2400expert SAT Essay Manual

SAT ESSA Y M A N U A L
Shaan Patel
www.2400expert.com
*SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of this product.
Excerpted from Shaan Patels SAT 2400 in Just 7 Steps McGraw-Hill 2012
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Introduction......3
Essay Topics.....6
Essay Format....9
Essay Scoring......13
Impress Your Readers.....15
Amaze Your Readers.18
Essay Material....26
My Own Material...29
Write the Essay Before You See the Topic!.................................................34
My ACTUAL 2400 SAT Essay...39
Perfect Practice Problems...43
Unauthorized copying or reuse of any part of this page is illegal. 2012 www.2400expert.com
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Imagine you are calmly sitting in English class and the bell rings to
indicate the beginning of the period. Your teacher stands at the front of the
room and unexpectedly proclaims:
Today class, we are going to have an impromptu in-class essay!
Suddenly, your stomach hurts, heart races, and mood shifts to a feeling
of unease. When your teacher hands out the essay booklet, you realize that
you have never seen the longwinded two-paragraph topic before. The
instructions say that you only have 25 minutes to complete the essay. And to
make matters worse, the booklet contains two blank pages. How on earth does
your teacher expect you to write more than a page when it took you five minutes
just to read the topic!? You hastily begin to write down a few thoughts, but
midway through the third sentence you get writers block. You begin to rely
on some personal experiences that barely relate to the topic. You notice there
are two minutes left on the clock, so you stick a vague one-sentence
conclusion after the one body paragraph you completed. Finally, you turn in
an unorganized, -page essay that is surely doomed.
Well be prepared, because this is what happens to most students on
every administration of the SAT.
When I was in high school, there is nothing that I feared more than an
in-class essay. For me, it was like being thrown into the deep end of a pool,
but not knowing how to swim. Therefore, I can understand why most students
would fear the composition portion of the SAT. The essay is the first section on
every SAT examination. Although the SAT Essay only makes up approximately
240 out of the 2400 points possible on the SAT, you still want to approach this
section as the most important. How well you do on the SAT Essay sets the tone
for how well you do on the rest of the exam. If your heart is racing and mind is
frantic during the essay portion, then chances are you will anxious during the
other sections as well. However, if you are positive that you have just written
an articulate essay, then you will likely be confident for the rest of the test.
The advice and strategies found in this 2400 Expert Complete SAT Essay
Manual will assure that you are the latter case. No matter whether you would
rather do 1000 math problems than write an essay, or think youre the next J.
K. Rowling, I will help you succeed on the SAT Essay. SAT composition is
much different than a high school essay. I was once the poor writer without a
plan at the beginning of this section; however, with key strategies and
practice, I trained myself to ace the SAT Essay. And now you can too!
*Note: This portion of the 2400 Expert Superb Strategy Guide differs from the
rest because Perfect Practice Problems are only at the end of the whole
section, instead of after each Superb Strategy. Since the SAT Essay is viewed
as one large question type on the SAT exam, you should understand all of the
Superb Strategies before tackling actual SAT Essay questions yourself!
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SAT Essay topics are general. This means you do not need to know
some specific knowledge in order to answer the prompt. The SAT will not ask
you about the 16th century Protestant Reformation or selected works by Robert
Frost. You can breathe a sigh of relief now. Instead SAT Essay topics will look
something like this:
Can triumph be devastating?
Is innovation lacking in the world?
Is attempting to prove others wrong a path to success?
Does challenging those in power create a better civilization?
Is privacy essential for society?
As you can see, SAT Essay prompts are very broad and give you a lot of
room to choose the direction of your response. However, SAT Essay topics
will not appear as concise and clear on the actual SAT as they do above.
Instead, the essay topic on your SAT will look something like the following.
The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can develop and
express ideas. You should, therefore, take care to develop your point of view,
present your ideas logically and clearly, and use language precisely.
Your essay must be written on the lines provided on your answer sheetyou will
receive no other paper on which to write. You will have enough space if you
write on every line, avoid wide margins, and keep your handwriting to a
reasonable size. Remember that people who are not familiar with your
handwriting will read what you write. Try to write or print so that what you are
writing is legible to those readers.
You have twenty-five minutes to write an essay on the topic assigned below. DO
NOT WRITE ON ANOTHER TOPIC. AN OFF-TOPIC ESSAY WILL RECEIVE A
SCORE OF ZERO.
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the
assignment below.
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own
reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates
the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is
enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every
day. Never lose a holy curiosity.
- Albert Einstein
Assignment: Does curiosity benefit us? Plan and write an essay in which you
develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning
and examples taken from your reading, studies, experiences, or observations.
Wow, that was wordy. If you read all of that, kudos. However, make
sure you never do that again. There is nothing useful in the SAT Essay
instructions other than the advice that you should stay on topic. This brings me
to the first strategy I ever learned for the essay.
SAT Essay Superb Strategy #1
Do not read any of the SAT Essay instructions except the question that
immediately follows Assignment.
Yes, you can ignore everything on the directions page of the SAT Essay
except one question. In this case that question would be Does curiosity
benefit us? This is the only question you need to ponder when composing
your essay. Do not worry about the excerpt in the box either. SAT box
excerpts are irrelevant and you do not need to use any of the information
contained within them in your essay. Congratulations, you have just saved five
minutes on the SAT Essay that other students would have wasted reading the
directions.
Now that you have one question you can focus on, your job becomes
much simpler. All you have to do is pick a position. Either agree with the
question presented or disagree with it. Then support your view with evidence.
The SAT Essay is a persuasive essay, so you will need to persuade your
reader that your position is right with convincing evidence. But first, how are
we going to organize our persuasive essay?
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Students are often unsure how to begin their SAT Essay when they are
confronted with two blank pages at the beginning of the exam. How many
paragraphs should they write? What should each paragraph be about? Should
they even use paragraphs or have one long, continuous composition? For the
SAT, keep the format standard. High school English teachers may cringe
when they hear this, but the SAT Essay should be written in the standard 5paragraph format. No creativity needed.
SAT Essay Superb Strategy #2
Build an SAT 5-Paragraph Essay with the following components.
Introduction Contains your thesis, a sentence or two of generalities,

