dollyflower

On the cb online course there is an essay with The Great Gatsby, and one discussing Britain during WWI. In response to Echelon; I think that's okay. Here's an example of a 6 from the cb online course:

Often, people are judged by their accomplishments. Different groups look at what an individual has done, & judge that person from only what they see whether this person is fit for this job, or that specialty track. This is the ever-basic competition. It is all around us. Jobs, schools, & wars depend on it.

The strong survive for one reason. They are able to adapt & overcome. They will run headfirst into a problem, then back up and look at it from a different angle. The weak will run into the problem the same way, but after backing up, will run into the problem again & again until they get too frustrated to continue or ask a stronger individual for help. The stronger, however, will be long past that problem and onto a more challenging one. This point was displayed during World War II & the development of the jet engine. The US & Great Britan were having great problems getting all the bugs worked out from uncontrollable thrust amounts & out of control speeds, to complete & total engine detonation. However, the German Luftwaffe had already perfected the engine & had put it to work in the Me 262. The allies were being destroyed by an enemy that they had nothing to match with. Allied planes were being shot down in massive numbers, & there was nothing anybody could do, because the US jet engine was far from finished. In response, new tactics were developed. Instead of just hoping to get a lucky shot & running into that wall, the Allies found a way around the wall. The idea was that during takeoff & landing, the 262 was extremely vulnerable, because it had to slow down dramatically to be able to land. Because of this, the Allied planes could now not only catch, but destroy many 262s that would have otherwise been impossible to destroy. This new tactic won the air war over the skies of Europe.

Ever since man has been around, they have been making tools. From the most primitive spear, little more than a sharp stick, to the most technologically advanced military fighter, the F-22 Raptor, man has been making devices to help them for millions of years. It is the strong who in the first place develop these tools. The weak will be quickly killed off in attacks, while the strong & agile will quickly improvise something, then revise it later to make it better.

Echelon32

Thanks a lot for everyone's feedback - I guess I can just stick to WWII then

dolcevalse

I'm not quite sure how I got a 11 last Jan '06 (I was in 8th grade) but my essay topic was basically how important discoveries are the result of either some happy mistake or they are only achieved thru multiple trials & error.

I just used examples I learned from 7th grade history class .. haha. I mentioned Columbus' multiple voyages west to try to find the Indies (which he never really did, but w/e) and Marie & Pierre Curie's long and persistent trials to try to isolate radium. I know these examples are really immature but I was only 13 years haha.

Also, I have pretty neat handwriting & I used nearly 2 full pages (3/4 of the 2nd page). But I was so happy to get an 11, now if I can only get a 12 in my junior year ...

Echelon32

I just looked at SparkNotes and their SAT essay - is it really necessary to have 3 distinct examples within each paragraph???

Most of the sample essays from College Board have one main "situation" per paragraph, and they just elaborate freely, without abrupt breaks using words like "furthermore, additionally, etc."

Echelon32

bump - someone please answer!

blue_sky

no, i don't think you need three for each source. as long as you are persuasive, it's fine.

stix2400

To Kill a Mockingbird is another good one. It has a huge variety of morals in it. World Wars always fit. When in doubt: Make up a personal example.

branderson925

so 2 examples, history and literature, are enough

so no personal example?

stix2400

2 examples are enough, just make sure you develop them with regard to the prompt as much as possible. Literally every 5 essay I've read (from College Board) says "this essay could have recieved a score of 6 if it extended and developed the examples to fit the prompt (blah, blah, blah)

An23

Is it advisable to uhh "prepare" examples from literature without having actually read the book?!
(By just getting an overview of the plot and its main themes)

sushifureak

i dont think it's a good idea to use a lit. example if you haven't actually read the book. For one, you won't know all the details, and providing a simplistic and vague 'summary' will not give you a good score. You're better off to find something you have read and try to explore various themes within those literary works.

souglash

I think you guys may be really overthinking the essay. What I found the graders really like is when you draw from your personal experiences. Check out the 6 score essays. They always draw from personal experience.
If you don't have any real ones that relate to the topic, make stuff up.
I got a 10 on the essay that I used book quotes from and an 11 on the one from which I drew personal experiences, just to clarify. Using PE was a lot easier too.

GrammarGuy

I got an 11 on my SAT essay in October 2007. For examples, I used:

1. Literature: Hamlet, King Lear, Inferno, Iliad, and Odyssey

2. Art: Picasso, Michelangelo, and Praxiteles

3. Science: Copernicus, Columbus, and Dante

(My SAT essay is posted on my blog. If you want to read it, the link is in my public profile.)

Butternut

I'm with someone else (can't remember who- a couple pages back): The Civil Rights movement. I have used it in every SAT I've ever written. As far as specifics go, I use the "Little Rock Nine" as much as possible, since I know a lot about them.

Other examples: Use your EC's, sports you like, whatever- as long as you know about them.

Is it OK to use the Bible as a piece of literature? I used Esther as an example on a practice essay, do you think that would be ok?

elizlan

I think Catcher in the Rye is a good novel to use-lots of examples,easy to understand, quick read.

And if I use history I tend to draw examples from the life and rule of
emperor Qin- nothing you can't use him for and I happen to know a lot about him so it works for me.