As mentioned above, the study estimates essay topics by frequency of key words, then reviews how well different essay topics are correlated with income and SAT score. Unfortunately they don’t list the results by topic in a numerical table format – only a graphical format in which colors correspond to magnitude, so I am estimating magnitude by color. A list of essay topics with the highest and lowest correlation with income and SAT score is below.
Estimated Essay Topics with Largest Positive Correlation to Income
- China: ~0.35 correlation
- Seeking Answers
- Business Economics
- Travel
- Winning Competitions
Estimated Essay Topics with Largest Positive Correlation to Sat Score
- Seeking Answers (particularly math): 0.57 correlation
- Human Nature (particularly EBRW)
- China (particularly math)
- Achievement Words (particularly EBRW)
- Physics (particularly math)
Estimated Essay Topics with Largest Negative Correlation to Income
- Motivations Goals: ~ -0.3 correlation
- Tutoring Groups
- Time Management
- AP Classes
- Education and Opportunity
Estimated Essay Topics with Largest Negative Correlation to Sat Score
- Tutoring Groups: ~ -0.5 correlation
- Time Management
- Process Words (high frequency of words like “get, go, just, got, like, start, one”)
- Helping Others
- Preference Words (high frequency of words like “also, like, thing, realli, subject, lot, alway”)