and your plan of procedure (POP)
Body Paragraph 1 Contains the first example that supports your thesis
You should include your strongest example here in order to begin your
essay convincingly
Body Paragraph 2 Contains the second example to support your thesis
Body Paragraph 3 Contains the third example to support your thesis
Conclusion Should be the shortest paragraph of your essay (only 2-3
sentences). Make sure to restate your thesis in different words
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The thesis should be the first sentence in your essay.

What is a thesis?
A thesis is the sentence in your introduction that you will prove.
On the SAT, this sentence usually describes whether you
agree or disagree with the topic.
If you are unsure of whether you are asserting a position
(thesis) or just making a statement (not a thesis), you
should insert your thesis in the following thesis test:
In this essay, I will prove that.[Insert Thesis
Here]
If the above sentence makes sense, then you
have a thesis. If the above sentence does not
make sense, then you are probably stating a
fact instead of asserting an opinion.
Here are some Personal Explicatory Examples of theses I started some of
my high school practice SAT Essays off with:
The notion that people should make an effort to be more private
is absolutely false.
The presupposition that challenging authority only makes a
society stronger is a categorical truth.
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The notion that there is hope and opportunity through hardships

is an absolute truth.
The presupposition that an attempt to please everyone will breed
success is categorically false.
Notice how you know exactly what the essays were asking me simply
by reading my theses. Make sure that you always restate the topic in your
thesis as I did. Then pick a position on the topic, which I did by claiming that
ideas are false or are a truth. You can check to make sure my theses are
indeed actually theses by putting them to the thesis test.
The last sentence of your essay introduction should be your plan of
procedure.
What is a plan of procedure (POP)?
An ordered list of the examples you will use in your body
paragraphs to support your thesis.
Here are some Personal Explicatory Examples of POPs I used on practice
SAT Essays:
Three classic archetypes that show how privacy can be a vice
are Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, the tragic
Holocaust, and the current state of North Korea.
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Three prominent archetypes that exemplify how defying power

enriches a society are Thomas Paines Common Sense, the
communist state of North Korea, and George Orwells 1984.
Three prominent paradigms which display societys genius can be
found in the Normandy Invasion of World War II, the engendering
of more efficient energy sources, and Fredrick Douglass amazing
struggle to learn how to read.
As you can see, POPs are pretty straightforward: simply plan out
what is to come. The first example refers to what you will write about in the
first body paragraph, the second example refers to what you will write about
in the second body paragraph, and the third example refers to what you will
write about in the third body paragraph. Follow the guidelines above, and
your SAT Essay format will never need to change!
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Understanding how the essay is scored is important in order to
appreciate the SAT Essay Superb Strategies that follow. Two separate human
readers grade your SAT Essay. Each reader will give your essay a score
between 1-6 based on a number of different criteria. You should simply know
that they are looking for the following:
A logical argument
Transitions to help the flow of your essay
Strong evidence to support your argument
The two readers scores are then added together. Therefore, the range
of the SAT Essays raw score is between 2-12. If the two readers give your
essay scores that differ by more than one point, i.e. one reader gives your
essay a score of 4 and another gives your essay a score of 6, a senior third
grader will assign the final score. The SAT Essay raw score will then be scaled
to account for 30% of your total Writing score out of 800 (approximately 240
points). As a rough approximation, each raw point you earn on the SAT
Essay section accounts for 20 points on your total Writing score. For example,
if you score a 10 on the essay section, we can reasonably estimate that 200
points of your total Writing score are due to your SAT Essay.
The above is all seems reasonable enough. But what I really want you to
remember about SAT Essay scoring are the conditions under which your
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essay is read. The College Board hires professionals with backgrounds in

