3 Tips: Writing the Perfect SAT® Essay! CRUSH THE TEST!

Summary

In this video, Brook from Super Tutor TV shares tips on how to write a perfect SAT essay. She emphasizes the importance of structuring the essay around three key techniques, analyzing the author's argument, and understanding the effect on the reader. Brook breaks down a four-step process for body paragraphs: identifying the technique, citing it, explaining its impact, and analyzing its effect on the reader. She also suggests resources like 'The Elements of Style' to improve writing prowess. Finally, she encourages viewers to subscribe for more content and updates.

Takeaways

• 😊 Encourage viewers to subscribe to the channel and join the mailing list for updates.
• 📘 Understand the importance of learning SAT essay requirements by watching related videos or reviewing practice essays.
• ✏️ Develop a thesis that includes three key techniques the author uses in their argument, ensuring it's more than just a summary.
• 💡 Balance reading points (understanding the author's message) and analysis points (examining techniques used) to score well.
• 📊 Identify techniques such as statistics, counterarguments, and evidence synthesis to create a deeper analysis.
• 🔄 Analyze essays using a four-step process: identify the technique, cite it, explain its purpose, and analyze its effect on readers.
• 🔍 Use paraphrasing or direct quotes in each body paragraph to ensure thorough analysis.
• 🧠 Explain how each technique contributes to the author’s message, not just what the technique is.
• 🎯 Focus on the overall effect of techniques on the reader to enhance analysis and depth.
• 📚 Improve writing style by referencing key books like 'The Elements of Style', 'Writing Tools', and 'They Say, I Say' for better sentence-level writing.

Q & A

What is the primary goal of the video?

The primary goal of the video is to teach students how to write a top-scoring SAT essay by focusing on key techniques and strategies that SAT essay graders respond to.

What are the two things the speaker encourages viewers to do before starting the SAT essay tips?

The speaker encourages viewers to subscribe to the channel and sign up for their mailing list on the website for updates and new resources.

What mistake do students commonly make when writing their SAT essays?

A common mistake students make is summarizing the entire essay instead of analyzing the techniques the author uses to prove their point.

What should a strong thesis for the SAT essay include according to the speaker?

A strong thesis should include three specific techniques the author uses to convey their argument and analyze the effects of those techniques on the reader.

What are the four steps the speaker suggests for analyzing an essay in body paragraphs?

The four steps are: 1) Identify the technique and its purpose, 2) Cite the technique through paraphrasing or direct quotes, 3) Explain how the technique contributes to the author's overall message, and 4) Analyze the overall effect of the technique on the reader.

Why is it important to explain the overall effect of a technique on the reader?

Explaining the overall effect shows deeper analysis and helps the student gain more points, as it demonstrates a thorough understanding of how the author's techniques influence the audience's perception.

What advice does the speaker give for improving writing style in SAT essays?

The speaker advises improving writing style by sounding like you're writing for respected publications such as 'The Atlantic Monthly' or 'The New York Times,' focusing on conciseness, strong sentence structure, and avoiding unnecessary words.

What are the three books recommended by the speaker to enhance writing skills?

The three recommended books are 'The Elements of Style' by Strunk and White, 'Writing Tools' by Roy Peter Clark, and 'They Say, I Say' by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein.

How can the book 'They Say, I Say' help students with their SAT essay?

The book 'They Say, I Say' teaches students how to engage in academic conversation by referencing other viewpoints, which makes their own arguments more interesting and adds depth to their writing.

What is the importance of citing techniques in SAT essays, according to the speaker?

Citing techniques, either through paraphrasing or direct quotes, is crucial because it helps support the analysis and demonstrates that the student understands how the author uses specific strategies to build their argument.

Outlines

00:00

🎥 Introduction to SAT Essay and Channel Promotion

The speaker, Brook, introduces herself and the channel 'Super Trot TV,' encouraging viewers to subscribe and sign up for the mailing list. She sets up the context of the video, which will discuss tips for writing a top-scoring SAT essay. Brook emphasizes that understanding the essay structure and strategies is key and suggests two ways to learn more: watching a comparative video about SAT and ACT essays, or downloading an SAT practice essay.

05:00

📝 Thesis Development and Avoiding Common Mistakes

Brook highlights the importance of focusing on three analytical points when writing an SAT essay, urging students to avoid merely summarizing the text. She explains how identifying rhetorical techniques the author uses is crucial to both analysis and thesis development. Brook provides an example using an official practice essay, where the author uses statistics, acknowledges counterarguments, and synthesizes evidence to support their point.

