Thursday, August 8, 2013

SAT Essay Don'ts

SAT Essay Don’ts



1.      Do not use YOU or I on the essay. This is a persuasive essay not a personal essay. Your job is to pick a side and prove the assignment. If you are using a personal experience, then it’s ok to say I. At Kweller Prep, however, we suggest you do not use personal experiences in your essay. Use historical examples or books.

2.      Do not use more than two examples. You only need 2 examples to get a 12 (perfect score on the essay, so why use more?)

3.      Do not write more than 4 paragraphs. The SAT essay should look like this: ½ page paragraph 1; ½ page paragraph 2; ½ page paragraph 3; ½ page paragraph 4.

4.      Do not put too much information into paragraph 1. You only need to introduce example 1 and introduce example 2 into your first paragraph.

5.      Do not overlap your paragraphs. For example paragraph 2 should only be dedicated to your first example. Paragraph 3 should only be dedicated to your second example. Your introduction should only introduce example one and example two.  We don’t need to know all about it.

6.      Do not throw in the kitchen sink into your SAT essay. You need to write just enough on the SAT essay to prove your point.

7.      Do not deviate from the assignment. Your assignment is where you get points!!!

8.      Do not argue both sides. Pick only one side and argue only that one side. This is a persuasive essay; do not be tempted to argue each side. Your job is to prove the assignment using 2 examples (not three) and to do this in two solid pages.

9.      Do not NOT finish the essay. You need to write until the very last line, the highest score you can get is a 9 if you do not write to the very last line.

10.  Do not repeat words. Use synonyms instead of using the same word numerous times. For example do not use the word “people” 10 times, do not use the word “success” 10 times.

11.  Do not switch from script to print. Stick to print if possible. Begin with a sharpened pencil. Do not use a mechanical pencil. Do not use a lot scratch marks. Use an eraser rather than scribbling over your words. If you write in script, you must press down firmly on the paper, and be consistent with your choice of handwriting. Make sure you always use a traditional wooden pencil for your essay.

12.  Do not think too much about what to write. You will only have 25 minutes to write the entire essay from start to finish. You should spend no more than 1 minute thinking about 2 topics. GO INTO THE EXAM with at least 15 topics that you are comfortable writing about; 5 books, 5 historical examples, and 5 people. There is no such a thing as a bad example so long as you always connect it to your thesis statement.

13.  Do not make the essay too short. It has to be horizontally and vertically very long. You need to have at least 8 words per line. If you have very big hand writing, practice writing smaller.

14.  Do not use simple words. The purpose of this essay is to get into college. College bound students need to have college bound vocabulary. You are learning hundreds of SAT words; use them in your essay.

15.  Do not use sentences without a transition. Start every sentence with a good transitional word.  Examples being however, thus, furthermore, in fact. Using the word “thus” makes you look smart.

16.  Do NOT forget your grammar skills. Either-or neither-nor. One teacher teaches, other teachers teach.

17.  Do NOT stop writing. Keep writing until your hand begins to hurt J REMEMBER you need to write 2 full pages.

18.  Do not look at other people in the room while you are writing your essay. They are a distraction.

19.  Do not look at College Board for sample SAT essays. They post essays to trick or mislead you! Remember this company is making billions by misleading you.

20.  Even if the kid next to you pukes/ throws up, keep writing! No matter what, keep writing.
 
 
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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Stuyvesant cut off scores

The SHSAT test is graded on a very sharp curve. each section is graded separately. each question is worth 1 point except scrambled paragraphs are worth 2.

Here's the conversion table and how to grade your own test:

1) count the amount of right answers per each section, and assign point values based on the numbers above. these 2 numbers, one for each section, are referred to as your 'raw score.' (it should be between 1 and 50)

2) use this conversion chart for each of your raw scores to see what you would get per section.

number out of 50-test score
1-16
2-30
3-44
4-58
5-72
6-82
7-90
8-98
9-107
10-129
11-138
12-145
13-152
14-158
15-164
16-170
17-175
18-180
19-185
20-190
21-194
22-198
23-202
24-206
25-212
26-214
27-218
28-222
29-226
30-230
31-234
32-238
33-242
34-246
35-250
36-254
37-258
38-262
39-267
40-272
41-277
42-283
43-290
44-298
45-308
46-318
47-328
48-339
49-350
50-400

3) add the "test scores" together from each section. this is your final score.

if you want, match it up to figure out which school you'd get into:

Stuyvesant-563
Bronx Science-515
Brooklyn Tech- 487
Lehman-503
York HS Queens Science-502
High school for Math, Science and Engineering at City College- 498
Staten Island Tech -485
Brooklyn Latin-475

If you get a perfect score on 1 section (50-400) you can get as low as 15 questions right on the other section (15-164) and still get into stuyvesant. (400+164=564, above Stuyvesant's cutoff)

If you are getting in for 10th grade, the cutoffs are about 30 points higher. and sometimes there are no seats anyway. It is significantly harder to get in as a tenth grader.  like i moved away from nyc, came back for 10th grade, took the SHSAT, got a 610 and only got into bronx science. i love it though and am much happier im there. all the perks of stuy except the neighborhood, its more laid back, and the debate is 400000 times better :)