writing and teaching (often high school English teachers) to score the SAT
Essay after putting them through reader training so that students scores are
consistent. However, unlike high school where English teachers can spend
hours examining essays for brilliant subtleties and original insights, your SAT
Essay is hastily looked at for about 1-2 minutes. The readers have to score
hundreds of essays per day and do not have more time to grade each essay.
Also remember, the readers have no idea who you are, how smart you usually
are, or how well you can normally write if given more time. Knowing this key
information, you need to give readers quick clues to identify yourself as an
intelligent high school student. The SAT Essay Superb Strategies that follow will
show you how to signal these hints in your essay.
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This section will cover the two major SAT Essay Superb Strategies you
will need in order to quickly impress your readers. Here is the first.
SAT Essay Superb Strategy #3 Use BIG words often and early in your essay.
If you have had high school English teachers like I did, this tactic goes
against everything they ever preached. I remember my English teacher
lecturing my classmates and I about how important quality ideas are in essays,
and not to get caught up trying to use a big vocabulary. This is not the case for
the SAT. If you were an SAT Essay grader, what do you think would be one
solid way to tell if a student is intelligent or not? Thats right: vocabulary.
This Superb Strategy is especially important in the first paragraph
where you should throw in at least two to four big words. You need to use big
words in the beginning of your essay because readers will make a first
impression of you as a writer a few seconds after reading your first paragraph.
After they have read that far, they will have an almost unchangeable
impression of your writing ability and will read the rest of your essay looking
to reaffirm their initial judgment. If you can give them a good first impression,
you have immediately boosted your essay score!
What do I mean by big words? I am not necessarily referring to
words that contain a lot of letters. Instead, I am talking about intelligent
words that are not often used in everyday high school language, but that you
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would perhaps see in an academic journal or scholarly article. Dont worry,

you do not have to go read ten articles to figure out which words to use. Most
words from the 2400 Expert Vocabulary Book or 2400 Vocab updates (on
Facebook/Twitter) would work, which is another perk of memorizing
vocabulary words!
When I was in high school, I had a set list of words that I would try to
incorporate into my SAT essay. You should also prepare a similar list. To do
this, think of words that would be common in your essay, then use a thesaurus
to find big words for otherwise simple words.
Here is a Personal Explicatory Example of the list of words I used:
Instead of idea, I used notion or presupposition or premise
Instead of example, I used archetype or paradigm
Instead of statement, I used assertion
Instead of bad thing, I used vice or depravity
Instead of good thing, I used virtue
Instead of narrow view, I used dogmatic or provincial view
Instead of create, I used engender or breed
Instead of harmful, I used deleterious
Instead of absolute, I used categorical
Instead of idealistic, I used romantic
Instead of poor, I used impoverished or destitute
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Instead of generous, I used philanthropic or altruistic

I did not use all of these words on a single essay. Instead, I knew I could
use a few of these words in my essay in order to sound smart! Make your list of
10-15 words in the Essay section of your Routine Review Notebook (given to
students enrolled in the 2400 Prep Course). Review them once a week and try
to use them in your high school writing or everyday speech (as nerdy as that
seems). Your list does not have to be extensive.
The next approach will also quickly impress your readers.
SAT Essay Superb Strategy #4: Write a lot. Fill up both blank pages.
Once again, this goes against the sermons of high school English
teachers around the country. But on the SAT, its about quantity more than
quality. A reader may not know you, but they do know that in general, smarter
students have more to say. And by human nature, a reader would have to
score two pages of writing higher than one page. Filling up two full notebook
pages of material in 25 minutes is no easy task, so make sure that your pencil
is constantly moving!
These two Superb Strategies, using big words & filling up both pages,
will account for the biggest score gains on your SAT Essay. Following these
two simple principles is a quick, sure-fire way to impress your readers.
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Now that you understand the two major ways to impress your readers,
you are ready to take your writing skills to the next level and ace the SAT
Essay.
SAT Essay Superb Strategy #5: Take the first two to three minutes after you
have read the prompt to brainstorm an outline of your essay.
This Superb Strategy actually goes hand in hand with the previous one.
In order to fill up both pages of the essay, you need to avoid getting stuck. In
order to be able to constantly write even under the pressure of the SAT, you
need a have a roadmap that can serve as a guide so you dont get writers
block.
Your brainstorm really only needs to consist of your position (thesis),
the examples you will be using, and a few words about how each example
relates to the topic so that you can prove your position (thesis).
Here is a Personal Explicatory Example of what my outline looked
like for a practice essay I did in high school regarding the topic of whether or
not privacy is good.
Position: No.
Ex. 1 World War II concentration camps, Holocaust, closed
door policy should have been lifted, few gov. officials knew
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atrocities taking place.