10:01

🔍 In-depth Analysis of Techniques

Brook introduces a four-step process for body paragraphs: 1) identifying a rhetorical technique and its purpose, 2) citing the technique using quotes or paraphrasing, 3) explaining how the technique contributes to the author's message, and 4) analyzing the overall effect on readers. She stresses the need to move beyond surface-level analysis, using a specific example where statistics emphasize the importance of discussing children's technology use, which grabs the audience's attention.

📚 Mastering Writing Style and Usage

Brook offers advice on improving writing style, noting that good grammar alone isn't enough for a top score. She recommends three books: 'The Elements of Style' by Strunk and White for concise writing, 'Writing Tools' by Roy Peter Clark for sentence-level improvement, and 'They Say, I Say' by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein for understanding how to engage in academic conversation. These resources can enhance both the essay writing process and analysis of the essay's content.

👍 Final Encouragement and Call to Action

Brook wraps up the video by encouraging viewers to like, subscribe, and visit the website. She wishes them success on the SAT essay, expressing hope that they will excel by applying the tips shared. She signs off with a positive message, inviting viewers to stay connected with 'Super Trot TV' for future content.

Keywords

💡SAT essay

The SAT essay is a section of the SAT exam where students analyze a passage and explain how the author builds an argument to persuade an audience. The video focuses on tips for writing a high-scoring SAT essay, emphasizing critical analysis of rhetorical techniques used by the author.

💡Thesis

In the context of the SAT essay, the thesis refers to the main argument or central point that the student will be making about the passage. The video advises students to create a thesis that identifies the key rhetorical techniques the author uses and to avoid simply summarizing the passage.

💡Rhetorical techniques

Rhetorical techniques are strategies that authors use to persuade their audience. In the video, the presenter discusses examples like statistics, appeals to authority, and counterarguments, urging students to analyze how these techniques contribute to the author's overall message.

💡Analysis

Analysis refers to the detailed examination of the rhetorical techniques in the essay. The video stresses that students should not only identify these techniques but also explain their purpose and how they contribute to the author's argument, providing depth and critical insight.

💡Evidence

Evidence includes the facts, statistics, or quotations the author uses to support their argument. In the video, it's highlighted that students should cite specific evidence from the passage and explain how this evidence strengthens the author's argument and its impact on the reader.

💡Counterargument

A counterargument is an opposing viewpoint to the author's main argument. The video explains that strong SAT essays should acknowledge counterarguments, showing how the author refutes them or minimizes their validity, which enhances the persuasiveness of the argument.

💡Effect on the reader

The effect on the reader refers to the emotional or intellectual impact that the author's techniques have on the audience. The video advises students to analyze not just the techniques themselves but also how these techniques are likely to affect the reader’s perception of the argument.

💡Writing style

Writing style involves the clarity, coherence, and sophistication of the student's prose. The video emphasizes that achieving a polished, professional style, akin to publications like the Atlantic Monthly or the New York Times, can help students earn more points for writing quality.

💡Citation

Citation in the SAT essay means directly quoting or paraphrasing parts of the passage to support the student's analysis. The video explains that citing evidence is essential for demonstrating an understanding of the text and for earning analysis points.

💡Books for writing improvement

The presenter recommends several books, such as 'The Elements of Style' by Strunk and White and 'They Say/I Say' by Gerald Graff, to help students improve their writing style. These books are cited as resources for learning to write more concisely and effectively, which is crucial for the SAT essay.

Highlights

Introduction to the video on how to write a perfect SAT essay and the importance of subscribing to the channel.

Encouragement to visit the website and sign up for the mailing list to stay updated on new products and giveaways.

Overview of what the SAT essay tests and comparison to the ACT essay, with a recommendation to watch another video for further understanding.

Key tip: Create a thesis that includes three technique-driven elements to analyze rather than just summarizing the passage.

Important advice: Balance between summarizing the author's message and analyzing the techniques used in the essay.

Example from an official SAT practice test (Test 3) illustrating how to structure a thesis around specific techniques such as using statistics.

Tip on the four-step process for analyzing the essay in body paragraphs: identify the technique, cite it, explain its purpose, and analyze its effect on the reader.

Detailed breakdown of how to analyze the use of statistics to convey the importance of an issue, using an example of children's technology use.

Explanation of how to link specific examples of techniques to the broader argument to score well on reading and analysis points.

Tip on analyzing the overall effect of the technique on the reader and linking it back to the author's main argument.

Advice on writing style: Aim for a professional tone similar to publications like the Atlantic Monthly or New York Times to maximize writing points.

Recommendation to read 'The Elements of Style' by Strunk and White to improve concise writing and sentence structure.

Further recommendation to read 'Writing Tools' by Roy Peter Clark for tips on sentence-level writing improvement.

