to the reader.

5) Write More

Fill the pages not with huge handwriting but detailed and developed paragraphs. Essay graders won't spend too much time reading everything you write but they will see how much you write. Assuming you can present a strong thesis, back that up with loads of evidence that show the reader you are prepared to write and write.

Both the SAT and ACT essay prompts present their own unique challenges. Nevertheless, as long as you address the prompt, present your arguments in a logical structure, vary your vocabulary, cite evidence and write as much as you can, you can achieve a high score on either test.

For more help in SAT and ACT prep, contact CROSSWALK today.