More SAT Essay Advice II
By: Sean
Savoie
Example quote by Joe Fictishus: “Based on strong principles, Congress
must clearly dictate who among the Mexican illegal immigrants can stay and who
cannot. New immigrants who do not assimilate into American culture, often due to
lack of English communication skills, should be given warning. Those who commit
serious crimes should be deported.”
Essay assignment: Develop a cohesive essay in which you agree or disagree
with Joe Fictishus’ position that language ability
should be a factor in judging legal status. Use examples, personal experiences,
statistics, and/ or quotes to support your position.
If agreeing with the quote, write down three basic
supporting reasons for believing this position. Example:
1.
basic respect
2.
communication for
social cohesion
3. economics
Upon seeing the
assignment, immediately write these three ideas and spend the first five minutes
deciding which support you know most about. While thinking about the supporting
experiences, facts in history, statistics, quotes, etc..., allow a feeling to
develop. Harness this general emotion into an introduction by relating to some
‘truth’ that relates to the thesis. Practice of this 25-minute drill increases
success dramatically (especially when in the guidance of a talented teacher).
Students often have a difficult time writing the very first sentence. Do not attempt to explain your opinion in the introduction. This common mistake not only causes one to jump into the body of the essay too quickly, but also gives him or her less of an opportunity to attract the reader by creating background information and a tone for the essay. Let the first sentence create itself. I realize it sounds odd, but not caring about the very first sentence often works well. You have only 20 minutes. Fast writers have an advantage, but effective essays are potentially written in one smooth motion.
So, what are some techniques for
attracting the interest of the reader? You might start by thinking about what
gets your own attention. Stimulating writers often use sarcasm, quotes, shocking
information, humor, vivid description, personal experiences, and questions to
the reader. It is essential to consider what is appropriate to the topic; for
example, use of humor would be rather inappropriate in an essay about
immigration but may be fine in one about preparing for college. Also, remember
that personal examples bring the first person point of view into the essay. The
example essays provided on the College Board website (www.collegeboard.com) seem to indicate
that use of the 1st person is perfectly acceptable. My new students
often write “I think, I believe, I feel, in my opinion, for me, etc…” These
expressions, though sometimes useful, are not strong. Especially in NYC, nobody
really cares what people think. Avoid supporting a position based even on what
“most people think”, which is bad style because it often has no connection to
the main idea. How much tax is required to get this country out of debt does not
depend on what people think. Secondly, understanding the thinking of even one
person is difficult; at best, third party polls are necessary to support the
point. Thirdly, the power of the individual, ironically, is very highly praised
in this pluralist nation. Usually, it is best not to use “most people think”
even when you want to go against the opinion of “these people”.
Young writers often weaken the essay when writing as if they are having a conversation with “you”, the reader. Avoid using the pronoun ‘you’ in a thesis essay. I am writing to ‘you’ (the 2nd person) because the essay you are reading at this moment is instructional. This essay is a process essay, so please do not copy the style of this article.