Suggestion to read 'They Say, I Say' by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein to understand how to engage with opposing viewpoints in academic writing.

Conclusion and encouragement to subscribe to the channel, visit the website, and stay tuned for more helpful SAT content on SuperTutor TV.

Transcripts

hey guys it's Brook with super tror TV

and today I'm going to talk to you guys

about how to rate the perfect sat

essay before we get started I want to

just encourage all of you to subscribe

to our channel it's really awesome all

you have to do is click the Subscribe

button that's how we keep alive and then

the other thing that I want to encourage

you to do is go to our website and sign

up for our mailing list if we have any

new products or any new exciting

giveaways or anything going on you're

going to be the first people to know

about it so I recommend that you check

that out and let's get started if you

guys are taking the SAT and you're

taking the essay I know it can be a

little bit overwhelming what I'm going

to share with you is my observations on

what really makes a top scoring essay

what are the elements that combine

together that the College Board graders

respond to if you have no idea what the

SAT essay is about two things you can do

to learn about it one we have a video

that compares the SAT essay to the ACT

essay but that walks through all of the

parameters of the essay and all the

basics of what's on it and what it tests

and how it's graded and all that good

stuff the second thing you could do is

go download a copy of an actual SAT

practice essay I'm going to be using

practice essay number three from test

three today as a little bit of an

example uh you can find that and many

more essays on our resources page on our

SAT resources page so you can do those

two things and get a little orientation

understand what it's all about come back

here after that and then let's get

started the first tip that I have is

that you need to find three things

essentially to talk talk about that are

technique driven and that should be your

thesis if you don't do this as a thesis

I have found that some graders are just

not very forgiving one of the mistakes

that some students make is that they

just summarize the whole darn thing and

uh that's not your job your job is not

to summarize it but it's also not just

to analyze three techniques the author

is using to prove his or her point so

the the balance is that you need to do

both of these things you need to pick up

your reading points which you pick up

from understanding all of the things the

author is trying to say in the essay and

then you also need to pick up your

analysis points which you get by

figuring out what techniques or what

strategies does the author employ in

order to get his or her point across

okay so I'm going to give you an example

of what that means and what that looks

like I'm just going to pull up this

practice essay this is from an official

practice test here's my little end of

paragraph thesis to persuasively make

the point that technology benefits young

people Doctor asserts the importance of

the topic using statistics so I have

this idea of what she doing by using

statistics in here then I say

acknowledges her counterarguments while

providing dim evidence of their

validity and supports her own Side by

synthesizing multiple sources of

evidence those are my big three but you

see how I've added a little bit of depth

and a little bit of swimming pool water

for myself in the way that I set this up

so that I have somewhere to go the art

of this is being able to do this in a

way that that creates Ates an opening

for depth that connects both to how

those techniques have an effect on the

reader and what those techniques have to

do with the main idea the author is

trying to establish or with her overall

argument framework one of the things

that I found in some student essays that

that I don't think works as well or that

can lead to rather thin analysis later

is being really sort of perfunctory in

the choice of what kind of techniques

the author is using for example I have a

lot of students who will say the author

uses statistics ites evidence and

appeals to authorities and then we go on

into the essay and the appeal to

Authority is basically like she quotes

this famous person he is a famous person

so she appealed to Authority and it's

just super thin and its analysis so

always try to find a good point of

analysis a good rhetorical strategy the

author is using but find one that you

can dig a little deeper into and that's

going to be your path to getting all

those points from your graders

cool my second tip is that you're going

to

analyze the essay in four steps in your

body paragraphs and this is kind of the

four-step process that if you're missing

one of these four steps you're going to

lose Point somewhere okay so our first

step is that you need to identify the

trender technique and its purpose this

is basically taking from the thesis

which I've already identified the

trender technique but because of good

organization I have to do this in my

body paragraph as well so I'm going to

show you my body paragraph here and I'm

going to show you how I do each of these

steps the technique I'm going to say say

is utilizing numbers with Statistics the

purpose of using numbers is to establish

the importance of discussing this

pressing issue right so I have a the the

technique and I also have the purpose of

the technique do you see how I'm doing

this at kind of a macro level I'm not

just saying literally what the

statistics say I'm saying sort of the

big purpose behind them so you want to

get to that big purpose if you can and

then also say here's the technique

that's being used and here's the kind of

big purpose or framework idea behind

so my second step in this four-step

process of that all the things that you

have to have in your body paragraph are

you need to cite the technique and when

I say cite the technique that's your

time for paraphrasing or for direct

quotes if you don't have a paraphrase or

direct quote in every paragraph you are

going to be in trouble and you're not

going to get all of your analysis points

okay so here I have for example that's

leading in saying I'm going to give you

