Today in the lab: Choose one of the plans you developed in class yesterday. You will write an individual essay. Print it out and turn it in. Follow the format from your handout. Review the tips/hints in this Powerpoint. The SAT will allow you 25 minutes, but you have as much time as you need. This is an INDIVIDUAL essay. When you are done, work with a vocab as directed on the last slide, print it out and turn it in.

Slides that follow… … present a review for you

How are you graded? Five key ingredients: - appropriate examples - organization and focus - language and usage (glitzy vocabulary!) - varied sentence structure - grammar

Should I get personal? The use of books, movies or history rather than personal anecdotes allows you to explain the ins/outs of a situation in an analytical sense. This is difficult to do with a personal situation. You earn no higher points for enduring difficult situations or personal experiences, btw. At 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning, you will be glad to have a list of examples.

Emergency Situations Making up examples, names, places, facts or even dates for the SAT essay is acceptable The whole point of the essay is to prove your strong rough-draft writing technique – and to prove this technique using “appropriate examples” The College Board doesn’t say “true examples” BUT: Is the example actually related to the essay topic? Is it neither stupid nor in bad taste? If you pass both of those tests, you’re golden! However, be careful. You may not be good at making up examples.

How To Up Your Score Vary sentence structure: Starting a sentence with Despite, Although, Though, In spite of … will force you to use a dependent clause and put the subject in the middle of the sentence rather than at the beginning. English teachers (and essay scorers) love this! Use the right word the right way: They’re versus their versus there Your and you’re Its and it’s Lame words: Replace a lot with many or multiple or often or frequently. Avoid get and try; instead use attain, attempt, works to achieve

Don’t use contractions or slang You should exhibit formal writing on the SAT. Just like you want to avoid informal contractions, you also want to avoid informal language of slang A character won’t be bummed; he’ll be disheartened Use the most formal, uppity, professional-sounding language you can muster

Use better vocabulary Use this selection of broad words that can be applied universally. Ultimately, fundamentally, quintessentially, significantly, demonstrably, consequently, remarkably, broadly, generally DO NOT use personal pronouns: Avoid I and you like the plague! Instead of saying “I think Dickens implies that…” just say “Dickens implies that …” Instead of saying “When you really want something, you tend to work hard for it,” write something more powerful. “Desire produces effort.”

Avoid Passive Voice and extra words This is just a remote, drawn out way of saying something, usually by putting the subject after the verb For example: The game was played badly by the team. Hester is told to wear a scarlet letter … (Who told Hester? Could just write: Hester wears a scarlet letter…) Extra words: Steer clear of phrases like “because of the fact that” and “being as she is” that unnecessarily wordy. Either of these phrases could be replaced with because. The more powerful writing often uses the fewest words.

SAT essay development Today’s assignment: Using the essay development from yesterday, write an essay. Individually. Watch your word count! Use historical and literary examples, not personal experience. History = past events and/or current events Literature = novels, mythology, Bible, nonfiction, etc.

What to do now? WRITE the essay You will type today just for ease of word count. You will write the complete essay. DOUBLESPACED. Use one of the plans from yesterday: your thesis statement (complete sentence), your web or other plan for body ideas with SPECIFIC details for development, including the 2 or 3 specific examples for body paragraph development, taken from history and/or literature. Watch your time! You have as much as you need, but keep in mind that you will have 25 mins on test day. Print out your work and turn it in. Staple yesterday’s work to today’s essay. When this is done, please complete the exercise on the next slide.

Vocab assignment with journal words 1.Use 10 words from your green journal vocabulary handout to write 10 sentences (NO linking verbs, NO simple sentences). ** Use words that you have not used in other exercises and/or words that you are still learning. 2. You may work with ONE partner if you want. 3. Underline the vocab word. Tomorrow: FULL practice test. Be ready! We are building momentum for the real test!