Ex. 2 North Korea Kim Jung Il, insurgents with video cameras
need to get information of mayhem onto internet but gov. doesnt
allow
Ex. 3 Scarlett Letter Dimmesdale destroys his well-being,
secretiveness eats him alive, goes crazy, hallucinates, vs. Hester

who confessed and is living well even though confined
Dont worry if that brainstorm did not make sense to you. Its not
supposed to. In fact, the only person that it should make complete sense to is
me because it is my roadmap. Notice how in the brainstorm I jotted down
incomplete thoughts in a few words instead of using full sentences. Each
phrase gives me a sentence to write about and will serve as the substance of
my body paragraphs. Also note that each phrase describes how my example
relates to my thesis that privacy is not good. For example, closed door policy
should have been lifted prompted me to write the following Personal
Explicatory Example in my essay:
During World War II, America had a closed door policy, which
meant that only a select few immigrants, excluding those from
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Mexico, were allowed to come into the United States. This policy
indirectly caused the murder of millions of people in the
Holocaust. If only American officials knew of the atrocities
taking place in concentration camps in Germany, they would have
lifted this anti-immigration policy.
Note how a simple phrase in my outline caused me to start a train of
thought, elaborate on ideas, and fill in details. Although you may forget many
particulars as you write your essay, your outline phrases should trigger those
details in your mind. Keep your facts on paper, not in your head!
SAT Essay Superb Strategy #6: The topic sentence of each body paragraph
needs to introduce your example and relate it to your thesis.
Many students start an SAT Essay body paragraph by summarizing
what their example is about. I certainly did when I first started practicing for
the SAT Essay. Do not do this on your SAT. Here is an Explicatory Example of
what I mean by summarizing an example in a topic sentence (do not do
this):
The Scarlet Letter is a book by Nathaniel Hawthorne about the
consequences two characters, Hester & Dimmesdale, must face
after committing adultery in a Puritan village.
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What is wrong with this topic sentence? Well, nothing on the surface.
However, the student has not connected the example to his or her thesis and
only describes what the literary work is about. Instead, topic sentences need
to immediately connect your example to your thesis. Here are Personal
Explicatory Examples of the three topic sentences I used in my privacy
essay that show how I connected each example to my thesis that privacy is
bad:
Topic Sentence 1 - Dimmesdales lack of confession and
secretiveness drive him to insanity and show how privacy is a vice
in The Scarlet Letter.
Topic Sentence 2 Another paradigm that prominently displays the
detrimental effects of privacy is the lack of knowledge America
had about the Holocaust while it was taking place.
Topic Sentence 3 A situation that parallels that of World War
II and shows the negative effects of privacy is the current
condition of North Korea.
Notice how I use different words in each topic sentence to restate my
same basic thesis: privacy is bad. I also state that each example proves my
point. Referring back and always connecting examples to your thesis,
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especially in topic sentences, will help bring coherency and organization to

your SAT Essay.
SAT Essay Superb Strategy #7: Always use the active voice in your essay, not
the passive voice.
What is the active voice? In an active sentence, the subject is doing the
action. The active voice is often in the form:
[Subject doing verb].[Verb done by subject][Object]
Here are some Explicatory Examples of the active voice:
[John] [caught] [the ball].
[The dog] [scared] [the baby].
[The note] [reminded] [me] of my appointment.
[The politicians] [have agreed] on [the policy].
Notice how the subject of active sentences does the action of the verb,
while the object of active sentences receives the action of the verb. On the
SAT Essay, make sure that your sentences begin with subjects that are
performing the verbs.
What is the passive voice? In a passive sentence, the subject is
receiving the action. The passive voice is often in the form:
[Subject].[Verb done by object][Object doing verb]
Here are some Explicatory Examples of the passive voice:
[The ball] was [caught] by [John].
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[The baby] was [scared] by [the dog].

