Weird Writing Scores?

Test Preparation
1

<p>I did well on the ACT and did well in all sections other than writing. I received an 8 in Writing on both the ACT and SAT, which I find bizarre for the following reasons:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Not to brag, but: I am considered one of the best writers in my class, and have been termed intellectual by much of my school’s faculty. I’m a National Merit Semifinalist and got an 800 on the PSAT writing and Critical Reading sections.</p></li>
<li><p>I received a 5 on AP Language, and consistently earned the highest grades in my school’s AP Lang classes; however, people in my class whom I (unfortunately) deem ‘far inferior’, and do poorly in english class, received 11s and 12s on the writing sections of the exams. When I took an in-class practice essay- the only one I had ever taken prior to the exam- my teacher gave it a 12 and gave the students who did better on the actual exam in the 8-10.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>My scores continue to haunt me and make me feel bad, and my father mocked me for them because he says I’m not good enough. Is the problem me or the tests’ formulaic nature?</p>

2

<p>Dont stress over this. Most schools dont use writing, and those that do won’t put much emphasis on them. I doubt this will be an issue given your other scores. </p>

<p>I dont think the problem is the test. Its your confidence. If you are a NMS (congrats by the way)… dont let your dad or anyone else tell you you are not good enough. And dont refer to other students as inferior thats not what scholars do.</p>

3

<p>It’s the test. The SAT essay section is a silly, flawed tool in my opinion. Your application essays are far more important that that SAT essay score. Some schools ignore the writing section altogether, others will use it primarily as a check to see if your writing voice sounds the same in that essay as it does in your application essays.</p>