an example she cites statistics to

establish the widespread use of

Technology among kids so this is

establishing a lot of kids use

technology and then then here's our

statistics right 27% of them use tablets

this thing here and I say why she's

including this quote so I always lead my

citation in with a little bit of context

so you understand how it fits into the

larger argument you see how this is more

specific than this idea of of the

importance of discussing this pressing

issue well why is it important to

discuss this issue because there's so

many kids using technology do you see

how this is like the subo that's going

to lead up to that point so you see how

I have like kind of the general and then

I've got like the specific super

specific here and then I've got kind of

a specific explanation of what that

specific is so I have these different

layers of explanation and while I'm

fitting in a larger argument I'm also

establishing that I understand the

author's message and meaning which is my

number three you make sure you explain

how that technique contributes to the

author's message and meaning in other

words you explain what that technique

has to do or how it fits in with the

argument as a whole and in that step

you're also telling us what that

argument is how that argument is formed

how that argument set up all that good

stuff and you're picking up all those

reading points don't neglect your

reading points or you will be sorry she

capitalizes on the power of data to

reveal how broad-reaching the issue of

children's technology uses this is

basically the effect of what this quote

is so I'm explaining the effect of the

quote I'm also explaining how what it

has to do with her argument she's trying

to reveal how broad reaching the issue

of children's technology uses this has

to do with her main idea or her

point and so I'm going to pick up some

reading points here because I understand

the point she's trying to make got it

and I'm telling you what that point is

and I'm telling you how this quote Works

in with that point and four finally

you're talking about the endgame effect

the overall effect of having used this

technique how does that work on readers

and I'm just always trying to swim

deeper into that analytical hole the

more I can analyze the better off I'm

going to be and the more likely I am

going to be to get a perfect score on

this so here using such striking

statistics dran captures the audiences

attention this is an issue that must be

discussed so here's what the effect of

these stats are by using all these big

numbers as an audience member I

go whoa holy cow this is a big deal I

didn't even realize how how important it

was that we figure this issue of kids

and Technology out this really matters

so that's the effect of this technique

on the reader of using all the

statistics but I've analyzed the effect

on the reader cool

my third tip for the SAT essay and this

is my last one is to perfect your

writing prowess what I think a lot of

students struggle with isn't necessarily

grammar straight up but it's more what

we call style and usage you want to

sound like you're writing for the

Atlantic Monthly or the New York Times

not like you're some eighth grader who

can barely put together an essay even if

your grammar is perfect if your style

isn't dead on you might not pick up all

those writing points so how do you

become an awesome writer well I have

some advice for you in the form of go

check out some books one of them is a CL

CLC it's called the elements of style

it's by Strunk and white it's going to

tell you all about how to write

concisely how to use fewer words instead

of more words how to pack power into

your sentences by the way that you

arrange them it's free on the Kindle and

it's probably available in every public

library in America if not close to it so

go check that book out two other books

that I like there's one that's called

writing tools it's by a guy named Roy

Peter Clark and it goes through a bunch

of different ways that you as a writer

can make your sentence level writing

better how do you make your writing

stronger how do I make my writing seem

really cohesive and whole versus how do

I make it seem like there's there's a

struggle or there's a debate so he's

going to go through some different

techniques that you can use it's a

really easy to read quick kind of

reference style book and then the third

book that I really like is called they

say I say it's by Gerald graph and Kathy

birkenstein and that book is just really

cool because it talks about how in

academic writing we often engage in

conversation this book probably applies

to I would say onethird of the essays

that you're going to read are going to

have some sort of academic conversation

in them if not one half but one of the

things about the book that's really

interesting is it talks about how by

referencing other points of view your

point of view becomes more interesting

so you can use some of the principles

there not only in your sat essay but

also in analyzing the essay because a

lot of times the people writing these

essays are using the techniques from

that book too so you can use it both as

an analysis tool and a way to spice up

your own writing so your own writing

seems more interesting when you add a

little bit of perspective when you add a

little bit of many people might think

this but actually this kind of talk into

your essay you can create this sort of

sense of instad depth and so that's just

a really easy quick and dirty way to

improve your analysis a little bit so

check out those three books those are

going to help you with your style and

your writing and they're probably going

to help you a lot more with that than a

lot of the SAT books on the market just

brushing up on your writing skills in

general is an awesome way to get all

four of those writing points if you're

not getting those rating points that's a

great place to start I hope you guys

like this video if so please give it a

thumbs up subscribe to our Channel again

if you haven't good or a website and

subscribe to our mailing list and stay

tuned to Super chor TV good luck to all

of you on the SAT I hope you rock your

essays and I will see all of you next

time on superer TV thanks for watching

bye-bye

[Music]