[I] was [reminded] of my appointment by [the note].
[The policy] [has been agreed] upon by [the politicians].
Notice how the subject of passive sentences receives the action of a
verb, while the object of passive sentences performs the action of a verb. Also
note, most passive voice sentences contain the preposition by. If you find
that you are often placing an object doing a verb after by, just change that
object to the subject of the sentence to make it active. This will assure the
verb comes after the noun performing the action. Passive voice is seen as
wordy and awkward on the SAT, so try to use the active voice!
SAT Essay Superb Strategy #8: Use transitions to improve the coherency and
flow of your essay.
Transitions are an important aspect of writing because they signal
relationships between ideas. You should incorporate at least 3-4 transitions
into your SAT Essay. Not only will they assist you in developing your own
thoughts, but they will also help the reader quickly comprehend where you
are going in your essay. Here are some Personal Explicatory Examples of
transitions I would often use in my practice SAT Essays in high school:
Transitions to further explain
Furthermore,
Moreover,
Additionally,
Therefore,
Transitions that introduce examples:
For example,
Another paradigm
For instance,
Transitions to compare similar ideas:
Similarly,
Accordingly,
Transitions to contrast dissimilar ideas
Nevertheless
Although
On the other hand,
Conversely,
However,
Transitions to conclude
In conclusion,
In summation,
Finally,
Consequently,
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Transitions can also help you get unstuck. If you get writers block
during your essay, just think of a few of the above transitions. Immediately,
ideas should come into your mind about where to take the direction of your
essay next!
SAT Essay Superb Strategy #9: Dont get personal.
Do not use any of the following words in your SAT Essay:
I, me, you, our, we, us, myself, yourself, ourselves
Using any of the above words in your essay could be detrimental to
your score. Even if the essay topic asks something like: Should we follow
leaders? You still should not use we in your essay. Instead, you should
write about society or civilization.
You now have all of the SAT Essay Superb Strategies necessary to
impress and amaze your readers on the SAT Essay, but youre not done yet!
You still need to figure out what you are going to write about!?
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So what examples should you use in your essay to support your thesis?
Most students have no idea. Good news for you though, I am going to tell you
exactly what material you need to build your SAT Essay with.
In the ideal situation, you need to use 1 example from a literary work
(book/poem/short story), 1 example from a historical event/character, and 1
example from a current event. However, you may use 2 literary works & 1
historical event, 2 current events & 1 literary work, or mix and match if you
cannot think of 1 solid example of each type. What is important though is that
you have 3 examples total from these categories.
Now, you might be worried because you know that there is no way you
can think of such varied, academic examples in under 25 minutes. Dont
worry, I have more good news: you will not have to think of any examples
during the exam. You will already have your examples ready before you
enter the testing room!
In order for this to happen, you will need to prepare a list of 4-7 literary
works, 4-7 historical events/characters, and 4-7 current events to put into the
Essay section of your Routine Review Notebook. The list should consist of
examples that you have a thorough knowledge of. Many of the literary works
can come from your English class. Have you read a novel, short story, or
poem recently in class (does not matter if the work is well known or not)? If so,
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put it in your list. And if you are currently taking a history class, you can use
the events, anecdotes, and characters you learn about in lecture as examples
for your list as well. If you do not already read the news, you should check out
the headlines once or twice a week and pick stories that interest you to add to
your list. You do not need to complete your list in one sitting. Depending on
how much time you have, you can add 2 or 3 examples to your list every day,
week, or even month! Do it at your own pace.
Once you have your list of 12-20 examples ready, you are prepared for
any SAT Essay topic. You should be able to apply at least 3 of your examples
to any SAT prompt you see. This works because SAT Essay topics are so
general that you can find a connection between the examples you know and
the topic given. But the key is to know each of your examples in depth enough
that you can focus on a certain aspect of your example so that it is applicable
to the topic.
This process takes out the work of ever having to think of spontaneous
examples off the top of your head during the exam! Not only will you have a
wide array of intelligent examples, but you will also be able to cite specific
details such as authors, characters, settings, plots, timeframes, etc. which will
be very impressive to your reader.
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*Note: Do not use a personal experience to serve as an example for your

essay. No matter how moving or traumatizing your personal experience may
be, readers will almost always grade students that use convincing literary,
historical, and current event evidence higher than students that use their own
stories.
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Now, to help you get a better idea of exactly what kind of examples are
good for your list, I have included a Personal Explicatory Example of the full
list of examples I made in high school that I knew I could use for the SAT
Essay. (Note: Many of these examples I learned in my specific English and
U.S. History classes so you may not be familiar with them, which is perfectly
okay.)
Literary Works
1.
To Build a Fire by Jack London
2. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

3. Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
4. 1984 by George Orwell
5. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
6. Araby by James Joyce
7. A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
8. The Odyssey by Homer
9. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
10. Mending Wall by Robert Frost
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11. Night by Elie Wiesel

12. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Historical Events / Characters
1.
Thomas Jefferson
2. Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaron Burr

3. Andrew Jackson
4. Benedict Arnold & General Braddock
5. Eli Whitneys cotton gin
6. American neutrality & Woodrow Wilson
Current Events
1.
North Korea Kim Jung Il
2. Bird Flu
3. Hurricane Katrina
4. Gay Marriage in Spain
5. Creation of more efficient energy sources
Notice that I had many more literary examples than historical or current
events. This is completely fine. If you are a history whiz, you can have more
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historical events as your examples. If you are addicted to the newspaper, you
can have more current events as your examples. Its really up to you. The
exact numbers do not matter as much as having solid examples for each
category.
However, your list is not done yet. For each example in your list, you
will need to make an entry in your Routine Review Notebook that consists of
details about the item. Structure your entries as I did in these Personal
Explicatory Examples below:
Literary Works
Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Time Period: Early part of the twentieth century
Setting: Long Island
Main Characters: Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, & Daisy
Key Facts:
-Gatsby built a fortune by bootlegging alcohol
-Gatsbys goal: to court Daisy
-Gatsby throws lavish parties for upper social class,
but doesnt even know many of the guests
-Gatbsy is fooled into thinking he is popular
-His attempt to please everyone is futile and he ends
up a sad & lonely man
Historical Events / Characters
Event/Character: American neutrality & Woodrow Wilson
Time Period: WWI / early part of the twentieth century
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Key Facts:
-Many criticized America for staying neutral
during the majority of WWI
-Woodrow Wilson stuck to the tenet established by
George Washington in the War of 1812 that America
should stay out of foreign wars.
-Wilson made a Proclamation of Neutrality
in what was called the war to end all wars
-Many activists protested Wilsons proclamation and he
was criticized harshly
-Woodrow Wilson stood his ground and did not concern
himself with trivial opponents, and in the end was
successfulbecause Germany and Allies bought
supplies from us.
Current Events
Event: Creation of more efficient energy sources in the
resource-expending society we live in today
Key Facts:
-BP, Beyond Petroleum, is creating photovoltaic cells
that will change the way society is run.
-Worlds petroleum supply is estimated to run out in
40yrs
-However, with hydrogen and solar powered machinery,
we may be able to save some of that petroleum for
longer
-Brazil, one of the most populous countries in the
world, is beginning to run cars on ethanol, an extract
from corn.
-Reusable energy benefits the environment and
preserves petroleum supplies
-Britain is another country that is beginning to have

cars that run on ethanol + gas
The more detail you include about each entry, the better. Once you
have completed your entries, review them once a week so that you stay
familiar with the examples you are going to use on your SAT Essay.
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Now you might be skeptical of this sections claim. How could you
possibly write your essay before you see a topic? Well, the truth is you can
probably write about 70% of your essay before you ever set foot into the
testing room!
You know the format and examples you will use on your SAT Essay,
which already puts you ahead of most SAT test-takers. Now, I am going to give
you the most powerful device that will allow you to know most of what you are
going to write before you see a topic: The Essay Skeleton.
Essay Skeletons will serve as the barebones of your essay that remain
the same no matter what topic you are faced with. There are certain parts of
the essay that you can build an Essay Skeleton for including: the introduction,
the topic sentence of each body paragraph, and the conclusion. Back in high
school after I took many practice SAT Essays, I discovered that I could build
Essay Skeletons that were identical from essay to essay. I realized that I could
begin and end any SAT Essay in the same way, and I saved loads of time.
The amazing advantage of Essay Skeletons is that they do not have to
change. The Essay Skeletons can remain the same every single time you take a
practice SAT as well as when you take the real exam because the grader has
never read your essay before. No creativity needed!
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SAT Essay Superb Strategy #10: Build Essay Skeletons for the introduction,
topic sentences, and conclusion of every SAT Essay you ever write.
To clarify exactly what I mean by Essay Skeletons I have included Personal
Explicatory Examples of the actual ones I used in high school below.
Introduction Skeleton
The presupposition that ___(Topic)____ is a categorical
truth/false. Although some advocates of ___(Side you are
against)__ would argue ___(What opponents would say)___,
these romantic critics are too dogmatic in their provincial
ideology. (Add a general sentence regarding topic here). Three
prominent archetypes that exemplify how ____(Side you believe
in)___ are __Example 1 __, __Example 2___, and __Example
3___.
Introduction Skeleton in Action (On topic regarding challenging
authority)
The presupposition that challenging authority only makes a
society stronger is a categorical truth. Although some advocates
of a powerful, central government would argue that a strong
authority is what maintains a stable society, these romantic
critics are too dogmatic in their provincial ideology. When a
civilization is repressed, denizens have no choice but to rebel
against authority. Three prominent archetypes that exemplify how
defying power enriches a society are Thomas Paines Common
Sense, the communist state of North Korea, and George Orwells
1984.
Topic Sentence Skeletons
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Set in the early/middle/late part of _XXth century, _(Your

Example)_ illustrates how _(Restatement of your Thesis)_."
"Another paradigm that prominently displays _(Restatement of
your Thesis)_ is _(Your Example)_."
Yet another archetype of __(Restatement of your Thesis)__ is
established in __(Your Example)__.
Topic Sentence Skeletons in Action
Set in the early part of the 20th century, F. Scott Fitzgerald's
The Great Gatsby illustrates how the accumulation of wealth
actually engenders distress rather than happiness.
Another paradigm that prominently displays the detrimental
effects of privacy is the lack of knowledge America had about
the Holocaust while it was taking place.
Yet another archetype of when challenging authority only
fortifies a society is established in George Orwells dystopian
society of 1984.
Conclusion Skeleton
In summation, the notion that ___(Side you are against)__
is a fallacy that will often end in failure. It is only by
__(Restatement of your thesis)__ that one/society can achieve
success/happiness.
Conclusion Skeleton in Action
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In summation, the notion that the pursuit of success will

result in jubilation and triumph is a fallacy that will often end in
failure. It is only by naturally pursuing ones passion that one
can achieve happiness.
Now it is your turn to build your own Essay Skeletons that will serve as
the templates for your SAT Essay success! Notice some of key aspects of my
Essay Skeletons that you should keep in mind when building yours:
The first sentence in my introduction is my thesis
The thesis is very straightforward so that my position is clear to the
reader
The introduction includes many SAT intelligent words such as
presupposition, provincial, romantic, ideology, etc.
I include the opposite point of view in my introduction and then shoot it
down
The SAT loves when you can counter the other sides opinion
because it shows depth of thought
The conclusion is short and straight to the point
If you are having trouble finding the inspiration necessary to build an
Essay Skeleton, do not worry. You will find that your Essay Skeleton will come
to you as you practice doing more timed SAT Essays. In addition, you can use
aspects of my Essay Skeletons! Doing so will not hurt your essay score. This is
because the SAT is a standardized test. Essays scored years ago must be
38
graded the same as essays written now. In addition, the Official SAT Scoring
Guide does not have creativity listed as a criterion for grading! We are
really beating the test now arent we?
Essay Skeletons will save you 5-10 minutes other students would waste
thinking of an introduction, topic sentences, and a conclusion. Extra time that
you will have to stuff your body paragraphs with clever insights and facts so
you can fill up those two pages!
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Now that you have everything you need to ace the SAT Essay, it is time
for you to see how I incorporated all of the 2400 Expert Superb Strategies into
my SAT Essay. Below is the actual essay I wrote when I got a 2400 on the
October 2006 administration of the SAT. The essay received a score of 12 (It is
also possible to get an 800 on the Writing section with an essay score of 10 or
11 if you do well enough on the multiple choice section). The topic of the
essay was about questioning those in authority.
My 2400 Essay
The presupposition that it is necessary and important to challenge
the tenets of those with authority is an absolute truth. Although
some naive critics would argue that those in power are impeccable, they
are too dogmatic in their provincial ideology. Three classic archetypes
that show why questioning power is important are Vincent Bugliosis
The Betrayal of America, George Orwells 1984, and the current state of
conditions in North Korea.
40
In The Betrayal of America, Bugliosi engenders a compelling

argument which justifies how challenging authority, in this case The
Supreme Court, is not only important but also necessary. He questions
the basis of the Bush v. Gore Ruling on December 11, 2000 which ruled
that a recount in Florida violated the equal protection clause of the 14th
amendment rendering all undervotes in Florida impotent. This inevitably
handed the election to George Bush. Bugliosi makes point after point on
how this decision was politically motivated by the far right wing and
clearly absurd. For example, the five conservative justices would have
never stopped a recount if it would have favored Gore, and they most
certainly do not favor the equal protection clause unless it is to shoot
down affirmative action plans. Not to mention they included a clause
that made Bush v. Gore the only Supreme Court case to ever not be
referenced again. Even in a society as judicial as our own and a matter as
large as the presidency, Bugliosi proves that those in authority must be
challenged due to their sometimes ludicrous and self-interested
decisions.
41
Another paradigm which exemplifies the significance of impeaching

authority can be seen in the protagonist Winston in 1984. Although
Winston is a member of the Outer Party, he still rebels silently by
writing his journal in his room against the Inner Party. He is unable to
quite comprehend the injustices and machinations inflicted upon him
because of his lack of memory. Nevertheless, he knows that there were
better times before and rebels against the authority of the Inner Party.
He tries to join the underground society dedicated to undermining the
party by contacting leader OBrien, he makes love, and even visits an
antique store where the proles live for privacy! His actions, although
unknown to him, are important because they gradually pick at the Inner
Partys authority even though he fails at the end.
A modern day 1984 with plenty of rebels taking action can be found
in North Korea. The proletariat of North Korea is left desolate and
isolated from the globe. They are unable to use cell phones, have no
connection through the internet to the outside world, and the media is
controlled by the government to keep them ignorant. However, this
42
ignorance of utter depravity where people lie pallid and dead on the
sidewalk will soon be vindicated by rebels who videotape these
atrocities. Hopefully their significant challenge to authority will be
successful.
Ultimately, the impeachment of authority is always necessary and
proper to fight against tyranny. However, even if not successful,
challenging innate injustices imbedded in society is nevertheless
important.
-Shaan Patel
Notice that my essay is far from perfect. I have many grammatical
mistakes, used the passive voice in a couple sentences, and even use our at
one point! Do not worry, the SAT graders understand that this is not a final
copy of an essay and are considerate enough to look over minor errors.
Furthermore, if my use of big words scared you because you think you are
not capable of using such diction, do not fear. I was able to use so many big
words because I had just memorized hundreds of vocabulary words in
preparation for the SAT, which you will too! Also, notice that I strayed away
from my Essay Skeleton in certain areas under the pressure of 25 minutes,
which is perfectly fine for you to do as well.
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Congratulations! You now have all the tools to succeed on the SAT
Essay and have seen me use the tools in my own 2400 Essay. Now, it is your
turn to practice. Here is a list of Perfect Practice Essay Prompts for you to
rehearse what you have just learned:
1 Is innovation lacking in the world?
2 Is attempting to prove others wrong a path to success?
3 Can happiness be achieved without peace?
4 Is creativity necessary in a society?
5 Should people conform to societal values?
6 Can one achieve success without struggle?
7 Is it always better to do what others agree with?
8 Should one focus on personal motives instead of societal goals?
9 Is technology hindering creativity?
10 Can humility work to your disadvantage?
Complete one or two prompts a week, depending on how much time
you have before your SAT. Remember that when you practice for the SAT
Essay, you need to time yourself for 25 minutes. Do this using a wristwatch
that you will wear during the actual exam. This will get you in the habit of
building an outline and writing quickly in order to fill up two pages. Make
sure you have one notebook sheet in front of you that you will need to fill up
43
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both the front and back of when you practice. Do not worry if you have trouble
filling up two pages in the beginning, so did I. With more and more practice,
you will learn how far into your essay you need to be when 5, 10, and 20
minutes have elapsed on your wristwatch so that you can fill both pages. Make
sure that you have practiced all 10 SAT Essay prompts before test day. Finally,
the most important aspect of practicing for the SAT Essay is weekly Routine
Review of the essays you have written. Evaluate how well you are following
SAT Essay Superb Strategies and identify areas where you can improve.
Heck, once you have practiced the SAT Essay enough, you might even
find yourself excited the next time your English teacher says the three words
most students dread: In class essay!
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guide to any third party. If you received this publication from any entity other
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e-mail at support@2400expert.com to notify us of the situation.
Please note that much of this publication is based on personal
experience and anecdotal evidence. Although the author and publisher have
made every reasonable attempt to achieve complete accuracy of the content
in this guide, they assume no responsibility for errors or omissions.
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SAT ESSA Y M A N U A L

Introduction Contains your thesis, a sentence or two of generalities,

The thesis should be the first sentence in your essay.

The notion that there is hope and opportunity through hardships

Three prominent archetypes that exemplify how defying power

essay is read. The College Board hires professionals with backgrounds in

would perhaps see in an academic journal or scholarly article. Dont worry,

Instead of generous, I used philanthropic or altruistic

atrocities taking place.

secretiveness eats him alive, goes crazy, hallucinates, vs. Hester

especially in topic sentences, will help bring coherency and organization to

[The baby] was [scared] by [the dog].

*Note: Do not use a personal experience to serve as an example for your

To Build a Fire by Jack London

2. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

11. Night by Elie Wiesel

2. Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaron Burr

North Korea Kim Jung Il

-Britain is another country that is beginning to have

Set in the early/middle/late part of _XXth century, _(Your

In summation, the notion that the pursuit of success will

In The Betrayal of America, Bugliosi engenders a compelling

Another paradigm which exemplifies the significance of impeaching

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